Guided Trek in Valmalenco, the Undiscovered Italian Alps
Discover the hidden beauty of Valmalenco in the Italian Alps on this guided hut-to-hut hiking adventure led by certified UIMLA mountain leader Stano. Explore alpine lakes, panoramic peaks, traditional mountain villages, and cozy refuges on a scenic 4-day trek just north of Milan, perfect for hikers seeking an authentic Italian Alps experience.
Alps
4 Days
Jun - Sep
High
Intermediate
Highlights
- Valmalenco still remains undiscovered by outsiders. In contrast, the more famous areas of the Alps (the Dolomites or the Mont Blanc) have become very crowded and are losing much of their original character.
- Valmalenco is a geological mosaic. Within a short distance, the landscape shifts from the velvet green of Serpentinite rock to ghostly whites and warm, rusty oranges.
- Local people are not aspiring to create a "Disneyland", they are authentic and raw. And your guide can reveal some of their life stories as he is good friends with many of them.
Description
Explore the highly diverse panoramas, alpine lakes, peaks, food and culture on this guided hut-to-hut trek through the stunting mountains of the Valmalenco Valley.
Only two hours north of Milan, experience a place that is still undiscovered by foreigners and encounter locals that have lived here for generations. As a passionate and professional International Mountain Leader (UIMLA), it will be my pleasure to guide you through my favourite mountains!
This trek is suitable from occasional to regular mountain hikers, or those that have some previous hiking experience. While we will mostly hike on good trails, every day will have mountain trails with some rugged sections. Good news is that there are no high risk or "no fall zone" sections on the entire trek.
Join me in Valmalenco for an authentic alpine adventure combining spectacular scenery, welcoming mountain huts, and the rich culture of one of Italy’s hidden hiking destinations.
Price includes
- Guiding fee
- Mountain guide's expenses
Price details
- PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE:
- * Hut accommodation with halfboard meals (65-75 EUR / person per night)
- * Drinks and Lunches
- * Hiking poles (available to rent for 10 euros)
- * Sleeping bag liner (available to purchase)
- * Transport to start and from end of the trek (available to purchase)
- * Personal/travel/rescue insurance
- * Flights
Meeting point
Itinerary
Day 1: Alpine Lakes & Monte Disgrazia Views
Valmalenco offers a variety of mountain huts with the possibility to connect them via easier or more challenging routes, so we can customize this trek to your group needs.
The below itinerary describes the more challenging and more scenic route:
We meet around 9am at the charming mountain village of San Giuseppe and start hiking by 10am. Today highlights are Valmalenco's two stunning alpine lakes (Lago Lagazzuolo and Lago Pirola) and beautiful panoramas of many steep peaks, including the Monte Disgrazia (3678m). Sleeping in a cozy Rifugio Ventina (1980m).
Hiking time: 5-5.5h / Distance: 7.5km / Ascent: 1130m / Descent: 590m / Max altitude: 2550m
Day 2: Historic Villages & Rifugio Longoni
Today, we venture into the history, mountain culture and architecture of Valmalenco by visiting forgotten alpeggi (old mountain settlements) and passing through the charming village of Chiareggio where we can stop for lunch. Then we ascend again to reach Rifugio Longoni and enjoy the panoramas from its terrace (2450m).
Hiking time: 5.5-6.5h / Distance: 11.5km / Ascent: 1050m / Descent: 580m / Max altitude: 2450m
Day 3: Bernina Glaciers & High Alpine Pass
Get ready for the highest point of the tour (2840m) and many high alpine views of the towering peaks and glaciers of the Bernina Group, with its highest peak Pizzo Bernina (4048m). We also pass by a few lovely smaller lakes before relaxing on another panoramic terrace, this time at Rifugio Carate (2636m).
Hiking time: 6-7h / Distance: 11km / Ascent: 890m / Descent: 700m / Max altitude: 2840m
Day 4: Mountain Settlements & Scenic Return Trek
Today highlights are more visits of magical old mountain settlements and more new mountain panoramas. And let's not forget a stop at a charming mountain hut for an afternoon beer and some well deserved food! The trek will conclude at our starting point by 5pm.
Hiking time: 6-6.5h / Distance: 13km / Ascent: 400m / Descent: 1510m / Max altitude: 2636m (the breakfast table)
Details
Accommodation
3 nights at mountain huts during the trek. I am happy to help/suggest pre and post-trip accommodation once in touch with the client, but there are many options within 15min drive (or bus ride) from our meeting place.
Equipment you will need to bring
Water bottle
Backpack
Rent on site
Sunglasses
Sleeping bag liner (but it's also available at the huts for purchase)
About the guide
Stano
Languages
English | Italian | Slovak | Czech
Certificates
UIMLA
What people are saying about Explore-Share
Man
Climbing with guide Guillaume was absolutely a highlight of my 2-week Europe vacation. Originally, we were planning on climbing in the Calanques, but the park was closed due to wind and fire danger. Guillaume chose another amazing location (Pic de Bretagne) based on my climbing abilities and preferences and kindly offered train station pick-up and hotel drop off, which I appreciated very much. The multi-pitch route we did was not only fun but also the right amount of challenge, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The communication from the team (Gauthier) was prompt and clear—highly recommend!
Maxine
Luis Silva was a great climbing guide and belayer! He taught me how to do moves that were difficult and encouraged me to try routes that were challenging for me! Because of his encouragement, I managed to complete these routes! I really enjoyed the climbs and completed 8 routes in the Sesimbra/Azoia area. The weather was perfect, no direct sun and cool enough to enjoy the climbs. Explore-Share made booking an outdoor climbing experience in Lisbon extremely easy. Luis, our guide, was fantastic, and the platform’s organization was flawless.
Valeriya
You’re simply the best!!! :))) Explore-Share made everything easy and stress-free. Will definitely use again.
Joshua
We had Léo as a guide for our day climb in Fonty. We were blessed with a knowledgeable, warm, and instructive guide. Communication with Léo and Ivan was smooth and swift. Explore-Share was excellent in arranging everything for our day climb. The communication was quick, and the platform was easy to use, making our adventure stress-free.
Cami
Patrick was a great guide. He took us on an intermediate Via Ferrata at Passo Sella. Renato was quick to respond with any outreach on the Explore-Share platform. The booking process was straightforward, and once Patrick was confirmed, all went well. It was a wonderful experience, and I’d highly recommend the platform.
4.8
Read all our verified reviews
Join our newsletter!
Stay up-to-date on the best adventures.