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A ruined stone fortress and a small round tower stand on an island in the lake near Cannobio, with forested mountains rising behind.

Grande Traversata delle Alpi

July 2026 · Italy · Hiking

WhenJuly 2026
CountriesItaly
KindHiking
Stages8

Route

Photographs (188)

A ruined stone fortress and a small round tower stand on an island in the lake near Cannobio, with forested mountains rising behind.An illuminated church bell tower with a clock stands above the dark rooftops of Pontebernardo, with mountain ridges silhouetted against the night sky.A green mountain meadow falls away toward a village on the valley floor, with rocky peaks closing the view in the Valle Varaita.A pale track switches back down open pasture toward a scattered hamlet on the valley floor, framed by forested slopes and high ridges.A grassy doubletrack trail with two wheel ruts runs through an alpine meadow toward dark conifer woodland on the edge of the valley.A cluster of bright magenta wild pinks with fringed petals opens among the grasses of a high meadow.A narrow footpath crosses a bright green alpine pasture dotted with wildflowers, with forested slopes and distant peaks beyond.Magenta pinks, blue bellflowers and fluffy seed heads fill the foreground of a meadow beneath a dark conifer, with hazy mountain ridges behind.Two fluffy thistle seed heads stand in the foreground of a meadow, framing a pyramidal peak that rises above the slope.A stone barn with a traditional slab roof and a small wooden balcony stands on a steep grassy slope, with an open shed beside it.A small painted angel figurine in a hooded robe sits on a stone ledge at the foot of a rough rock face.A small white statue of the Madonna stands in a shallow rock niche beside a tall votive candle.A white statue of the Madonna with folded hands and a crown stands in a crevice of stratified rock beside a red votive candle.A plastered farmhouse with a stone-slab roof and a green tree stands on a steep meadow beside a smaller stone outbuilding.A small stone barn stands on a steep pasture where white sheep graze beside a broad strip of cut hay.A cluster of alpine houses with grey slab roofs surrounds a church bell tower on a green slope above the valley.A tight group of stone houses with slab and metal roofs sits on a terrace surrounded by dense woodland.A square stone church tower with a clock and a pyramidal roof rises above the slab-roofed houses of Celle, with steep green mountains behind.A clear mountain stream tumbles over grey stones through the dense green vegetation of the valley floor.A narrow dirt trail curves through a sunlit meadow toward the high ridges of the Varaita valley near Chiazale.A hiker with a green rucksack and a trekking pole steps across stones over a clear mountain stream near Chiazale.A sloping meadow of wildflowers and long shadows falls away toward a rugged, scree-flanked valley above Celle.A jagged massif of fractured rock and lingering snow rises above dark conifers near Celle.A faint trail cuts diagonally across a steep mountain flank above a deep valley near Celle.

Journal Notes (8)
2026 GTA 1 - Cannobio and the Valle Stura

The journey opens at the water's edge in Cannobio, a town strung along the shore of Lago Maggiore in Piemont. The lake lies flat and pale in the morning light, bordered on the far side by the first folds of the Alps. Below the promenade small boats knock gently against the quay. …

2026 GTA 2 - Bellino and the Upper Varaita Valley

The day opens above the village of Bellino, on a shelf of meadow that looks straight down the Valle Varaita. Cloud lies low on the far ridge and the grass is still grey with it; below, the valley floor holds long bands of light and shade, and the roofs of stone catch the first of …

2026 GTA 3 - From Bellino to the Maira Valley

The day opens above the Varaita. At Chiazale the first light comes down the valley wall and reaches the water of a stream that runs fast over pale stones, while the lower fields stay in shadow. The air is cold and carries the smell of cut grass and resin. Nothing moves on the tra …

2026 GTA 4 - Elva and Stroppo

The day opens above the wooded trough of the Valle Maira. Light arrives late down the eastern wall, touching first the pasture above the hamlet and only then the larch and the grey stone, and the air keeps the cold that has gathered in these deep places overnight. Elva sits high, …

2026 GTA 5 - The Hamlets of the Maira Valley

The day opens above Stroppo. On the heights the last of the night still hangs in the larches, and the first light reaches the roofs as a soft grey wash, crossing the ridge line until it settles on the campanile and stays there. Below, the Valle Maira runs away towards Cuneo as a …

2026 GTA 6 - Castelmagno and the Valle Grana

The day opens above Celle di Macra, where the last houses stand in a fold of the hillside and the first light catches only the highest larches. Cool air moves down from the ridge, carrying the smell of hay and wet stone. Above the village the meadows rise steeply, pale where the …

2026 GTA 7 - From the Grana to the Stura Valley

The valley below Castelmagno is still in shadow when the first light reaches the bell tower. Cloud lies low on the ridges and the farmsteads on the terrace stand half in mist, their stone walls dark with damp. A stream runs somewhere out of sight, and the smell of woodsmoke and c …

2026 GTA 8 - The Road Home over the Great Saint Bernard

The return begins with the water. Out of the high valleys the road eases downhill, and the country changes with every bend: bare rock gives way to chestnut woods, then to terraced slopes and small towns, until the last climb lifts the route again to the roof of the Alps. There is …