The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Flowers and Ferratas (and a few hikes) around Lago di Garda

Before you shake your head at another post from Northern Italy, this last month was the earliest in the season by far that I’d been hiking and climbing there. The wildflowers were stupendous and featured many I hadn’t seen before, at least in Italy. Add in some ferratas that I hadn’t done from my last visit to Lago di Garda in 2019 and I definitely thought it was worthy of another blog post. I hope you agree.

Torrente Barbarano, seen during my approach to Via Ferrata (VF) Spigola della Bandiera. This rather short and boring ferrata was the one I climbed while I was located on the southwest side of Lago di Garda for 2 days waiting for my Arco-area apartment to be ready. (The southern 2/3rds of the lake is in Lombardy and has completely different geology from the northern third, in Trentino. Definitely stay in the north if you’re visiting the area).
The Rifugio Pirlo allo Spino above VF Spigola della Bandiera. No decent photos of the ferrata were possible as it was highly vegetated. I was the only one here as the main access road was closed much of that day due to the Giro d’Italia bike race passing through.
Torrente Toscolano, Valle delle Cartiere, near my hotel. Paper mills from this valley flourished in the 15th and 16th centuries as the major supplier of paper to Venice.
Dark Columbine (Aquilegia atrata). Absolutely stunning.
Castello d’Arco. With some friends from St George, I visited the castle as part of a day of nearby ferratas and scrambles.
Poppy field, Castello d’Arco
Burning-bush (Dictamnus albus)
The amazing “Garda View” apartment in Gavazzo (Tenno), where I stayed for 5 weeks. The upper left balcony on the near house was mine.
Riva and Lago di Garda from my balcony in the morning light
Goats on Monte Misone. The hike to the summit of this nearby peak was one of four I did as warm ups for Mount Toubkal (see my previous post).
Coral peony (Paeonia mascula)
Trumpet gentian (Gentiana acaulus). One of my faves. I’ve shared photos of this species before.
Cave Alte, Troiana. A nearby marble quarry that supplied much statuary marble. It fascinated me how they dug out these galleries from which they hauled the marble down to the valley near Arco.
Cima d’Oro, Lago di Ledro vista. Another Toubkal warmup.
World War I trench on Cima d’Oro
Alpine pasque flower (Pulsitilla alpina). I finally saw the flower! Later in the season all I ever saw were the distinctive seed pods.
Early purple orchid (Orchis mascula). First of four orchids you’ll see in this post. . .
Balm-leaved archangel (Lamium orvale). I’ve seen another species of archangel in Hastings, England.
View to the north from Croce (cross) di Ceniga, taken on another hike nearby Arco, to the summit of Monte Colt.
Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis). Aptly named.
Monte Stivo summit view towards the Brenta Dolomites, with globe flowers and buttercups. Monte Stivo, northeast of Lago Garda, is a very popular hike. Even on a weekday I saw many people on my descent.
Cima di Rocca. This ferrata I did was an extended version of one my my favorites, Cima Capi, documented in my 2019 Lago di Garda post.
Part of an extensive WWI tunnel complex in Cima Rocca
Chiese di San Giovanni, on the descent from Cima Rocca. I’m not sure this church holds many services anymore.
Dane’s Blood bell-flower (Campanula glomerata). I saw many species of bell-flower this past month, but I’ve posted photos of most before, but not I think this one.
Cascata di Ballino, at the start of VF Signora delle Acque. This ferrata essentially climbs the waterfall. How cool is that?
Looking down the Cascata di Ballino, VF Signora delle Acque. Yes, I am attached to ferrata cables!
Giro di tre Cime, Monte Bondone. The three peaks are all visible here; right to left: Cornetto, dos Abramos, and Verde. The wildflowers were amazing on this hike, which started at a much higher elevation (about 1500m) than most, a wise choice on this hot day.
Fragrant orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea)
Orange lily (Lilium bulbiferum)
Paradise lily (Paradisea liliastrum). I also saw Bruno’s and St. Bernard’s lilies this past month, but they all look similar so I’m posting only this one.
Monte Cornetto on the Giro di tre Cime hike. Cornetto is Italian for croissant. I also saw signs saying “Cornet,” which is French for horn. It resembles neither a croissant nor a horn to me.
Velvetbells (Bartsia alpina)
Dos Abramos, seen from the col between that peak and Cima Verde. It transpired that to reach the summit and descend the other side required following a path with cables (i.e., a Via Ferrata). I had no gear with me, but fortunately those two short sections were not too difficult or exposed.
Globe orchid (Traunsteinera globosa). Another aptly-named orchid.
Monte Casale at dawn, from the Pietramurata parking lot where I started the VF Che Guevara. While only technically moderate, this ferrata is very long and gains about 1400m in elevation. The dawn start was essential to beat the heat as the wall faces southeast.
A view northeast towards Lago Toblino on the ascent of VF Che Guevara. I mentioned in a previous post that around Lago Toblino are found the northern-most olive trees in the world.
Monte Casale summit plateau, end point of VF Che Guevara. The vertical world I’s spent the last four hours in suddenly changed to an alpine meadow!
Cima Tosa (3,136m) and the Brenta Dolomites from Monte Casale summit plateau. I previously posted on a ferrata trip I took in the Brenta Group in 2018. This fantastic day in the mountains was a fitting culmination to my month in Italy.

Although I’m back in Windsor, England, settled into my cozy (read: small) casita, tomorrow I depart for the Causasus for three weeks, split about equally between Armenia and Georgia. One piece of luggage still hasn’t arrived from Italy, so yesterday I spent about $700 buying replacement gear. Oh, well, the price of traveling. In a month or so I’ll post some photos from hikes and treks in those two countries, long on my bucket list.

Enjoy your summer!

The Vagabond Hiker

Comments

  1. Wow. Just wow. What a spectacular place. Of course I’m partial to mountains and alpine, but wow. These pics are just beautiful! Thanks again for the wonderful write up and sharing your stories.

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