Three years ago, while hiking the Westweg during the pandemic and my sabbatical, I met a woman who raved about the Grande Traversata delle Alpi, a 65 stage hike through the Italian Alps from the border of Switzerland all the way to the Mediterranean. Later that year, I met Maja while hiking the Malerweg, and we would go on to become summer hiking buddies. Together we wandered the entire Harzer-Hexen-Stieg. Soon after, we decided we were ready for an alpine adventure. The GTA was calling us, and I am so glad it was.
Table of Contents
The Arrival to the GTA
I’m pretty dogmatic about being environmentally friendly, but Maja is a-whole-nother level. So it went without saying that we would travel to the GTA from Berlin by train. At 4:30 in the morning, I left my apartment for the S-bahn to the main station. 14 hours later Maja and I arrived in Omegna, a town at the northern end of Lago d’Orta.
Omegna
The lake is incredibly gorgeous, like the ones you see on all the pictures from Switzerland (except that this is Italy!). It is the westernmost lake of the famous northern Italian ones (Como, Garda, Maggiore, etc.). We walked to our bed and breakfast near the old Roman gate to check in, meeting the first of the sweet, hospitable Italians we would encounter throughout our entire trip. She checked the bus times for us and gave us some great suggestions of where to get dinner. We ended up at a pizza place in a park which we never would have found on our own (Al Parco). We each had a pizza topped with perfectly grilled vegetables. It was another first for the trip – the first of dozens of excellent meals to come.
Alpe Mastrolino
Our options on a Saturday for taking the bus to the start of our hike in Forno were at 6am or 2pm. We chose to spend some time in Omegna, since our first leg was just 5km. In the morning, we took the advice from the Omegna website and decided to hike up to the bench on Alpe Mastrolino. Little gnomes guided our way up the mountain. When we got to the top, there was an enormous bench with a ladder to climb up on to it. And also, an incredible view of the lake and Omegna. We sat on the bench for a good half hour enjoying the view.
Biscotti
Next on the list of things to do in Omegna was to try their local cookie, which is known by many different names depending on the bakery which makes them. After a few wrong turns we found the cutest bakery and the chocolate sandwich cookies (to be enjoyed the following day on our hike!).
GTA Day 0 – Forno to Campello Monti – 5.4km
When we got on the bus at 2 o’clock, I tried to pay the driver several times for the ticket but he was always like, “no, we’re going now.” So, in the end, I’m not sure what, if anything, the ride from Omegna to Forno costs. The whole bus ride, I could hardly keep my mouth closed. The views were jaw-dropping. Little did I know that this was the slightest preview of what was to come on our hike.
Forno
In Forno, we briefly visited the “museum” there. Most of the wooden spoons in Italy are made in Forno. An older man, who used to practice woodworking also in the Black Forest has a small shop and museum which you can visit. He is apparently very entertaining if you speak Italian or German, but we didn’t stay long enough to find out. The trail was calling us!
Zubringer
The hike from Forno to Campello Monti is just a trail to bring you to the GTA (a “Zubringer” in German or “Zuweg”). I couldn’t stop saying how beautiful it was. There was the river below us, as in the bus ride, and small waterfalls and tributaries along the way. We passed some groups of houses which all had roofs made out of flat stones. Halfway, in Piana di Forno, we stopped for a break. The hike was mostly in the forest so the hot sun hadn’t been beating on us. We rested at a playground overlooking the valley.
Campello Monti
Campello Monti was unbelievable when we reached it! There were several stone houses all clustered together around tight alleys and steep staircases. We stayed at Albergue Nigritella, which was absolutely adorable. Maja and I had a room to ourselves and shared the bathroom with the whole floor. There was an Italian couple and a solo Italian man also staying there that night. He was also hiking the GTA, but in reverse, and the only non-German-speaking person I met to be on this trail.
Dinner
Dinner was incredible. Before we started, we mentioned to the waiter that we are vegetarian and if it will be ok. He says that it’ll be fine, and then yells towards the kitchen, “mama, le regazze sono vegetariane!” – Mama, the girls are vegetarians! It was a little embarrassing and hilarious all at once.
The Antipasti
I regret not taking a picture of our antipasti plate at the beginning because it was so beautiful. We had fresh tomatoes with pesto and arugula, potato salad, pickled vegetable salad, paper thin slices of zucchini topped with shredded parmesan, two different slices of cheese – one topped with flower petals and the other with apricot jam, grilled eggplant slices, and kidney beans. It was absolutely incredible.
Next came a platter of rigatoni with tomato sauce to share, and then we were brought cooked sweet carrots. There was an offer of dessert, but we were already so full that we didn’t take any. Which was a definite mistake. The following nights, I would try to eat as much of anything and everything which was offered. It was always all so delicious.
GTA Day 1 – Campello Monti to Rimella/Chiesa – 8.8km
The morning started with a climb out of Campello Monti. We saw a young shepherd taking the goats out with the dogs. It was cool to watch them work, but I really just couldn’t wait to be further away. The dogs are really protective of the herds and you should avoid them and the livestock as much as possible. The shepherd kept waiting for us to be further on before continuing with his animals. But we kept passing so many cute waterfalls that I had to take pictures of!
Ze Germans are Hiking
After a brief time, we passed a German family that I had seen the day before at the Posto Tappa in Campello Monti. I would learn that the GTA is practically only hiked by Germans, so there will be no need for such a descriptor of future hikers moving onwards. Each section of the hike has a designated Posto Tappa for thru-hikers. Often it is housed in the former school of the village, since most of the villages are not lived in year round anymore, but just in the summer months. We came across an Italian (day-)hiker with two dogs which each had bells like the sheep. He asked, “You’re not afraid of these wolves?” prepared to leash them as we got closer.
Bochetta di Rimella
As we hiked up the mountain, the view just got more and more amazing. We then reached the Bochetta di Rimella (or Bochetta di Campello, depending on the direction you are coming from) and could see into the next valley. There was a small cross there, even though it is just a pass, and a summit book. It was completely full, but I found a little space to scribble in our names, “GTA,” and the date. A man arrived from the other side and I briefly spoke to him in Italian. He said he lived in Rimella all year around and that it’s only a problem when it snows a lot. Two years prior they had been snowed in for three days. He then replaced the summit book I had just written in with a new one. The old one had lasted just a year. Maja was disappointed that no one would read our names in the book, but now it was on its way back down the mountain to be archived.
Posa dei Morti
We passed several “hamlets” along the way. They were similar to the homes in Campello Monti, stone houses with stone roofs. The GTA led into the woods and we stopped at Posa dei Morti for a break. This leg of the trail is called “the way of the corpse-carriers.” Previouly, Campello Monti did not have its own cemetery and the dead had to be carried over the mountain to Rimella to be buried. The corpse-carriers would take a break at this spot and pass the bodies over to the pastor of Rimella here. This tradition ended in 1550 when Campello Monti got its own cemetery. FIVE HUNDRED YEARS AGO and it is still called the way of the corpse-carriers!
Rimella
The rest of the day passed by in a flash. Either because we were having so much fun or because we were really done so early. We arrived in Rimella at 1:30 in the afternoon. That weekend there was a big celebration happening in the town. In the morning, representatives gave speeches on the square and a mass was held in the church. The celebration lunch was held at our accommodation (Albergo Fontana), which was not yet over. The woman there gave us the only room which was ready, very concerned that we would not be satisfied with it, and offered us a sandwich if we wanted. We stupidly declined. Dinner would be at 8pm.
Because of the celebration, the town museum was open. Everything was in Italian, but there was also a leaflet in German. The museum showed traditional dress, had a small nature collection, and explained about the emigration from the region. Rimella is actually group of several small clusters of homes. We just explored the one called Chiesa and enjoyed sitting in the sun on the panorama terrace of our hotel.
The Antipasti
Dinner was worth the wait because it was possibly my favorite dinner of the entire trip. At first, we were brought small plates with goat cheese and arugula. There were three different cheeses with three different toppings. Then another small plate came out with three fried items – egg with veggies, apples, and a sweet cheese. After this round, our host began to come around with a big bowl or dish of the next item and ask you if you wanted some. “Do you want some more?” she always asked after the first spoonful. The first dish contained a mix of red beans and corn. Then came slices of grilled eggplant. Lastly came the most delicious part of the antipasti – a slice of eggplant rolled up with spinach, tomato, and some incredibly yummy, melted cheese inside.
More dinner
That was just the antipasti! There was also dinner! First, a plate full of pasta with tomato sauce. Next came a bowl of risotto with mushrooms. A third dish came around with oven-baked carrots and potatoes. If you ate meat, there was also a slice of roast for you. To digest, there was a wedge of caramelized fennel. Are you still hungry? Because now you can choose to have apple cake, gelato with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, or fresh blueberries, panna cotta, or lemon cake. And of course, there’s grappa and coffee to round things out. It was nearly 10pm, but I was so full I needed a short walk before I could go to sleep.
GTA Day 2 – Rimella to Alpe Baranca – 12.4 km
Not only was this the best dinner, but probably the best breakfast too. There were several kinds of cakes, croissants, fresh fruit, and all of the usual German breakfast fixings (rolls, meat, cheese, jam, müsli, yogurt…). She even told us we could pack a lunch to take with us. When we paid for our stay, she didn’t charge us for the wine at dinner because we were vegetarians. We paid 110€ for our own room with a bathroom, dinner, and breakfast! This was the average cost for any night on the trail.
Roncaccio
Since the hike ended so early on our first day, we took our sweet time today. We began hiking to Roncaccio. Following the road in Rimella, we went further into the valley to cross the river and then back up the other side through the forest. In Roncaccio we stopped at the church to enjoy the view of Rimella. I took pictures of some of the abandoned-looking houses to send to C. I always say, “it only needs a little love, but isn’t it just perfect?” Other houses in the village had scaffolding and were already in the process of getting some TLC. A woman passed us at the church walking her dog. No other hikers in sight.
The Danger of Hiking in Germany: Animals
We left Roncaccio and passed a few other, even smaller villages. In one, a dog began barking at us so much, the owner came to the door to see what was going on. He said that he and his wife live there until mid-September and not year round. He asked us about the route we were taking, nodding in recognition each time I named another stop on our trail.
Hiking Signs You Should Know when Hiking in Germany
For a while we hiked in the woods, continuing to climb in altitude until we came to a meadow. There, we saw the woman with the dog again, now returning to Roncaccio with two other men in tow. The village at the top of the meadow was La Res. When we reached the houses there, we could peer over into the next valley and see what lay ahead of us. This would become something I would look forward to each day on the trail. It is amazing to have climbed a big ascent and then suddenly see a whole new world behind the one you just climbed out of.
How to Take Your Bike on the Train in Germany
The GTA went through a horse’s pasture and we carefully walked around him to a spot to take a break. We speculated where exactly the trail would take us and between which ridges lay our stop for the night, the Alpe Baranca. We descended into the valley, passed through Belvedere, and followed the road to La Piana. In one field, there were so many grasshoppers jumping around, like they were trying to escape from underneath each step. Many of them were bright green with black markings, which I had never seen before.
Waterfall break
The trail followed a stream uphill, crossing many tributaries which ran down the mountain. We crossed bridges and listened to the rush of the cascading waterfalls. It was strenuous gaining so much altitude at the end of the day, but the ever improving view was worth it. Soon we were quite close to the river. Near Santa Maria, we saw an incredible waterfall. We decided to take a break next to it and enjoy a nice long lunch there. The crystal clear water was so beautiful, it was tempting to go for a swim. I took off my shoes and socks and plunged my feet into the icy cold water. That was enough to deter me from going in any further!
In Santa Maria there is a parking lot where the road ends. We began to see many Italian day hikers come down the mountain. It felt like hours since we had even seen other people. The trail was getting steeper here, but the views made it less difficult.
Alpe Baranca
A tinkling of bells greeted us as we got closer to Alpe Baranca – cows and sheep were grazing. Near the house, a donkey and horse were also grazing. The dog, Julio, seemed to be more interested in antagonizing the horse than protecting it. An elderly woman welcomed us and showed us the beds upstairs. It was like a real mountain hut – my first experience! There were three rooms, one leading into another with about six cots in each. The beds had a pillow and a big blanket on the end. This was pretty standard in all of the Posto Tappas we stayed in.
Other thru-hikers
Three others who had been there when we arrived, left shortly thereafter. We were the first thru-hikers to arrive. Slowly others began to show up; we would be 10 in all the woman said. There were two couples from the south of Germany, another pair from Frankfurt, an Austrian man hiking in the opposite direction, and a woman from Munich. The pair from Frankfurt had also been with us the previous night in Rimella. Almost everyone had begun at the beginning, unlike Maja and I. Nine of us would end up staying in the same accommodations in some form for the rest of the trip. During the day we would leapfrog as some headed out earlier or took longer breaks.
Dinner at the Alpe Baranca
Dinner was served family style on the main floor on two wooden tables with 5 chairs each. There was salad and several kinds of cheeses, including a delicious homemade fresh ricotta, cold cuts, and bread to start. Spaghetti and tomato sauce for everyone, tripe soup and goulash for the meat eaters. For dessert there was a lemon tarte. Mind you, we left the road back in Santa Maria. There is no cable car or mechanism to bring food up. The woman said a helicopter comes twice a season to drop off food and some of it arrives by backpack!
Just the beginning of the GTA
I couldn’t believe I experienced all of this in just two days on the GTA! In total we spent a week on the trail and we cannot wait for the next trip there. More about this trip coming soon!