Mountain trips from Stresa: Mount Rosa, the village of Macugnaga and the Guia Gold Mine. Anzasca Valley - Ossola. Off-the-beaten-track itineraries and day-tours from lake Maggiore. Genuine villages in the Italian Alps

- MACUGNAGA AND MOUNT ROSA

On top of the mountain valley called Anzasca, whose name comes from river Anza which runs there, is the second highest mountain in the Alps and in western Europe: the imposing Mount Rosa, 15 203 feet high.

This gigantic massif rises up unexpectedly while driving up through the valley that is dominated by Mount Rosa's eastern face, the most special one, that corresponds to the sole mountain face in the Alps that can be compared to a Himalayan face. Mount Rosa overlooks the untouched village of Macugnaga that was colonized in the 13th century by the Walser people, arrived at the foot of Mount Rosa from the near Switzerland (same origin as Formazza Valley). Macugnaga, whose Walser name is Z'Makana, is a genuine mountain village that hasn't been affected by tourism and that keeps its ancient charm intact. The "Dorf" is the original Walser part of Macugnaga where the old oven used by the community to bake bread is still visible along with traditional wooden houses.

In the village is the "Walser Museum" dedicated to the skillful people that founded this alpine village.

Another interesting Museum is the Guia Gold Mine.

In fact, in Anzasca Valley there are many gold mines that were probably already known to the Romans and perhaps even to the Celts. Gold mining was a very important activity for this poor valley in the past and the local mines were exploited for many centuries as far as 1961 when they were closed as the process of separating gold from other minerals had become too expensive and it was not worth it anymore. The Guia Gold Mine offers the opportunity to see how a gold mine looks like and to understand how dangerous and hard the work was for thousands of gold miners employed there.

SUGGESTED FULL-DAY ITINERARY

In the morning we meet at your hotel. We drive to the village of Macugnaga. Visit to the "Dorf".

Free time for your lunch (in the village are several bars and restaurants where you can taste local specialities). In the afternoon visit to the gold mine.

Return to your holiday accommodation

NOTES

• Proper footwear and suitable clothing for a mountain trip are recommended

• The 800-metre walk through the gold mine is on flat ground

• In summer there's a cable car operating between the village and Mount Moro (10 000 feet high)

• In summer there's a chairlift operating between the village and Belvedere (6 000 feet high), Mount Rosa's big glacier