Excursions – Basel – Chiasso
ViaGottardo
What would the Gotthard be without its access routes? The ViaGottardo reaches the central Alpine pass from Chiasso in the south, from Schaffhausen in the northeast and from Basel in the northwest of Switzerland. There are many traces of these transport links to discover along the way.
Switzerland: 20 stages / Ticino: 6 stages / Bellinzona – Lugano – Chiasso: 5 stages
The main route of the ViaGottardo followed the route from Basel over the Unteren Hauenstein and the Gotthardpass to Milan that was opened at the beginning of the 13th century. Its economic importance and ideological elevation as the lifeline of an independent Switzerland, make it an informative route on which to journey through the history and mythology of the country.
Along the way, a cross-section of Swiss settlements and cultural landscapes open out in such neatness that they could not be hiked in any other way. Since time immemorial, the Jura and Mitteland as transport-landscapes have stood in the shadow of those highly symbolic monuments of the Gotthard transit: the Teufelsbrücke (Devil's Bridge) embodies the momentous opening-up of Central Switzerland in the Middle Ages; the Tremolastrasse, the groundbreaking engineered road through the Alps; the Gotthard Railway, the triumph of industrialization; the motorway tunnel, symbol of mass motorization and sunny holiday dreams and the NEAT, a future-oriented transfer of transit traffic from road to rail.
Length
330 km
Height difference
Basel – Chiasso: 11000 m
Chiasso – Basel: 11500 m
Show height profile
Requirements
medium
Conditions
difficult
-
Related Excursions
-
Notes
Guides / Maps
Show all -
Signalization
Related activities
-
Excursions
Stage 16: Bellinzona – Tesserete
An undulating route between the Isonetal valley and Gola di Lago before the Capriasca region.
-
Excursions
Stage 17: Tesserete – Lugano
Through the forests to the south of Tesserete, in the centre of which is the medieval Torre di Redde, you reach Oratorium San Bernardo with wonderful views of the Ceresio. The route leads between old walls and modern buildings down to Lugano.
-
Excursions
Stage 18: Lugano – Morcote
From Paradiso, the demanding but rewarding route climbs to San Salvatore, the best-known vantage point on the Luganersee lake.
-
Excursions
Stage 19: Morcote – Mendrisio
A short climb leads to the UNESCO World Heritage of Monte San Giorgio, the fossil mountain with its 300 million years of history.
-
Excursions
Stage 20: Mendrisio – Chiasso
A section that leads through the wonderful vineyard landscape around Mendrisio into contemporary Chiasso on the border of Italy.
