Nature rules here on the pass from Sopra- to Sottoceneri, where forests alternate with pastureland. Tesserete is reached along old tracks and pack-animal trails.
20 km
Bellinzona – Tesserete: 950 m
Tesserete – Bellinzona: 1250 m
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easy
Bellinzona – Tesserete: 7 h 35'
Tesserete – Bellinzona: 7 h 10'
difficult
Hint
Beware: long section, please note overnight accommodation possibility in Isone
Arrival / return travel Bellinzona
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Arrival / return travel Tesserete, Stazione
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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
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.
From Paradiso, the demanding but rewarding route climbs to San Salvatore, the best-known vantage point on the Luganersee lake.
A short climb leads to the UNESCO World Heritage of Monte San Giorgio, the fossil mountain with its 300 million years of history.
A section that leads through the wonderful vineyard landscape around Mendrisio into contemporary Chiasso on the border of Italy.