The Verzasca Valley in Switzerland southernmost canton, Ticino, is well-known for its crystal clear and emerald green water of the Verzasca River. 

There is a hiking trail along the river, which shows you the complete beauty of the Verzasca Valley and River. The hike can be adjusted for each level because on the way you will pass several villages where you can stopp and take the bus.

First stop: Cascata La Froda in Sonogno

We took the bus from our hotel in Vogorno to Sonogno. As a hotel or camping guest in Ticino, you can ask for the Ticino ticket, which allows you to use the public transport in Ticino for free, as well as it grants you a discount for many different tourist attractions. Really convenient!

From Vogorno it took around 45 minutes to Sonogno, the final destination of bus line 321. We left Sonogno, towards the waterfall La Froda. We immediately liked Sonogno. It is a very small and quiet village with many old historical houses and an absolutely astonishing church. It feels like you arrived in a different time when strolling through this little village.

From Sonogno, it takes about 10 minutes to the waterfall La Froda. Already from a distance, you can hear the roaring of the waterfall. Wow! The waterfall is really impressive – one reason for this is probably the snowmelt. We spent about an hour at the waterfall and took pictures from every possible angle. The amazing thing about the waterfall La Froda is not just its size, but also that there is a little bridge in front of the waterfalls, which allows an incredible view on the waterfall. If you walk over the bridge you can climb up a little hill from where you also have an extraordinary view on the waterfall. If you continue the same same way, you will get to hiking trail 74, which follows the Verzasca River.

Following the Verzasca River through the Verzasca Valley.

Verzasca means ‘green water’ and that is a perfect fitting. The colour of the river is simply amazing! We had to stop over and over again to look at the colour of the river. Sometimes, it was emerald green and then again dark blue! Absolutely fascinating. Shortly before Gerra we made a short lunch break on some big rock in the shades. Lunch breaks are definitely one of the best things when you hike.

Our destination for today is Lavertezzo, the walking time is about 3:45 hours. On the way from Sonogno to Lavertezzo the river is changing over and over. Sometimes it is a wide and slow running river, then again it is a narrow and wild river which runs through some huge rocks. Again, we made too many photo stops and started to run out of time to catch the last bus in Lavertezzo.

On the way, we passed beautiful little, historical villages, hiked over old stone bridges, hiked through old ruins and beautiful forests. At one point, we even had to take of our shoes to cross a river because the water level had risen due to the snowmelt.

All these little things, made this relatively easy and short hike absolutely incredible.

Postcard motive in Lavertezzo

After a couple of hours, we finally arrived in Lavertezzo. If you want, you can also follow the trail further on towards Locarno at the Lago Maggiore. But for us the hike ended in Lavertezzo because we heard that after Laverezzo the hike shouldn’t be as beautiful as before.

Lavertezzo is very famous for its old double arch bridge. Furthermore, this village is famous for the deep pools of the Verzasca river. This is a really special place! Sadly the weather had turn bad, so we weren’t in the mood to take a swim. But I can just imagine how amazing it has to be during summer to swim in the cold crystal clear water. 

Why should you visit the Verzasca Valley?

To be honest, there are plenty of reasons to visit the Verzasca Valley.

• The waterfall La Froda alone is already worth a visit.
• The plenty little villages which make you feel like you are travelling back in time.
• The hiking trail 74 is a very easy and diversified hike.
• The Verzasca River with it emerald green water itself is absolutely worth visiting.

Another beautiful hike in Ticino, we can highly recommend, goes through the Bavona valley.