Hiking through the gorge of Orrido di Bellano on Lake Como… After a week in Umbria and its tropical temperatures of well over forty degrees (Italy is groaning under a heat wave), we hope it may cool down a bit during the second part of the holiday on Lake Como. And look, our weather app announces a variable cloudy day with showers today… So we can’t plan much today and we vote unanimously in favor of sightseeing from the car!
Eros Ramazotti has just started his second song when he is already drowned out by thick raindrops that splash on the car. The floodgates of heaven remain open all morning. It only becomes more or less dry when we reach the village of Bellano. A strong breeze blows across Lake Como. Clouds are gathering. The masts of the boats in the harbor dance back and forth. There’s something dramatic and ominous about it.
A strong breeze blows across Lake Como. Clouds are gathering. The masts of the boats dance back and forth. There's something dramatic and ominous about it.
Despite the bad weather, we would still like to visit Orrido di Bellano… The Orrido di Bellano is a deep gorge that was carved over 15 million years by the meltwater of the river Pioverna. It will be natural beauty in combination with natural power…
You can walk into the gorge on narrow hiking trails that are attached to the rocks. Below, the Pioverna plunges into Lake Como past waterfalls and narrow caves. Depending on the season, the water level drops and rises. The power of the water used to be used to power spinning mills. You know, Lake Como and its silk industry… Today the water still powers two hydroelectric power plants.
The narrow path winds you in fifteen minutes to the end point. Despite the thick gray clouds above our heads, we can well imagine how the gorge with the right light from the sun’s rays would form a beautiful color palette with the blue of the water, the rocks and the green of the mosses that grow.
Just before we turn back, another strong thunderstorm passes over the gorge. We have to take shelter and watch the Pioverna swell and rush through the gorge with a roar. If you are in the area, a visit to Orrido di Bellano is more than worth it!
The last photo is too much: the lens cap of the camera falls, rolls just between two wooden planks into the abyss and is mercilessly swallowed by the Pioverna. Well, a visit to Orrido di Bellano costs just a little more than the four euros for an entrance ticket.
