Route 7 – Lugano (Paradiso) to Morcote

The lazy way

I was looking at possible stages to walk along route 7 trying to figure out where to walk today. Well, starting in Airolo wasn’t an option as it had snowed overnight. And it was much sunnier further south. So, I opted for the Monte San Salvatore stage. My hiking app suggested that you take the funicular up and that’s exactly what I did. I mean just look at the elevation profile – it’s straight up.

Source: Switzerland Mobility

I bought the ticket online as I only had 5 minutes to get from the train station to the funicular. Did the QR Code work? Of course not, but that’s a different story and I will check with them. They did let me ride up anyway. I just had to show them my ticket instead of walking right through.

I knew this was going to be steep, but I did not realize just how steep it was gonna be. Then about halfway up you change onto another funicular. That one is even steeper. Oh and when you get off the car make sure you don’t drop your water bottle. I tried that for you and I cannot recommend it.

There are too many viewpoints up at the top to count. I went up to the very top where there is a … *drumroll* … church! Yes, there is a church at the top and you can climb some stairs to get onto the roof of that church. That’s where you get the real 360° view. Amazing!

There’s a BUT though. I felt like I was standing on top of a toothpick. All around me there was a very steep drop. I started to feel really anxious and decided to start hiking down. The first part was as steep as expected and I didn’t see other people hiking down. What I did see were a lot of people running up. Yes, RUNNING up. Crazy people. I made sure I got out of their way.

All the way down to Ciona there was a steady stream of hikers on their way up. There was a parking lot and a bus stop there and that makes me think that’s where they all started their hikes. I don’t blame them. I mean, I took the funicular up myself.

Bus stop and parking lot in Ciona

I could be wrong but after this I only saw one other hiker for about two hours. I enjoyed those two hours immensely. It was also when I noticed that the Relive app had had some trouble finding a signal. But hey! It turned out okay. So, here is the video. Anyway, it went down a bit more and then back up for a bit. Excellent views and a beautiful leafless winter forest. It was very quiet, and I loved every minute of it.

I came out of the forest at some point and was ready to tackle that last stretch that I knew was gonna be strenuous. Had I read the stage description properly? No, of course not. I knew it would be a steep drop down to Morcote. I read something about 400 steps. What I didn’t read was that it said “Next is the steep descent over COUNTLESS winding stone steps of various shapes and sizes” before it continued to say that from the church of Santa Maria del Sasso “another 400 steps take you down to Morcote”. It said countless right there and I missed it.

Now for people with long legs those last 45 minutes that were basically just steps down a very steep hill could have been one step per step. For me it was two steps per step and sometimes even three. Plus, there was nothing to keep you from falling off the hill. I wasn’t gonna attempt one step per step and lose my balance. Nope! I mean the lake was straight down from where I was walking the entire time no railing or fence for most of it. And the drop was about 385m (that’s 1,263 ft) from 658m down to 273m above sea level.

There is an actual town straight down - pretty much righ below my feet.

I think my legs survived it. My right knee started swearing at me loudly after about 2,000 steps, but I think it’s gonna be okay. Of course, I’m now sitting on the same train for almost three hours, so who knows what it’s gonna be like when I have to change trains in Zurich. What I can almost guarantee is that I will take the escalators this time. Turns out it didn’t. My right knee was not amused. For those who know Zurich main station – it was two levels down all the way to track 32.

Oh and now that I have eaten some spaghetti with Emmental cheese, have I mentioned that we have palm trees in Switzerland? Here’s a prime example.

Palm trees in Morcote, Switzerland

And this is a bonus sign – made me giggle. It says “alert me” and is for cyclist or rather mountain bikers up there in the hills, I guess.

Hope you enjoyed coming along on this hike. It was a good one for me. And there’s my knee disagreeing … oh well. Have a lovely rest of your Wednesday everyone. See a bunch of you soon.