Maggiatal

The Maggia valley is the largest valley in Ticino and is known for its crystal-clear, emerald-green river water, stone mountain villages and waterfalls. Its landmark is the waterfall of Foroglio. Natural pools along the Maggia invite swimming in summer, though the water stays cold.

Highlights

• Emerald-green, clear river water
• Waterfall of Foroglio
• Stone mountain villages and rustici
• Natural bathing spots along the Maggia

Good to know

Practical info

Background & History

The Maggia valley is among the wildest and most beautiful valleys of Ticino, a valley framed by mighty granite walls, whose river, the Maggia, winds over rock slabs polished smooth and through deep pools of emerald-green water. For centuries the people here lived in spare self-sufficiency, and many valley dwellers emigrated overseas in their hardship, above all to California and Australia, until emigration noticeably depopulated the quiet valley, a fate shared by many remote Alpine valleys.

Its secluded side valley, the Val Bavona, is regarded as one of the most impressive valleys of Switzerland: between soaring granite slabs and chestnut forests crouch tiny stone hamlets, whose houses are in part built beneath huge boulders that once fell from the walls. For a long time the Val Bavona remained entirely without a permanent electricity connection, a deliberately preserved sign of its originality. The famous stone bridges and villages such as Foroglio with its mighty waterfall tell of an architecture grown entirely from the stone of the valley, and the chestnut was for centuries the daily bread of the valley dwellers. On hot days bathers now make their way to the emerald-green pools of the Maggia, whose smoothly polished rocks invite a leap into the cool water. So the Maggia valley preserves an archaic beauty and the memory of a hard mountain-farming life.