Alpe Salèi, Ticino 🇨🇭

October, 2025

Ticino, the Southern part of Switzerland, has many good traits to offer, hence it’s popularity for Swiss nationals as well as foreigners.

The mix of favorable weather throughout the year, a culture mix of Swiss German accountability and Ticinese style Italian dolce far niente.

The most visited time is still during the summer months, but I definitely prefer the quieter time from late October until before Easter. That’s the time when the sun is low, putting that magical glow of light on the surface of Lago Maggiore, life seems to run on a slower pace and Italian is the most heard language.

In general there are so many beautiful placed to be visited and discovered away from the hot-spots Lugano, Locarno and Ascona. 

Valle Onsernone

This valley is a side valley to the more know Cento Valli. It’s much quieter and sees less visitors as it has no outlet towards Italy unlike its bigger sister. Especially during the winter there are very few people still living in the valley all year long. Besides many things to discover the flour mill powered by a big water reel is certainly something original. Luckily there are still a few restaurants and cafés open in the fall to enjoy in iconic buildings.

Alpe Salèi

This alp, which is on a high plateau above the valley, can be reached via a tiny cable car, an experience by itself. Once up, it offers a wide variety of walks and hikes from a few minutes to several hours. 

The beautiful lake is only about 45 minutes on a partially steep path away and offers a spectacular setting. Clear, crisp water in a rough setting. This late fall day saw strong winds, clear views into the mountain ranges to the North plus a small glimpse all the way down to Lago Maggiore. As in many places in the Ticino there are very few people if at all and the serenity just adds to the special atmosphere.