Savogno, from Castasegna

Access

From Milan, take state road 36 to Lecco/Colico, continue to Chiavenna and then St. Moritz. As soon as you cross the border at Castasegna you leave your car in the car park above the village.

Description

From the top of the village of Castasegna, take the narrow road northwards towards Soglio. After a few hundred metres, a signpost indicates the mule track to the left on a steep ascent towards Dasciun. We thus enter a dense chestnut grove, arriving at a hut where our gaze begins to sweep over the entire Rhaetian chain. In front of us appears the Bondasca valley with its marvellous cirque of north walls surrounding it, the Sciora group, the Cengalo, the Pizzi Gemelli and the Badile. We continue to the left of the hut, then paying attention to a marker that indicates a track that climbs back up into the woods; we then follow the path that has no markers but is obvious in the direction until we come out at the Dasciun pasture (1100 m, 1h00'). 

We follow the signpost for Savogno. We then begin an undulating section with short uphill and downhill ramps through a beautiful spruce forest until we reach the ford of the stream that marks the border. We enter Italy! and still on an undulating route we reach the large Somasaccia pastureland. Here, the first building one encounters is the old barracks guarding the border that has just been crossed. We completely cross the splendid pastureland dotted with renovated huts, taking care to descend to the low pastures along a track to the left. On a stone we find, written in miniature, an indication. Before starting the steep descent, it is advisable to leave the path and carefully look out over the smooth rocks overlooking the lake of Villa di Chiavenna (2h15'). Having retraced our steps, we begin the descent. On a comfortable if steep mule track we reach the bridge over the stream where the junction Savogno-Villa di Chiavenna is indicated. Instead of taking the direct path to Savogno we continue our descent as far as the houses of Villa di Chiavenna, coming out in the upper part of the village full of crotti and historic buildings. When we reach the asphalt road, we follow the signs to the right and after a few hundred metres we find the sign indicating Savogno again (3h15').

We take the lovely path, which turns into a dirt road for a stretch and then becomes a path again, which leads between the remains of dry stone walls. Alternating short uphill stretches with others on the flat and ignoring the traces, some of which are boiled, that descend towards the bottom of the valley, and the signpost for Zernone, we rise until we reach the picturesque village of Savogno (4h 30'). 

Savogno alone would merit an excursion, it is one of the few inhabited villages without roads, connected to the valley floor by a cableway and a daring mule track, 2887 steps that will see us protagonists on the descent. It is rich in artistic testimonies, among which the church, the wooden galleries and the old sawmill with water mill just behind the refuge towards Dasile deserve a mention. Our route now includes a descent on the famous 2887 steps that, with narrow, steep hairpin bends, takes us close to the famous Acquafraggia waterfalls, but before reaching the bottom, it is worth visiting, just over halfway down, the old press, 300 years old and disused at the beginning of the 20th century, still in excellent condition. At some characteristic tanks, turn left for a few dozen metres to the almost completely restored building. All that remains now is to walk down the remaining steps to admire the waterfalls, listed by the Lombardy region as a natural monument, already praised for their beauty by Leonardo da Vinci centuries ago.