Alps Monte Rosa Macugnaga Italy things to do – Macugnaga, located at the foot of the majestic east face of Monte Rosa, the highest in the Alps on the Piedmont side (Northern Italy), is a corner of Paradise.
Its heart is characterized by the ancient and beautifully kept houses of the Walser people. Why are these Walser houses in Macugnaga? The Walser people decided to live in these places after having emigrated, starting from the year 1000, from the arid lands north of the Rhone River in Germany.
They brought their traditions, their culture, and the complex art of living in the mountain areas to Macugnaga. Here, everything smells of history; an example is the parish church, which dates back to the end of the eighteenth century.
Starting in 1700, a real gold rush began in Macugnaga. The Guglia gold mine can still be visited to learn about the harsh working conditions to which the miners were subjected.
Macugnaga is also good food. In typical restaurants, you can taste dishes of the local cuisine, and with such beautiful landscapes and clean air, everything can be enjoyed with the palate and with the eyes.
Top 7 Macugnaga Italy things to do
Here are some of the best things to see and do in Macugnaga:
- Walk starting from Piazza Municipio to see the beautiful landscape and the typical houses of the area.
- Chairlift to get to the Belvedere (2000 meters)
- Visit the mine
- Visit to the Walser house (Borca)
- Cable car to get to the Moro
- Hiking following the various trails
- Taste the typical food.
Mountain hiking
From Macugnaga you can set off for the Lake of the Fairies, an excursion for nature lovers that evokes many fantasies. It is a place very popular with families because for children living so in contact with greenery, animals and water is certainly very stimulating.
Even parents can have pleasant moments. However, many hikers prefer to continue their march in the many paths in the area.
An experience not to be missed is also the climb to the “Belvedere” resort, right in front of the Monte Rosa glacier. At the Belvedere, there is a refuge with an excellent adjoining restaurant where you can have delicious lunches and dinners served by friendly and prepared staff. You can climb to the Belvedere Refuge either along a mountain path or by taking a chairlift, both starting from the parking lot of Pecetto (Macugnaga).
At the beginning, the path is quite broad and climbs slowly, I think it could also be traveled by an off-road car, but then it gets narrow and climbs more quickly zig/zag, like a real mountain path. In some places, the path runs along rushing streams of water, with muddy and brown water indicating that it comes from the melting Monte Rosa glacier.
To get to the Belvedere, it takes an average 2 hours of regular walking and in any case, you get there quite tired but ready to enter the refuge to rest and quench your thirst and to prepare for the succulent lunch at the refuge restaurant.
Of course, those who do not want or are not able to climb on foot can take the more comfortable chairlift.
Chairlift to get to the Belvedere
From Macugnaga you can take the chairlift to arrive at a beautiful panoramic point where you can also find a restaurant directly overlooking this beautiful panorama. It is certainly one of the most beautiful things to do here in Macugnaga.
It is essential to know that the chairlift first arrives at an intermediate stop, Pecetto Alpe Burki, and then arrives at Pecetto Belvedere. We suggest that you go as far as the Belvedere and our references are all related to the Belvedere.
Pecetto Belvedere chairlift prices
Return chairlift cost to Pecetto Belvedere: 15 euros per adult, 65+ years 13 euros, 4-14 years 8 euros, 0-3 years 1 euro.
Prices were verified in August 2023.
Where to park to take the chairlift?
Right in front of the chairlift, you can find a parking space where you can park your car. Parking is paid.
Are there charging stations for electric cars in the parking lot in front of the chairlift?
Yes, the car park has a 100-kilowatt electric car charging station.
Story and description of the chairlift for Pecetto Belvedere
To help you better understand what the chairlift is like to get to Pecetto Belvedere, we will tell you about and describe our experience. We are talking about a day in August 2023, therefore in the summer.
It is the month of August and we are in the Pecetto car park (a fraction of the municipality of Macugnaga – VB at an altitude of 1365 m) on the slopes of Monte Rosa in the Alps. We have parked the car right in front of the chair lift that takes you to the Belvedere Refuge (almost 2000 m high). It should be noted that this parking lot in Pecetto is also equipped with a column for recharging 100-kilowatt electric cars.
We bought the ticket, costing about 15 EUR per adult, and sat comfortably on the chairlift to go up to the Belvedere in peace, enjoying the imposing panorama of the Alps all around us with the Monte Rosa massif (4634 m high) just in front of us.
As we go up with the chairlift, we see below us people who instead go up or down from the Belvedere on foot along a wide path that turns into a ski slope in winter. We also see other people making the route on mountain bikes from the chairlift.
Both we in the chairlift and the people who are climbing on foot must get to the intermediate stage of Alpe Burki (1613 m high) where the first stretch of the chairlift ends where we change for the second stretch up to the Belvedere (almost 2000 m high ).
Even the wide path, which in winter turns into a ski slope, ends at the intermediate stage and in its place begins a different mountain path, much narrower and more impervious which, zigzagging, takes you to the Belvedere and where you see far fewer mountain bikes. bike.
While we take the chairlift, we can see below and all around us scenarios that change continuously: meadows, woods, rocks and in the background the majestic Monte Rosa massif. In some stretches, we can also see a torrent that arises from the source of the “Fontanone”, which collects subglacial waters, but which according to a legend originates in the “Lost Valley”, beyond Monte Rosa. In winter this stream can become frozen and covered by snow, while in summer the muddy waters coming from the melting of the glaciers of Monte Rosa flow impetuously downstream, filling the silent surrounding environment with the sound of water and other natural noises, thus making you enjoy the liveliness of the mountain.
Every now and then the chairlift slows down or stops to allow the loading/unloading of goods that have to go to or from the Belvedere or to allow older people to get on or off the chairlift more comfortably and safer; you can also take advantage of these moments to observe the splendid landscapes around us more carefully and perhaps take some lovely photos and/or shoot some videos in peace.
If in the cold seasons, the white color of the snow or silver/grey of the ice predominates, in the warmer seasons the green color and then orange/brown take over: all relaxing colors that allow you to better tune in with nature.
As you go up with the chairlift, you can better see the various peaks of the Monte Rosa massif with their perennial glaciers (at least some of them, mixed with bare rock, which still manage to resist melting due to climate change).
In August, we go up dressed in a medium-heavy long-sleeved shirt or sweatshirt, while in winter it is absolutely advisable to wear warm clothes with a jacket on top and gloves and maybe even a lovely scarf because the cold is biting.
At the beginning of the second section of the chairlift, we also had the pleasure of passing over some cows that grazed freely, ringing their bells which filled the whole valley with their sound. The cows were calm and didn’t let themselves be disturbed by the chair lift; some were intent on eating the grass from the pasture, while others chewed on the freshly eaten grass; for them, it was as if the chairlift didn’t exist and they didn’t care at all that we observed them.
In the second section, the chairlift alternates between rapidly ascending sections where it passes through woods made up of mountain pines and larch trees with flatter sections where it crosses open spaces of green meadows and from where it is possible to admire better the rocks of the east wall of Monte Rosa mixed with the ice left over from the glaciers, with that of the Belvedere in the foreground.
At the end of the second stretch of the chairlift, you arrive right in front of the Belvedere Refuge, at an altitude of 1932 m, which also includes a restaurant where you can taste delicious dishes and excellent wines, all eaten outdoors on a large balcony/terrace from where you can admire the Belvedere glacier and all the grandeur of the Rosa mountain massif and other Alpine peaks. Of course, countless souvenir photos of us and the fantastic alpine landscape were taken here. We all agree that we are in an exceptional place and where we feel closer to nature and relaxed.
While we wait for lunchtime, we take an aperitif accompanied by an excellent original Piadina from Romagna.
Here are other dishes you can enjoy:
- risotto with mountain herbs and walnuts
- tuna rabbit
- thinly sliced tongue with salsa verde and salad
- polenta concia with mushrooms
- Homemade tagliolini with green peppers and rooster ragout
In conclusion, we can answer with knowledge of the facts: “Is it worth going up to the Belvedere, with the chairlift or on foot, and stopping to eat at the refuge of the same name?”
The answer is affirmative: it is worth going to the Belvedere Refuge by chairlift and then stopping there for lunch. In fact, this thing can offer you: sporting activity, impressive and beautiful panoramas, delicious food, and excellent wines. A day spent very well.
How to dress for the chairlift?
In summer, we can dress in a medium-heavy long-sleeved shirt or sweatshirt, while in winter it is absolutely advisable to wear warm clothes with a jacket on top and gloves and maybe even a lovely scarf because the cold is biting.
Visit the mine
Starting from 1700, a real gold rush began in Macugnaga. The Guglia gold mine can still be visited to learn about the harsh working conditions to which the miners were subjected.
Walser House
Macugnaga’s heart is characterized by the ancient and beautifully kept houses of the Walser people. Why are these Walser houses in Macugnaga? The Walser people decided to live in these places after having emigrated, starting from the year 1000, from the arid lands north of the Rhone River in Germany.
They brought their traditions, their culture, and the complex art of living in the mountain areas to Macugnaga. Here everything smells of history; an example is the parish church, which dates back to the end of the eighteenth century.
In Macugnaga there is indeed a house museum. Here’s where it is:
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