The Lake Nero in Maira Valley
- Travelling time: 3h
- Difficulty: Easy
- Why we love it: Because of the green landscapes and charming mountain
- Length: 11 km
- Total Elevation Gain: 650 m
- Way to travel: By foot
- Cost: 0 €
- Our Advice: Perfect for summer and spring
Maira Valley is a charming and unspoiled place in the province of Cuneo, that, in each season, can offer magnificent and unforgettable scenery. Today I describe you a simple route, to go on a beautiful sunny summer day. Our destination is Lake Nero, a small body of water, embedded in an enchanting setting, surrounded by green banks, larch and stone.
We are close to the territories of the tragedy of 30 January 1937 when an avalanche took the lives of 23 young Alpine. With a deviation of about ten minutes you can reach the plaque erected in their memory.
You can reach the grange Selvest with the car and then park it in the dirt road in front of it. From here our short adventure begins. We cross the wooden bridge over the river, then turn right, towards the larch forest. Afterwards we follow the country road that goes through several twists and turns to the slopes of Mount Bert; from here a long cross leads us to the grange Culausa which offers a beautiful view. The track ends and here begins a path that invites us to delve into the larch forest.
We continue to climb, to our right we can see a small waterfall, and we reach an altitude of 2030m, where there is the junction for Lake Nero. We follow the clear guidance therefore, going to the left. At this point the path becomes quite steep. Behind us theare are yhe plateau Gardetta and Mount Cassorso. We reach the highest point (2319 m) of this walk where, on a green collar, a tiny pond awaits us. From here the itinerary slopes gently towards Lake Nero, located on a beautiful valley just a few minutes from us. The light color of the water meets the green of the mountain, creating an enchanting setting.
To return, we head to the outlet where it begins a trail that goes up the north shore and then turn onto a small plateau with larches. We begin our descent, which does not present great difficulties. We reach the grange Chiacarloso that, in summer, is surrounded by beautiful pink flowers. From here we head towards the valley Valletta and after 600m we find the main road. Turn left until you reach the grange Colombero sottano (1698 m). A little further on, we pass the bridge over the stream of Valletta and follow the path that takes us to the park in the Grangia Selvest.
The perfect starting point for this and all other routes in Maira Valley is the Albergo Diffuso Borgata Sagna Rotonda, an eco-village in the pristine nature of the Piedmont mountains.
Author: Chiara Marras
All photos via cuneotrekking.com
