Switzerland Guide
Ticino
The Centovalli railway
Locarno is the eastern terminus of the wonderful Centovalli railway (www.centovalli.ch), one of Switzerland's most scenic rides. Little trains run by Locarno's FART company depart from beneath Locarno station into the spectacular valley – so named for its "hundred" side valleys – most of the time winding slowly on precarious bridges and viaducts above ravine-like depths (sit on the left for the best views). The area is renowned for its natural beauty, and with walking maps from Locarno tourist office (also available at www.procentovalli.ch) you could get out at any of the villages en route, pick up a trail and head off into the hills. There's no lack of grotti, cafés and simple budget accommodation.
Some 3km down the line, the train clanks over a graceful iron viaduct spanning the 75m gorge of the Isorno torrent. This was the scene of Switzerland's first-ever bungee-jump, in 1993, and remains a choice spot for leaping, on the outskirts of Intragna, its church marked by the highest steeple in Ticino (65m), built in 1775. An excellent walk starts from Intragna station, crossing a medieval bridge and joining a mule-track which climbs gently across the meadows to Rasa, an isolated stone-built hamlet with no road access, from where a tiny cable car swoops back over the valley down to Verdasio station. From Verdasio, another cable car scales the opposite, northern valley wall to Monte Comino, 600m above (www.comino.ch); from here, you could follow a two-hour circuit of the summit, or a more taxing 6km path back to Intragna.
After Verdasio, the train rolls on through dense chestnut forests to the quiet border village of Cámedo (passport needed) and on through the rustic villages of the Italian Valle Vigezzo for the climb to Santa Maria Maggiore, the highest point of the line (830m). The terminus lies 20km on, at the bustling valley-floor Italian town of Domodossola.