Across four hills between Valsesia, The Aosta Valley and Biella, discovering alpine lakes, streams and unforgettable panoramas.

Access and parking

From Biella, reach Piedicavallo along the SP 100 road (18 km). Before entering the village, take the ring road on the left and reach the large car park near the Ravere Park (1049 m).

Route

This is a long and therefore tiring route, but one of the most beautiful in the Biella Mountains. Green pastures furrowed by babbling brooks will repay you for your efforts; in July-August, the flowering of feathers at the Pian di Loo and Lamaccia lakes is spectacular.

From the car park, walk up to the last carriageway square in Piedicavallo. Leaving the mule track to the left for Lago della Vecchia, go straight up following the widest path and, after passing between the houses, after a last stretch slightly downhill, cross an iron and wooden bridge. Following the signs (E 60 - Rifugio Rivetti), turn left and you will soon cross the main mule track (Via Mologna). Follow it, leaving the white mill building on the right and passing a small wooden bridge, and enter the wood. Continue along the mule track between sporadic houses and low walls. Keep to the right of the stream as you ascend until you reach the Upper Anval Alp (1660 m). Leave the old mule track to the left for the Colle della Mologna Piccola and continue following the signs for the Rivetti hut (E 60). The path climbs steeply and crosses the Mologna stream. Afterwards, a series of hairpin bends takes you to the Alpe Lavazzey huts (2043 m). Continue along the path and in a short time you reach the Rivetti refuge where you can spend the night (2 hours 30 minutes from Piedicavallo).

Continue along the path behind the refuge without any possibility of error towards the Colle della Mologna Grande (first pass), reaching it in about 30 minutes. First slightly downhill and then with a pleasant ascent and descent, continue leaving on the left several paths that descend into the Gressoney valley. In this section, you will pass a rocky wall from which a trickle of water gushes out and which is renowned for its echo (donkey fountain) and then Colle Del Lazoney pass (2387m - second pass). Continue until you reach a wide green basin. At the fork, keep to the right in the direction of the Colle del Loo pass (third pass), which is soon reached. To the left you would descend into the Gressoney valley, while going straight on you would reach the Maccagno pass on the border with Valsesia.

From the Colle del Loo pass (2,452 m), descend along the path until you reach the Prato alpine pasture (2,198 m), always staying close to the bottom of the valley. The path to follow is no. 251. Continue to Lake Lamaccia (1918 m) and then to Alpe Toso (1649 m); there is a bivouac at this alp that can be used as a shelter in case of emergency. At Alpe Toso, turn sharp right to cross the Sorba stream and climb up to the Croso pass along path no. 253. From the pass, a steep path descends towards the valley floor following the main E70 trail until you reach the junction that leads left to the Bo peak. Go straight on towards Piedicavallo, crossing first a series of alpine pastures and then a last wooded stretch, to reach the hamlet of Montesinaro. When you reach the tarmac road that still leads to Piedicavallo, you can keep to the right and take the old road to Piedicavallo (Via Filippo Corridoni), which crosses the lovely hamlet and leads to the cemetery. From here, cross the village and return to the car park from which you started.

Consider 2 hours 30 minutes for the first day - 5 hours 30 minutes for the second.

A walker with good training can cover the route in a day.