Lago di Cama: the climb to the hidden bowl of the Mesolcina

Val Cama opens on the right-hand side of the Mesolcina, the valley everyone drives through on the motorway towards San Bernardino without ever stopping. At its head, at 1,267 m, sits a lake in a bowl of woods and granite, with a hut on the shore: you can only get there on foot, which is why it has stayed as it is.

The route

From Cama we climb the mule track farmers used to drive their animals up to the alp: chestnut wood, then beech, then larch, the sound of the stream always alongside.

At the top the Lago di Cama bowl opens out, with the hut and pastures around it. The walk round the lake is short and worth the extra hour before heading down.

Who it's for

• anyone who wants a real climb, the kind you feel in your legs
• anyone after a lake with no road and therefore nobody there
• dog owners

Good to know

It is almost nine hundred metres of ascent: not a stroll, you need some fitness. The hut is open in summer and at weekends in season: lunch optional, to be booked. It is hot down low even in October, and not up top: dress in layers.

You are crossing into Switzerland

A valid ID in your pocket, not in your rucksack: Switzerland is not in the European Union and border checks do happen.

Mountain rescue is charged for: in Switzerland the helicopter is billed to the person who calls it. Guiddy accident insurance is included, but a Rega card (about €40 a year) or a policy covering rescue costs in Switzerland is what we suggest to everyone.

Swiss francs: huts and cable cars almost always take cards, but a few valley huts are still cash only. The European health card is valid in Switzerland for emergency care.

If your dog comes along: Switzerland requires a microchip, an EU pet passport and a valid rabies vaccination, given at least 21 days beforehand. Without them the dog is turned back at the border.

Getting there

A9 to Bellinzona, then the San Bernardino motorway to the Cama exit: one hour forty from the ring road.

By car you need the Swiss motorway vignette (CHF 40, valid for the calendar year) if you use the motorway: you buy it at the border, at petrol stations near the crossing, or online.