From Ponte del Salti and Verzasca Dam with Love!

Are you still in the habit of sending postcards from your trips? For us, despite our love for photography yet, it’s only till we received a postcard from a friend abroad that we revived this classic gesture when travelling abroad. And soon we started thinking of creating our own postcards! Not all views are suitable for postcards, but Ponte del Salti in the stunning village of Lavertezzo-Valle Verzasca is “born” for that! And here’s our postcard filled with a story of our wonderful Valle Verzasca hiking trip along the river.   Ponte dei Salti, the most scenic bridge in Valle Verzasca Our starting point was the romantic village of Lavertezzo with its characteristic stone houses and chapel. It’s a perfect spot to start an unmatchable Valle Verzasca hiking tour exploring the rural and unspoilt Valle Verzasca and its attached tiny villages. Just next to the village is Ponte dei Salti. This old double-arched stone bridge, stretching over the emerald green waters of Verzasca river, is like something out of a fairy tale! On a warm spring or summer day you can stay hours contemplating on the picturesque Ponte dei Salti and watch some of the brave hikers jump few meters into the chilling waters. Hiking in Valle Verzasca, go with the flow Soon the flowing waters called upon us to start the hike simply following the trail through the trees shoring the river, and leaving the enchanting Ponte dei Salti. Every now the river seduced us to get back to its waters and to jump from a stone to another. The surrounding scenery is simply enchanting. The magical waters of the Verzasca river as it runs through the rocks creates tiny waterfalls and swimming pools of clear crystals surrounded by mini shores for sunbathing. The river has plenty of these “natural” jacuzzi’s to enjoy. If you continue going ahead you might have a swimming pool for your own! Hard to resist the temptation of dipping in!   Verzasca hiking can be very tempting. Although you can stop at any point during the hike along the valley but 4hrs ahead you can reach Sonogno, the last village of the Verzasca Valley. A village full of character, so if you can’t reach it on foot, make sure you visit it by car. It homes plenty of stone houses and typical alleys. The ancient oven of the village is still used today, and in the “Casa della lana” (wool center) the wool is carded and dyed according to the historic tradition. You can also visit the Museo Val Verzasca located in the ex-Genardini residential building. Verzasca Dam, where James Bond defied death! All through the valley and villages there are plenty of postcards spots to immortalize your trip! But if you think that’s all, you are mistaken! Back few kilometers before Lavertezzo is Verzasca Dam, known to the world for James Bond’s death-defying jump in the opening scene of “GoldenEye”. The 220-meter Verzasca Dam is privileged with being one of the highest in Europe. If you are looking for an ultimate adrenalin push, the Verzasca Dam bungee jump or also known as “007 Bungee Jump”- lasts exactly 7.5 seconds and you can feel the James Bond rush yourself! Verzasca Dam bungee jump is not for the soft hearted, just watching the brave do it causes the heart to pump faster! A walk along the Verzasca Dam is highly recommended, if you want to skip the Verzasca Dam bungee jump. How to get to Valle Verzasca, Ponte dei Salti and Verzasca Dam There is a PostBus #321 that connects Locarno with Lavertezzo in 42 minutes. It also stops at the Verzasca Dam. Same bus can take you as far as Sonogno. If you are traveling by car it will take you 1h to reach Lavertezzo & Ponte dei Salti from Lugano. Count 30 minutes to get there from Locarno center.