Valle Onsernone: Comologno, Spruga and the valley of straw

The Onsernone is the narrowest, darkest valley in Ticino, and for two centuries it lived by plaiting rye straw: hats and bags that left here for Milan and Paris. Today it is an almost empty valley, with the nineteenth-century merchants' mansions standing among the woods.

The route

From Spruga, the last village before the border, we walk to Comologno along the old mule track, past bridges and straw houses, with Palazzina Gamboni and Casa Rotonda, the houses the merchants built with hat money.

We then climb to the meadow terrace above the village, with the view down the whole valley, and return on the lower path.

Who it's for

• anyone after a valley with nobody in it, even in August
• anyone who likes stories of emigration and vanished trades
• dog owners and slow walkers

Good to know

There are very few restaurants in the valley and they close early: bring a packed lunch. The Onsernone road is narrow and cut into the cliff, driving takes care. The thermal baths of Craveggia over the border are a local legend, but they stay outside this walk.

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 Locarno and the Onsernone road to Spruga: two hours twenty from the ring road. The road is narrow, better to take few cars.

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.