Back in mid July Alessio and I went on a day trip to Lake Ritom, in the Piora valley which is just after the Gotthard tunnel in the Ticino.
It does take around 2.5 hours to get there, first up to have to get to Airolo, from there you get a bus to Piora, then a short walk to the funicular.
When we reached the funicular we had a short wait for the next one, it did seem like it took ages to arrive, as it was a really hot day.
According to the brochure it is the steepest funicular in Europe with its maximum slope of 87.8%. Once at the top we had a 25min walk to the lake, passing lots of lovely flowers and many butterflies.
As you expect there are a number of hikes to do and I wanted to walk around the lake but at 4 hours seemed like a long time, but then Alessio started to complain of a sore tummy so that stopped that idea. We opted for a short rest and then we went to the restaurant for a coffee when suddenly Alessio decided he wanted an ice cream!
At a height of 1850m, the lake is used as a reservoir for the Swiss Railways to generate hydro-electric power for the Gotthard tunnel.
As always the train journey to the Ticino is amazing, lots of wonderful sights to see, I for one never tire of this train trip.
I can see it's worth the trip.. Switzerland has the loveliest lakes.. especially the butterflies. lovely butterflies. <3
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