Griante - Touring the towns of Lake Como

We love the towns around Lake Como and so far have enjoyed just wandering around and enjoying the charm they have to offer. But with Griante we’re taking a slightly more “Clark and Jackie” approach…it’s time to hike. Actually, it got me thinking. We’re in the Italian Alps and we hike a lot, so why aren’t we raving about those adventures more? There may be a “Hiking Lake Como” section yet. I digress. The only time we ever really stop at Griante and Cadenabbia is to use it as a gateway to Bellagio, the pearl of Lake Como and somewhere we visit every year often with friends and family in tow.

Any ferry trip on Lake Como is spectacular and the ferry from Cadennabia to Bellagio is probably the one we frequent the most. It’s only a 10 minute journey but as you look back to Griante, high on a cliff sits a church which looks like it’s impossibly teetering on the edge, with no means of access. We’ve often looked at the church and wondered who would attend a service there (and how on earth would they get there). Curiosity and a look on the map showed there was a route from Griante to the Chiesa di San Martino. Well, off we go then.

Griante to Cheisa di San Martino

The walk starts from the lake by the Hotel Brittania Excelsior and goes up the road and along steps into the back streets and alleys of the town of Griante. The small towns around Lake Como always have a certain charm and we like to find the quirky features scattered among the cobbled alleyways. Small chapels, water fountains that are almost always present and very welcome on hot Italian days, the “Ave Maria” shrines and the frescoes painted on houses. Griante has its fair share of these delightful discoveries to marvel at. We eventually popped out of the town by Chiesa di San Rocco at via San Martino, From there we got our first view of the Chiesa di San Martino, perched way up on the rocky outcrop of Sasso San Martino, (Sasso means ‘stone‘ in Italian. Everyday is a school day)The church itself is really well signposted so we really couldn’t go wrong, especially once we were on the cobbled steps climbing up to the church, dotted with small shrines telling the story of Jesus as we ascended…a mini pilgrimage perhaps?

Beyond the Chiesa di San Martino

The walk to the Chiesa di San Martino is about 2.6km and took us about 50 minutes. The first time we walked here, we then re-traced our steps and walked back to the lake for lunch. So a very pleasant couple of hours walking with great views (and becoming official photographer for the couple who had just got engaged outside the church…so romantic!)

We decided this year to walk to the church again, but this time continued our climb to the top of the Sasso San Martino (I love a great rock face) and then onto the Il Dossone mountain before returning via La Crocetta. A much bigger walk of 15km and 865 meters of ascent, which took about 5 hours (including stops). But the views over the lake and of the mountains were so spectacular, the effort was certainly worth it.

From the church we had a pretty easy-under-foot path that zig-zagged up the mountain. The views down to the church with Lake Como behind were fantastic. We also got intimately close to the limestone cliffs of Sasso San Martino. Anyone who reads about our lake district walks will know how much I enjoy seeking out and walking around prominent rock formations. I think it’s the pure size of something that is so natural and how small everything else can appear next to it (us included).

Once near the top of the Sasso, we came to the small hamlet of Pilone with 4 or 5 mountain houses (no-one at home, but thank you for an excellent picnic bench). 800 meters high and a great spot for lunch. As with the rest of the walk, well-signposted for our next goal of Il Dossone and Bocchetta di Nava.

Il Dossone stands at 885 meters. From the top we could see south to Lecco at the end of the lake and then all the way to North of the lake.

Clark has a few words he would like to say:

Reading the draft of this post, I wasn’t sure we captured the pure joy of this walk. It’s a big climb by English standards. But the path up is interesting, the views stunning and nothing was particularly steep as we zig-zagged up the cliff face. This was one of my favourite walks of the summer and we got a unique view of the lake and Bellagio below. If you do this walk, next time you’re on the ferry to Bellagio, look back and pat yourself on the back! I can’t recommend this walk enough.

Which return route to Griante?

Our return leg took us down an easy road to the chapel of Madonna di Paullo (and a very welcome water fountain). We could easily have descended from here to Menaggio and taken the bus back to Griante…but no, we thought a return via La Crocetta (we could see it on the map and FOMO took over), which we assumed (correctly) was a Cross overlooking the lake. Although the views down the lake were not as good as we had seen already on our walk, we did get a lovely view over Menaggio. However, hindsight being what it is, I think the return via Menaggio (and a gelato/beverage?) would have been pleasanter than the very steep (and slightly hard to follow) descent through the forest. We did survive though and the red wine tasted all the better once safely at home in the mountain house.