chalets.
The whole of this area falls under the protection of the Upper Valsesia National Park.
Macugnaga
The small town of Macugnaga feels far from anywhere. If you have to bail out from here it’s actually easier to get back to Switzerland than to the Italian valleys further along the trek.
Macugnaga has a colourful past, being not only a high Alpine settlement but also having a history of goldmining. That is long gone now and the town survives mainly on its winter season when people come to ski under the slopes of Monte Rosa. Again the Walser community has made its mark, and there are several fine examples of Walser architecture.
The town is centred round its main square where most of the hotels and bars are situated. As soon as you leave the square you enter quiet old side streets, the silence only broken by the roar of the Anza torrent, swelled by glacial melt during the summer months.
Wildlife and vegetation
Plants and flowers
The plants and flowers encountered on any trek vary throughout the year, and even though an Alpine trek of this nature can only be done as a regular walk during the summer months there is a huge change in vegetation between late June and late September. Early on in the summer season the lower slopes around the villages will be a blaze of colour as all the meadow flowers are in bloom up to around 2000m – trumpet gentians, pasque flowers, alpenrose, vetch, martagon lilies…a perfect time to be walking at lower altitudes.
Higher up there may still be nevé remaining from winter, and most slopes will only just be snow-free, so the flowers will not yet be in bloom. As the summer progresses many of the lower meadows will be scythed for haymaking, but above 2000m the flowers will start to bloom. Again the alpenrose – a member of the azalea family – is prevalent, covering the slopes from about 1500 to 2500m. Its pink flowers make a wonderful backdrop for hiking, and trekking in the Alps when these flowers are in season is an absolute joy. Many Alpine flowers that grow at lower altitudes will also be found here, but in a smaller and more intensely coloured form. The houseleeks that grow on the rocks, astrantia and orange hawksbeard are all Alpine versions of regular garden flowers. Above 2500–3000m are the real Alpine gems, tiny jewel-like flowers, so small that they get lost in the rocky crevices. These have a very short growing season of about six weeks before the return of the snows. Hence their miniature, energy-efficient size, and bright colours to maximise their attractiveness to pollinating insects. Look out for starry blue gentians and clumps of pink rock jasmine on the high rocky passes, as well as the rare King of the Alps which you may be lucky enough to spot on a couple of the cols. Scree slopes are often home to the amazing purple and orange toadflax, while on the highest ground you’ll find the pinky white buttercup-like flowers of the glacier crowsfoot, allegedly the flower that grows at the highest altitude in the Alps.
The flower everyone expects to see is the edelweiss and you should spot some somewhere along this trek, providing it is not too early in the season – it doesn’t generally bloom before mid-July. Although the edelweiss has become known as the classic Alpine flower, many people are disappointed at first sight – its white furry bracts can appear rather grey. Look closely, however, and you’ll see that the real flower is the yellow centre, and seen in sunlight it is rather fine.
Hardy alpine flowers have to endure extremes of temperatures and very barren ground
In September the meadows will no longer be full of flowers, but a keen eye will still spot many different species at higher altitudes. Lower down there will be a few late-season blooms such as purple monkshood growing next to streams, or the Alpine pansy, which seems to keep going for the whole summer. In late summer the lower paths will be bordered by bilberry bushes, laden with berries, and also raspberries, the lure of which makes for slow progress at times. There are also some low-growing bushes bearing shiny red bear berries, used to make a savoury jelly.
There is a wide variety of trees to be found, depending on altitude. The Alps are known for their coniferous forests, largely composed of spruce and pine. These forests are brightened up by larch trees, the only deciduous conifers, which lose their needles each winter. They are a pleasant light green colour in spring, and their needles turn golden before falling in the autumn. Larch is one of the best woods for construction, and most old chalets are made at least in part from this beautiful red wood.
A tree peculiar to the Alps is the Arolla pine (Pin cembro) which has long needles and is often seen on the upper limit of the treeline – the higher up it grows, the smaller and more stunted it is. This extremely hardy tree can resist temperatures as low as −50°C and is indifferent to soil quality or slope aspect. Its wood is one of the most sought after, especially by sculptors. Its cones are sturdy, and the seeds too heavy to be blown by the wind. They are eaten by birds, notably the nuthatch, which stores seeds in cracks in rocks. Hence the Arolla pine is classically found growing out from the most improbable boulders.
Wildlife
One of the highlights of walking in the mountains is the excitement of spotting wildlife. In the Alps you may see a whole host of animals and birds along the trail. The chamois, ibex and marmot are the three ‘must-sees’, but plenty of other animals also inhabit these mountain valleys, meadows and boulderfields. In the forests are several types of deer, generally seen early in the morning or at dusk. Wild boar live below about 1500m and their snuffling antics often churn up the edges of the footpaths. The chewed pine cones lying on the trail betray the presence of squirrels, which will probably be spotted nipping from tree to tree.
If you are first on the trail you have the best chance of a wildlife sighting, but don’t make too much noise or you will scare everything away. The meadows and rocks are home to the mountain hare, which is very timid and more often seen in winter – or at least its tracks are – and the stoat which scampers around rocks, curious but very fast. They say there are lynx in the Alps but they are either very rare or very cautious: seeing one would be quite a surprise. Wolves are being reintroduced into the Wallis region, but you would be unlikely to catch a glimpse of one.
Ibex are often seen on the more remote parts of the Tour
Above there is a wealth of birds, ranging from the very small to the very big. Any forest walk will be accompanied by the happy chirping of tits, finches and goldcrests, and the drilling of busy woodpeckers. Buzzards are common at the lower levels and, higher up, golden eagles are not rare, especially on bad-weather days when they circle far above on the air currents. On the high cols you will be joined by Alpine choughs the moment you get out your picnic. These black birds, recognisable by their yellow beaks, are known to live at altitudes as high as 8000m in the Himalayas. But the king of all the birds has to be the lammergeier or bearded vulture, reintroduced throughout the Alps over the last few years. You would be lucky to spot one, but if you see a huge bird with an orange underbelly that only seems to flap once an hour it is probably a lammergeier. These giants, long regarded as meat-eating predators, live almost entirely off the bones of dead animals, dropping the bones from on high to break them up for easier consumption. Just rarely you may see a heap of broken bones lying near the trail.
Stoats often play among the rocks
It is a great privilege to see any of these creatures, and while taking photographs is a superb way to immortalise the moment, it is crucial to leave the animal undisturbed. Besides, there’s nothing so ridiculous as watching a would-be photographer stalking his subject while the animal moves further and further
