Val Bavona

Val Bavona climbs from Bignasco to San Carlo in a series of steps between granite walls, and it is often described as the steepest inhabited valley floor in the country. There is almost no flat ground and very little soil - farmers built terraces by hand and used the space under fallen boulders as cellars, stables and even houses, so the hamlets have rooms tucked beneath rock the size of buildings. Twelve hamlets line the valley, occupied seasonally as the herds move up and down, and by community decision most were never connected to the electricity grid, so they run on solar or nothing at all. Waterfalls come off both walls after rain. A cable car climbs from San Carlo to the Robiei dam basin.

What you actually see

• Rooms built under boulders - cellars and dwellings tucked beneath fallen rock.
• Twelve seasonal hamlets - occupied as the herds move, mostly off-grid.
• Hand-built terraces - soil carried to a valley that had almost none.
• Waterfalls off both walls - heavy after rain, thin in dry weather.

When to go

May to October. A day.

Honest expectations

The road is narrow with passing places and busy at summer weekends. The hamlets are private homes, not open-air museums - look, do not wander into yards. Facilities are minimal; most hamlets have nothing. Winter closes the valley.

Nearby

Val Maggia continues below; Foroglio and its waterfall are in the valley.