Daloo and Lagunc, balconies overlooking Valchiavenna

Daloo and Lagunch are two charming rural villages in the Chiavenna area. Nestled on two grassy balconies at the intersection of three valleys (Val Bregaglia, Valle Spluga, and the Chiavenna plain), they boast views of considerable beauty. If a well-made mule track ascends from there, hikers will feel even more connected to the mountain rural world.

By car, one leaves the SS36 dello Spluga at San Giacomo Filippo, taking a narrow asphalt road without signage that (coming from Chiavenna) is found on the right about fifty meters after the oldest part of the town. With a few slightly steep sections and some narrow hairpin bends, you arrive at the hamlet of Uggia (700 m), where there is a small parking lot.

The trail starts among the wooden huts; a little higher up, it intersects the road again, beyond which the path becomes picturesque: you walk on a track made up of a mosaic of stones, ascending irregular switchbacks, zigzagging among beeches and birches. After climbing a particularly steep slope, where the mule track cuts a narrow hairpin bend, the forest thins out; the trail ascends a grassy shoulder, winding uphill among birch trees, and finally reaches the meadows of Dalò (or Daloo, in the original version, at 1075 m, 1 hour).

We turn right, continuing on the trail, to the central nucleus of Daloo, with its picturesque white church. Behind it, beyond the lush green meadows, looms the dolomite massif of Pizzo di Prata. By venturing to the extreme edge of these meadows, climbing the slopes behind the Church, you reach the large iron cross of Daloo (1108 m, 10 minutes): the panorama opens up to Valchiavenna and the lower Val Bregaglia; below us, the town of Chiavenna.

Just behind us, well-marked, the path to Lagunc begins (1352 m, 40 minutes), another splendid village, elegantly nestled around a small lake, which is reached via a beautiful path through the woods, now of conifers. The care of the gardens will amaze you, as well as the presence of tables and umbrellas: a true oasis of relaxation at high altitude, amidst a still natural environment. Slightly elevated above the houses, a white chapel, on the edge of a cliff, protects the views of the peaks of Val Bregaglia. Behind it, a small grassy clearing with two tables; a sign reminds us that Lagunc is the finish line of the "Vertical Kilometer", a competitive race that involves ascent and descent from Chiavenna (352 m in Loreto) to Lagunc (1352 m).

For the return journey, you retrace the same route as on the outbound journey: you immerse yourself again in the dark fir forest, emerging only near Daloo (1075 m, 30 minutes). Passing the numerous houses of the village, which is currently experiencing a phase of strong construction expansion, you return to the mule track to make your way back to the car (700 m, 45 minutes).