Via GeoAlpina - Stage 1: Personico-Sonogno

Take the bus from Biasca in the Leventina Valley to Personico, the start of this, the first stage. As you climb up the Val d'Ambra you get a great view of the Leventina Valley, known for the Gotthard Base Tunnel (AlpTransit) among other things. On reaching Alpe Gagnone, you leave the forest and the lush meadows behind, and enter a mountain landscape. Passo di Gagnone, which marks the point where the Valle Leventina ends and the Valle Verzasca starts, is strewn with lenses (tapered bodies) of rock coming from the Earth's mantle. Soapstone (steatite) abounds in this area and was widely used in the past to construct "laveggi" (stone pots). The descent to Capanna Efra takes you through a particularly gorgeous landscape. The flat surfaces of the natural terraces here are due to local geologic structures and run parallel to the sides of the large folds that cut through the area. The unmanned Efra mountain hut was restored in 2021. Drinks can be purchased here. A little below this, the trail goes past the eponymous alpine lake. The many geological folds in Val d'Efra show how the Alps were originally formed. On reaching Frasco, you can either walk or catch the PostBus to the village of Sonogno nearby. Sonogno offers a choice of rooms for the night.