Passo del Gallo

Tough but highly satisfying itinerary.

Start from Livigno towards the lake of the same name to embark on the steep climb to the Alpisella Pass. It is a dirt road that gets steeper and steeper, fortunately the meters of elevation gain are not many.

The descent passes by the headwaters of the Adda River and, once you reach Lake Cancano, you turn left to head towards the Gallo Pass. The area is beautiful and passes over the watershed that practically divides the water going to the Po and the water going to the Danube.

You return to Livigno Lake at its steepest part on a rather exposed trail.

From here begins the beautiful ascent to the Gallo Pass, all on trail or nearly so, and you arrive in Switzerland. Here in 2023 I also spotted a bearded vulture that passed over my head: video.

We climb some more to reach the top of the valley, after which we descend and take a path to the right that will take us back, slightly downhill, to Lake Cancano.

From here you graze happily along the lake before taking the last steep gravel climb to get to Alpe Trela (refreshment) and then on trail to the pass of the same name. Finally we descend to Livigno, but once we are below Trepalle we have to climb a few small ramps before we find ourselves on the lakeside.

The trails are fairly easy, but the climbs require quite a bit of energy.

#livigno