Valle del Salto
I did this hike together with a friend visiting from Denmark on the 19th of May, 2026. We had been looking at different hikes in southern Ticino and came across Giro della Valle del Salto on Switzerlandmobility. The hike looked nice and included many small waterfalls, so we decided to go to Valle del Salto.
Full route: Swisstopo
It was a very nice May morning as we started the hike in Maggia. Walking out of town, we came past many nice building and the church. The ascent starts right outside of town and we quickly made it up above the valley.
After the initial ascent, the hike flattens out and constantly changes between shorter parts of up and down. The hiking path is a mix between stone steps and more flat hiking trails, which somewhere are a bit narrow with steeper sides, but nothing that we found problematic.
In between parts going through more dense forest, you pass more open spaces, often in connection with the location of the typical stone houses you see throughout Ticino.
There were a couple of open plateaus along the hike, which gave us great views over the entire valley. From here, we could also see small open areas with more stone houses in the forest, which we would later pass by on the trail.
There are many smaller waterfalls and ponds on this hike, and it was a really nice setting together with the very lush green forest. At times, it almost felt tropical and like we were in a different country.
At the bottom of the valley, the hiking trail turns around back in direction Maggia. Here, there are some waterfalls and a small pond, where we decided to have our lunch break. The water was super clear and had it been warmer, we would probably have tested it, at least with our feet.
After the lunch break, we continued the hike on the other side of the valley. The first part of this trail was again uphill, after which it flattened out before the beginning of the descent. It was very nice to see the valley from both sides and notice mountain peaks we had not seen during the first half of the hike.
When we were half way through the descent, we came across a dead snake on the trail. I have before encountered snakes on my hikes, but this one was really big, and I was quite relieved that it was not alive.
At the end of the hike, you cross the valley to the trail where you started the hike. There is a really nice old stone bridge from where you also have great views down at the bottom where the water comes down from the valley above.
The first and last part of the hike is on the same hiking trail, running past some smaller wine yards, before entering back into Maggia. It was a very nice warm afternoon, so we decided to have a post hike drink, before getting on the bus back to Locarno and the train to Zürich.
