Airolo - Lake Ritóm
I did this hike on the 20th of September, 2024. I had come across lake Ritóm while looking at the map for hiking inspiration, and after looking at some very nice pictures of the area online, I decided to do the hike below.
Full route: Swisstopo
I went by train from Zürich to Airolo, where I started the hike. It was a very beautiful autumn morning, when I started the hike out of Airolo. I made my way up through forest and quickly got the first views out between the trees, to the mountains above Airolo and around the Gotthard Pass.
After the first steeper part up, the trail flattened out. It was still early in the autumn season, but there were faint autumn colors on some of the trees and in the landscape around me, which was a nice surprise as autumn is my favourite season.
Moving along the trail, I made my way out of the forest and into the open landscape. There were smaller snow patches left from snow the week before, but nothing covering larger areas and I could easily make my way along this part of the trail.
I came by the lake Laghetto dell’Alpe, which was really beautiful. From here, I could also see the peak of Pizzo Tom rising above the small pass I would cross over. As I moved closer up towards the pass, I had absolutely stunning views back in direction Airolo and the mountains around.
I made it up to the pass, had a last look back in direction Airolo and continued into the area around Lake Ritóm. After a short walk down, I found an outcrop, where I decided to have lunch. I could see down to the smaller Lago di Tom and larger Lago Ritóm below.
After my lunch break, I continued down towards the lakes. After walking by Lago di Tom, I continued up for a short while, until I could see down to Lago Cadagno and Lago Ritóm below. There were not many people in the area, and it was generally very nice and quiet.
The trail running by the lakes were easy and mainly flat. It was a very pleasant part of the hike, and the autumn colors made for some very nice scenery. I walked a short part past Lake Ritóm before I turned around, to follow the trail back to and past the lake.
The trail running along Lake Ritóm is nice, partly in forest, but with many viewspoints from where you can see the lake and the mountains behind. With the autumn colors and slightly grey sky, the views of the area from here reminded me of Iceland or the Faroe Islands.
There is a funicular going down from Lake Ritóm, but I decided to walk a short part down to the village of Altanca and take the bus down to Ambrì-Piotta. From Ambrì-Piotta, I made my way back home to Zürich by train.
