Highlights and tour details
The long route of the GTA in Piedmont, which is more than 1000 km long, has been divided, also for practical data downloading and management reasons, into 3 large sections corresponding to the northern, central and southern areas of the region. The northern part starts from Cannobio on Lake Maggiore and develops through a remarkable variety of contexts of great environmental and landscape value. It first climbs northwards through the Swiss part of the Maggia Valley or, as a variant, along the wild Alta Valle dell'Isorno towards Val Formazza, the extreme edge of Piedmont wedged between the Swiss cantons of Ticino and Valais. From the hamlet of Riale, the northernmost point from which the connections to the hills of nearby Switzerland branch off, the long descent towards the south begins, initially passing through the enchanting plateaus of the Veglia and Devero Alps and then descending to Varzo. The route then leads to the nearby Val Bognanco where the route splits and you can choose whether to follow the main route that remains in the mid and lower Antrona, Anzasca and Sesia valleys, or to take the more demanding variant that crosses high mountain areas and reconnects to the main route near Alagna Valsesia. From Alagna the route leads to Riva Valdobbia and finally to the Biella area from where the central section of the GTA begins.
Other information
Itinerary code: GPN
Provinces crossed: Biella Valsesia Vercelli, Distretto dei Laghi
Departure, arrival and municipalities crossed
Stages
- Grande Traversata delle Alpi - GTA: Tratto Nord Piemonte (476,00 km)
- GTA: Stage 1 Cannobio - Falmenta (13,20 km)
- GTA: Stage 2 Falmenta - Malesco (16,90 km)
- GTA Variant of Alta Valle dell'Isorno: Stage 3B Alpe Cortevecchio - Alpe Lago (6,60 km)
- GTA: Stage 3 Malesco - Fondomonfracchio (16,40 km)
- GTA Variant of Alta Valle dell'Isorno: Stage 3c Alpe Lago - Campo Valle Maggia (15,20 km)
- GTA Variant of Alta Valle dell'Isorno: Stage 3A Malesco - Alpe Cortevecchio (0,00 km)
- GTA: Stage 4 Fondomonfracchio - Capanna Alpe Arena (13,50 km)
- GTA: Stage 5 Capanna Alpe Arena - Campo Valle Maggia (12,60 km)
- GTA: Stage 6 Campo Valle Maggia - Bosco Gurin (11,60 km)
- GTA: Stage 7 Bosco Gurin - Formazza Loc. Ponte (13,00 km)
- GTA: Stage 8A Canza - Lago Vannino (6,50 km)
- GTA: Stage 8B Riale - Alpe Cruina (12,90 km)
- GTA: Stage 8 Ponte - Riale (6,30 km)
- GTA: Stage 8C Riale - Nufenenpass (11,50 km)
- GTA: Stage 9 Riale - Alpe Vannino (7,80 km)
- GTA: Stage 10 Alpe Vannino - Alpe Devero (14,50 km)
- GTA: Stage 11 Alpe Devero - Alpe Veglia (13,40 km)
- GTA: Stage 12 Alpe Veglia - Alpe Solcio (12,60 km)
- GTA: Stage 12A Alpe Veglia - Varzo (19,00 km)
- GTA: Stage 13 Alpe Solcio - Varzo (5,40 km)
- GTA: Stage 14 Varzo - Alpe Arza (0,00 km)
- GTA: Stage 15 Alpe Arza - Alpe Laghetto (0,00 km)
- GTA: Upper Anzasca and Antrona Valleys Stage 15A Rifugio Alpe Laghetto - Rifugio Andolla (via Passo Pontimia) (6,80 km)
- GTA Variant of Alte Valli Anzasca and Antrona: Stage 16A Rifugio Alpe Laghetto - Rifugio Andolla (12,30 km)
- GTA Variant of Alti Valli Anzasca and Antrona: Stage 16B Rifugio Andolla - Cingino Bivouac (11,20 km)
- GTA Variant of the High Valleys of Anzasca and Antrona: Stage 16D Oberto Refuge - Macugnaga (6,90 km)
- GTA Variant of Alti Valli Anzasca and Antrona: Stage 16C Cingino bivouac - Rifugio Oberto (11,20 km)
- GTA: Stage 16 Alpe Laghetto - Cheggio (11,50 km)
- GTA Variant of the Upper Anzasca and Antrona Valleys: Stage 16E Macugnaga - Rifugio Buon Pastore (20,90 km)
- GTA Variant of Alti Valli Anzasca and Antrona: Stage 16F Buon Pastore Refuge - Sant'Antonio of Val Vogna (3,90 km)
- GTA: Stage 17 Antrona, hamlet of Cheggio - Della Colma Refuge (13,70 km)
- GTA: Stage 18 Rifugio della Colma - Molini di Calasca (7,30 km)
- GTA Stage 19 Molini di Calasca - Alpe Pian Lago (10,80 km)
- GTA Stage 20: Alpe Pian Lago - Campello Monti (5,90 km)
- GTA Stage 21: Campello Monti - Rimella (8,60 km)
- GTA Tappa 22: Rimella - Alpe Baranca (10,80 km)
- GTA Stage 23 Alpe Baranca - Carcoforo (8,70 km)
- GTA Stage 24 Carcoforo - Rima (8,20 km)
- GTA: Stage 25 Rima - Sant'Antonio di Val Vogna (15,80 km)
- GTA: Stage 26 Sant'Antonio di Val Vogna - Rivetti Refuge (15,10 km)