Читать книгу Canyoning in the Alps. Graded routes in Northern Italy and Ticino, Austria, Slovenia and the Valais Alps онлайн

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Electricity Switzerland has a three-pin plug system, while Italy has two-pin plugs with two different diameters. Take a universal plug to be certain.

The spectacular pitch-head at the end of the second encased section of Lodrino Inferiore (Route 33, Ticino)

VAL D’OSSOLA

Sunny, open canyoning typical of Val d’Ossola (Route 5)

On first arriving in Val d’Ossola, you would be forgiven for feeling a bit apprehensive. The valley itself is a busy trunk route to Switzerland, lined with commerce and light industry. It is fairly nondescript on account of its steep, forested sides, and – worse still – there’s not a canyon in sight! But delve into the side-valleys and the region starts to reveal its charm. Higher up, the forested foothills give rise to grassy clearings and mountain vistas. Seldom-trodden footpaths wind between tumbledown hamlets, while to the north and east two protected areas lend rugged beauty and isolation. Yet this is a region overlooked by foreign tourists. Most remain on the periphery, lured south to the sunny shores of Lake Maggiore or west to the mountaineering peaks along the Swiss border.