Lake Lugano in canoe

Lake Lugano is certainly not the best known of the great Northern lakes, but it deserves a visit and, indeed, if visited by canoe gives authentic joys. Lugano is a beautiful and lively city, the picturesque villages abound and the surrounding mountains offer fantastic trails and panoramas, for when the kayak excursion is finished. On the border between Italy and Switzerland, the lake also has clean water and an ideal temperature for bathing (23-24 degrees in July-August).
Under the map, we present a guide to Lake Lugano starting from our last Circumnavigation experience in kayak. The same trip could have done with a stand up paddle (SUP).

The itinerary
Lake Lugano is divided into several branches; We have chosen to visit the lake arm east of the city of Lugano, which is also the most impressive part. There are other possible itineraries, of course: in the southern area the beautiful houses of the village of Morcote lay on another stretch of very interesting coast.

To accuracy, we started renting kayaks near the well-known (?) Resorts of Cressogno, Italy but not far from the border with Switzerland. From here, we have paid in front of countries crowded at the foot of the mountains, and then reach the other shore of the lake, in Rescia.
Here you welcome a waterfall. We continued the itinerary on the south bank, in canoe westwards, on foot of steep slopes covered with vegetation. Always beautiful panoramas, and the few houses are really beautiful. We had lunch on a hikel in front of an old abandoned barracks, to add charm to the beauty of the places.

continuing to the west, you return to Switzerland and you reach the area of cellars of Gandria, where some "grottos" are set in the wild coast, old stone houses become typical trattorias, most of them Reachable here only by boat (or by canoe, or in SUP!).
Continuing to the west you arrive at Champion of Italy, Italian Enclave in Swiss Territory, placed by rich and gamblers (the casino is mastodontic). We have cut the lake a little earlier, arriving in the eastern part of the city of Lugano, rich in life, lively in summer evenings with music and street artists. From here, by canoe east, headed to the starting point, we touched the beautiful village of Gandria, perched on the lake on the slopes of Monte Brè, and then, past the border (so again in Italy), the fascinating area of Albogasio, where the Villa of Fogazzaro rises.

Moored kayaks, we admired the old houses on the lake, splendid also for those who do not have the slightest idea that Fogazzaro was a writer of the second half of the 800.
The return to the starting point, to the slopes of Monte Broglia, gave us the opportunity to take a last dive and to admire the views of Lake Lugano a little. The next step was delivering kayaks and preparing for trekking the next day. Alternatively, you could even lengthen the itinerary and do an exploration of the lake in two-day canoe: the destinations are not lacking!
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You can find more photos of Lake Lugano (and above all at higher resolution) in this photo gallery: