Lake Maggiore & Around - The Italian Lakes - page 191

Orta Miasino train station is a 3km walk from the centre of Orta San Giulio. It is on the
line from Novara to Domodossola and trains stop at all the towns on the east shore of the
lake. From Milan, there are trains from Stazione Centrale (change at Novara) every two
hours or so (€6.50, two hours). Between March and October, a little tourist train
( www.treninodiorta.it/ita ; one way/return €2.50/4; 9am-7pm May-Sep, 9am-5.30pm Mar, Apr & Oct,
9.30am-5.30pm rest of year) shuttles between the town centre, sacro monte and the train station
approximately every half-hour.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Lake Orta West Bank
Heading out of Omegna - the large town at the northern end of the lake (Thursday is mar-
ket day) - follow the signs for Varallo and the road quickly takes you up high and out of
view of the lake. At Nonio , you can follow a steep, minor road down to the lake at Oira , a
tiny hamlet with a church, boat landing and lakeside pizzeria. A few kilometers further
south, at Cesara, turn east for Egro. The 4km country road leads you past the half-aban-
doned stone hamlet of Grassona before reaching Egro . From this quiet, stone village a
wooded walking trail leads down to the lakeside town of Pella (about 45 minutes). As you
descend, you have views across Isola San Giulio and the lake. High above Pella you may
detect a small chapel built in a seemingly impossible outcrop of rock. More interesting is
the narrow road that leads 3km north of Pella to Ronco , a little gem of a village, all dark-
stone houses huddled around a grid of teensy lanes and facing the lake.
It is also possible to circle the lake on foot. Known locally as the Anello Azzurro (Blue
Ring), the circuit walk of the entire lake can take about three days at a leisurely pace.
Starting at Orta and heading south, you are looking at about 14km to Pella, about 13km
the following day to Omegna and another 14km back from Omegna to Orta. The recom-
mended kick-off point is sacro monte in Orta. Readers of Italian can get a closer route de-
scription at www.lagodorta.net , which offers all sorts of ideas on other walks in the area.