Bassa del Garda
Limone sul Garda, Italy
Lake Garda is probably the next most beautiful lake in Italy after Lake Como. It's striking beauty and landscape, dotted with historic villages makes it a romantic paradise.
The 360 square kilometres lake is about 2.5 hours drive West from Venice. On the Southern end of the lake is the little known picturesque historic town of Sirmione with an old fortress at the end of the peninsula. On the North-Western shore lies the lovely lakeside town of Limone sul Garda.
We did the Bassa del Garda Trail at Tremosine sul Garda, a moderately challenging trail with fantastic aerial views of the lake from above and across to the mountain range on the opposite side.
Every year in April, a famous trail running competition takes place here. The original route is 70 km long divided into 5 segments, from Salò to Limone sul Garda.
Trip Tips
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If you have a couple of days to spend at Lake Garda, we strongly recommend to stay at the equally picturesque towns of Sirmione or Limone sul Garda. Whichever you choose, you need to visit the other.
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Sirmione is 1 hour 40 minutes' drive from Venice, while Limone is about 2.5 hours.
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If you can only make a day trip & day hike from Venice, it is still possible to do the out and back hike and then still have time to chill in the very cool town of Limone right on the edge of the lake.
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The trail head of the hike is near Simone sul Garda. Be aware that the drive up is on narrow two-way mountain roads, and google maps could sometimes lead you the wrong way, so do your homework ahead of time.
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Many petrol refuelling stations in Europe are not attended by cashiers. Often your foreign credit card and PIN do not work at the pumps. So have the right amount of cash as the fuel is prepaid and change is not provided, so you need to have some idea about your tank size and be a a bit of a math wizard.
Hiking Tips
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This is one of the most spectacular and complete trails that can be found on Lake Garda. It is moderately busy with a mix of locals and some tourists (mainly from Germany), but a fantastic hike for getting awesome views of Lake Garda from up high.
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This trail is 9-km point-to-point and 18-km return near Tremosine, Lombardy. It is a moderately challenging route, with some steepish hills and takes over 4 hours to complete. Allow additional time for pauses to take in the view and also for photos at Monte Bestone where a cross is mounted at the lookout point.
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This is segment 6 of the Bassa Via del Garda Trail which starts from the village of Voltino and reaches Limone sul Garda. The trail winds through hills, fields of olive trees, mountains, chestnut and beech woods, canyons, overhangs over the lake and breathtaking views.