Alagna Valsesia

Updated October 2026 · Sources: Monterosa Ski, alagna.it, ATL Valsesia Vercelli, Valsesia Protected Areas, ISTAT, Piedmont Region

Find a place to stay in Alagna Valsesia

Alagna Valsesia sits at 1,191 metres at the very head of the Valsesia valley, in the province of Vercelli (Piedmont, Italy), right below the south face of Monte Rosa. It is the last village in the valley: beyond it there are only alpine pastures, glaciers and the 4,000-metre peaks of the Rosa. Milan Malpensa airport is about 100 km away, Milan about 150 km and Turin about 165 km. By car you leave the A26 motorway at Romagnano Sesia–Ghemme, about 65 km from the village.

The municipality has around 730 residents over 133 km² and since 2019 also includes Riva Valdobbia, 3 km down the valley. Alagna is a Walser village: German-speaking settlers from the Upper Valais in Switzerland arrived in the late 13th century and built hamlets of wood and stone that are still lived in today. The village holds the Touring Club Italiano’s Orange Flag quality label.

In winter Alagna is the Piedmont gateway to Monterosa Ski, linked on skis to Gressoney and Champoluc, and a big name among freeriders for the off-piste descents from Punta Indren at 3,275 metres. In summer the lifts take hikers and climbers up high: this is the starting point for the Capanna Margherita, the highest mountain hut in Europe.

The village and its Walser houses

Alagna’s centre is a cluster of hamlets close together, each with a Walser name: Pedemonte, Pedelegno, Ronco, Resiga. The houses have a stone base and timber upper floors, with long wooden balconies where hay and rye were once dried. They were built so close that the roofs almost touch, so people could move between them under the snow in winter. Every hamlet had its own bread oven, fountain and chapel.

Walk along Via dei Walser and up to the higher hamlets, the best preserved. In the centre, the parish church of San Giovanni Battista was built in 1511 and has a Gothic doorway and a three-aisled interior.

Walser Museum in Pedemonte

The Walser Museum is in the hamlet of Pedemonte, a few minutes’ walk from the centre, in a three-storey Walser house dated 1628. The stable, kitchen and hayloft have been recreated with original furniture and tools. Next door, Casa Daverio is a small multimedia museum. Opening hours vary by season: check alagna.it or ask at the tourist office.

Alagna tourist office

The tourist office is at Piazza Grober 1 in the centre, tel. +39 0163 922988. You can pick up trail maps, bus and lift timetables and event listings, and book mountain guides. Opening hours change with the season.

Val d’Otro and the Walser hamlets

Val d’Otro is the hanging valley above Alagna. From the centre take trail 203 up through Riale Superiore and the woods to the Otro basin, in front of the little church of Follu (1,664 m): about 1 hour 30 minutes and 510 metres of ascent on an easy path.

Up there are six almost untouched Walser hamlets, Follu, Felleretsch, Ciucche, Dorf, Scarpia and Weng, linked by paths across the meadows. Follu has a mountain hut, Rifugio Zar Senni. On the way up, a short detour leads to the Otro “caldaia”, a pool carved by the stream. In winter you can snowshoe up.

Acqua Bianca waterfall and Rifugio Pastore

Alagna’s best-known waterfall is the Acqua Bianca, at the head of the Sesia valley. From the Wold car park (1,278 m), follow the paved road for about 3 km, roughly 45 minutes on foot; in summer a paid shuttle runs along it.

From the waterfall, trail 206 quickly reaches Rifugio Pastore at Alpe Pile (1,575 m). It is the easiest family walk. The Toce Falls, which some guides mention, are in Val Formazza, a different valley.

Riva Valdobbia and Val Vogna

Riva Valdobbia lies 3 km from Alagna, at 1,112 metres. Its parish church of San Michele is a national monument, with a large Last Judgement by Melchiorre d’Enrico painted on the façade. In the hamlet of Rabernardo, a Walser ethnographic museum occupies a 17th-century house; visits by appointment.

From here Val Vogna opens up, a valley with no lifts and Walser hamlets along the old mule track to Gressoney and the Aosta Valley. Drive up to Ca’ di Janzo or Sant’Antonio; on foot, trail 201 leads to Peccia, with its Walser houses and a small lake.

Alta Valsesia Nature Park

Above Alagna begins the Alta Valsesia Nature Park, created in 1979: about 7,000 hectares, from 900 metres on the valley floor to 4,554 metres at Punta Gnifetti. That is why the park authority describes it as the highest protected area in Europe. You will find alpine pastures, glaciers, glacier nature trails and typical Alpine wildlife.

At Alpe Fum Bitz (1,606 m), on the trail to Alpe Vigne, the park visitor centre has a botanical garden.

Monte Rosa and Punta Indren

You can get close to the glaciers without any climbing. In summer the gondola runs from Alagna to Pianalunga (about 2,050 m), a cable car continues to Passo dei Salati (2,971 m) and another to Punta Indren at 3,275 metres, at the edge of the glacier, facing the Rosa wall. Bring a warm jacket even in August and check the timetable: the last ride up to Punta Indren is in mid-afternoon.

Alagna is part of Monterosa Ski 3 Valli, which links the Valsesia with the Gressoney valley and the Ayas valley (Champoluc): more than 100 km of connected pistes, skiable from one valley to the next. The 2026/27 season runs from 28 November 2026 to 11 April 2027, snow permitting.

The Alagna pistes

The Alagna sector has 16 pistes: 6 blue, 6 red and 4 black. From the village (1,212 m) the gondola goes up to Pianalunga; from there a cable car runs via Cimalegna to Passo dei Salati (2,971 m) and a chairlift to the Bocchetta (2,403 m). The main runs are the Olen, Mullero, Cimalegna and Canalone, and the Alagna run takes you back to the village when there is snow low down.

The sector is small and almost entirely high up. Beginners have the nursery areas at Wold, close to the village, and at Pianalunga. From Passo dei Salati you ski down to Gressoney and, over the Colle della Bettaforca, on to Champoluc. Start early: in strong wind the high lifts close. Live lift status on the Monterosa Ski website.

Freeride: Monterosa Freeride Paradise

Alagna is known internationally for off-piste skiing. From Passo dei Salati a cable car climbs to Punta Indren (3,275 m), the highest point on Monte Rosa you can reach by lift. Classic descents start here, such as the Balma, into the valley where the Sesia river rises, and the Malfatta couloir. This is high-mountain terrain with glaciers, steep couloirs and avalanche risk.

Do not go alone if you do not know the area: the Alagna mountain guides, founded in 1872 and the second-oldest guide company in Italy after Courmayeur, run freeride days, ski touring and heli-skiing. You need avalanche safety gear (transceiver, shovel, probe).

2026/27 lift pass

In early October 2026 the Monterosa Ski 2026/27 prices had not yet been published. You can buy passes online on the official website: check prices and offers there. The 3 Valli pass does not cover the Passo dei Salati–Punta Indren cable car, which needs a separate pass (Monterosa Freeride). In Italy third-party liability insurance is compulsory for skiers, and helmets are compulsory under 18.

Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and skating

The La Marmotta Rosa cross-country centre, along the Sesia between Riva Valdobbia and Alagna, has a 10 km intermediate loop, an easy 5 km loop and a practice area, with rental and instructors. Classic snowshoe routes go to Follu in Val d’Otro, Peccia in Val Vogna and Alpe Pile. Always check the avalanche risk. In winter there is an ice rink in Piazza Regina Margherita.

In summer the lifts reopen for hikers: in 2026 the gondola and cable cars to Punta Indren ran daily from 30 May to 13 September, with a lunch break. With the same lifts you can cross to Gressoney and come back the same day. Timetables and fares on the Monterosa Ski website. The times below are for the ascent only and come from the official trail descriptions.

Mountain huts around Alagna

• Rifugio Pastore (1,575 m, Alpe Pile): about 1 hour from Wold on trail 206, or from the Acqua Bianca waterfall. The easiest.
• Rifugio Barba Ferrero (2,247 m, Alpe Vigne Superiore): from Wold on trail 207, about 970 m of ascent and 2–3 hours, via Alpe Fum Bitz. Moderate.
• Rifugio Zar Senni at Follu, Val d’Otro: 1 hour 30 from the centre, trail 203. Open in summer and on many weekends.
• Capanna Gugliermina (3,212 m): unstaffed, about 5 hours and almost 2,000 m of ascent, a difficult route with a stream crossing below the Piode glacier that can be tricky in the afternoon. Experienced hikers only.
• Capanna Gnifetti (3,647 m): about 1 hour 30 on the glacier from Punta Indren. This is already mountaineering.

Capanna Margherita, Europe’s highest hut

The Capanna Regina Margherita stands at 4,554 metres on Punta Gnifetti and is the highest mountain hut in Europe. Owned by the Italian Alpine Club (CAI), it opened in 1893 and was rebuilt in 1980; it also houses a scientific observatory. The classic ascent takes two days: lifts to Punta Indren, glacier to the Capanna Gnifetti, a night at the hut, then an early start over the Colle del Lys to the summit.

It is not technically difficult, but it is high mountain terrain: crevasses, altitude, sudden weather changes. You go roped up, with crampons and ice axe, and with a mountain guide if you lack experience. The Alagna guides organise the climb.

Val Vogna to the Colle Valdobbia

For a full day without lifts, walk up Val Vogna from Sant’Antonio (1,380 m) on trail 201 to the Colle Valdobbia (2,480 m), the pass to Gressoney. Allow about 1,100 metres of ascent and 3 hours 30 to the top. At the pass stands the Ospizio Sottile, opened in 1833 for Valsesia emigrants crossing the mountains.

Rafting on the Sesia

The Sesia is the valley’s river for rafting and kayaking. Trips do not start in Alagna, though: they run further down, between Campertogno, Scopa, Balmuccia and Varallo, through the river gorges, 10 to 30 minutes’ drive away. Several operators run rafting and kayaking trips, including for beginners. Book ahead and ask about minimum age and water levels.

The Walser ecomuseum

For an easy day, follow the Walser ecomuseum along the old mule tracks between the hamlets: the Resiga sawmill, the mills and bread oven at Uterio, the millstones at Kreas.

The food is Valsesia mountain cooking, with a few Walser dishes. Try:

• Toma valsesiana: the valley’s cheese, fresh or aged.
• Miacce: wafer-thin crisp pancakes, savoury with toma and cured meats or sweet with honey and jam.
• Polenta concia: polenta with butter and melted cheese.
• Uberlekke: the Walser dish of boiled salted meats.
• Mocetta: cured chamois leg, sliced very thin.

• Gressoney: on skis in winter and by lift in summer, over Passo dei Salati. By car it is a long way (about 155 km), because you have to drive down to the plain and back up the Aosta Valley.
• Champoluc: on skis, via Gressoney and the Colle della Bettaforca. The third valley of the ski area, in the Aosta Valley.
• Macugnaga: the other Walser village below Monte Rosa, on the east face. People once walked there over the Colle del Turlo; by car it is about 120 km.
• Varallo and the Sacro Monte (about 36 km, 40 minutes): the Sacro Monte, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003, with more than 40 chapels and hundreds of statues on the life of Christ. A cable car runs up from the town.
• Alpe di Mera (Scopello, about 19 km): a small Valsesia ski area with a Monterosa Ski satellite pass.

• Alagna centre: for skiers and anyone arriving without a car. A few minutes from the gondola, the bus stop, shops and restaurants. Hotels, residences and apartments.
• Walser hamlets around the centre (Pedemonte, Pedelegno, Ronco): quieter, often in restored Walser houses. For couples and families who want character.
• Wold and the upper village: for summer hikers, close to the trails to Acqua Bianca and the huts; in winter for children learning to ski, close to the nursery area.
• Riva Valdobbia: if you have a car and a smaller budget, or for cross-country skiers. 3 km from the lifts.
• Mountain huts: for high-altitude routes or a night up high, from the Pastore to the Capanna Margherita.

Between Christmas and Epiphany (6 January), at weekends in February and in August, beds go fast: book early.

By car

From Milan or Turin take the A4 and then the A26 towards Gravellona Toce, leaving at Romagnano Sesia–Ghemme. From there the SS299 road runs up the whole Valsesia through Varallo: about 65 km and 1 hour 30 to Alagna. From Milan allow about 2 hours 30. Italian motorways are tolled. In winter, snow tyres or snow chains on board are compulsory.

By train

Trains do not reach Alagna, or even Varallo: the Novara–Varallo line has been closed to regular service since 2014 and only sees occasional heritage trains. The stations to use are Novara and Vercelli, both with direct trains from Milan and Turin. From there continue by bus or taxi. Timetables on Trenitalia.

By bus

From Milan and Novara, Baranzelli runs the Milan–Novara–Varallo–Alagna line; buy tickets on board. From Vercelli, ATAP line 50 runs Vercelli–Varallo–Alagna; tickets are sold at the tobacconist in Alagna or the station bar in Varallo. Services are few and change with the season: check Baranzelli and ATAP, or ask the tourist office.

By plane

The nearest airport is Milan Malpensa, about 100 km away, with flights from across Europe. Turin Caselle and Milan Linate are about 160 km away. There is no direct public transport from the airports to Alagna: hire a car or book a taxi or private transfer. Several taxi and minibus firms work from the village.

Parking

Alagna has free and paid car parks, and part of the centre is a limited traffic zone (ZTL): do not drive in without a permit. Leave the car and walk: from most accommodation the gondola is a few minutes away. For the upper-valley trails (Acqua Bianca, Pastore, Barba Ferrero), start from the Wold car park.

ALAGNA VALSESIA Meteo