A Short Hike to Cinque Laghi, Above Valgoglio

Overview | Details | Flora

Upper Left: Approaching Capanna Lago Nero under ominous skies.
Upper Right: Trail (sentiero) 268 with our starting and stopping point.
Lower Left: [Crassulaceae] Sempervivum montanum- Mountain Houseleek (Semprevivo montano).
Lower Middle: [Lamiaceae] Ajuga pyramidalis – Pyramidal Bugle (Iva piramidale).
Lower Right: [Lentibulariaceae] Pinguicula vulgaris – Common Butterwort (Erba unta comune).

Overview

Length: 8 km (5 mi)
Duration: 5.5 hours total, with 45 minute lunch break at Capanna Lago Nero
Elevation: 1200 m (3,937 ft) @ start/end of hike at Ristoro Cinque Laghi; 1,997 m (6,551 ft) @ Capanna Lago Nero – highest point
Location: Italy, Lombardy, Bergamo, Alta Val Seriana

Details

Today’s hike to Cinque Laghi (Five Lakes) followed sentiero 268. We started higher and ended sooner than the respective start and end of the trail as documented on the CAI site. A loop around the lakes is a considered one of the classic hikes of Bergamo. However, we were hiking in a group of six and most of the group didn’t want to continue farther on the trail or go for a loop around the lakes due to the threat of rain and the desire to leave early to avoid valley traffic.  Therefore, Travelmarx was overruled and hence “short” in this post’s title. For what we didn’t get to do in terms of length was certainly made up with interesting flowers we saw.

To be precise, our turnaround point was Capanna Lago Nero @ 1997 m (6552 ft), which is on the little lake, Lago Canali. We sat outside and ate sandwiches prepared with cheese from our Parafulmine hike two days earlier. But we were still hungry and ordered polenta with melted cheese (polenta con formaggio alla piastre) and a simple pasta dish. Everything tastes better after hiking.

This hike is dominated by the large pipe that transports water from the alpine lakes to the hydroelectric plant in the valley, Centrale Enel Di Aviasco, which produces energy for about 10,000 homes. According to the Bergamo Post, only two of the lakes (Lago Nero and Lago Aviasco) are used to produce energy. During the hike, you pass over and under the pipe several times. In Italian, the pipe is referred to as a condotta forazata.

Valgoglio is a small town in the upper part of the Val Seriana in the province of Bergamo. The town sits at the lower end of the Valle del Goglio, on the Goglio river. The sentiero 268 officially starts in Valgoglio. We drove on further up the valley to get on sentiero 268 at Ristoro dei Cinque Laghi, in the locale Bortolotti.

Flora

As usual, we used the resources listed in the post Resources for Identifying Plants around Bergamo for helping figure out what is what. If we had to give an accuracy score for our identifications, we say about 95% accurate for species and 98% for genus.

Key: [Family] Genus species – Common name in English (Common name in Italian)

[Asparagaceae] Paradisea liliastrum – St Bruno’s Lily (Giglio di monte)

[Boraginaceae] Myosotis – Forget Me Not (Nontiscordardimè)

[Campanulaceae] Phyteuma hemisphaericum­ – Globe Headed Rampion (Raponzolo alpino)

• A Phyteuma definitely, but which one is a kind of hard to know. P. hemispheericum is more common and is found at slightly lower elevations. For these reasons, we went with P. hemisphaericum.

[Crassulaceae] Sempervivum montanum- Mountain Houseleek (Semprevivo montano)

[Ericaceae] Rhododendron ferrugineum – Alpenrose (Rododendro rosso)

[Fabaceae] Laburnum anagyroides – Common Laburnum (Maggiociondolo)

[Gentinanaceae] Gentiana clusii – Trumpet Gentian (Genziana di Clusius)

• Based on absence of green inside of corolla.

[Lamiaceae] Ajuga pyramidalis – Pyramidal Bugle (Iva piramidale)

[Lentibulariaceae] Pinguicula vulgaris – Common Butterwort (Erba unta comune)

[Orchidaceae] Dactylorhiza maculata – Spotted Heath Orchid (Orchide macchiata)

[Orchidaceae] Orchis mascula – Early Purple Orchid (Orchide maschio)

[Polygalaceae] Polygala chamaebuxus – Shrubby Milkwort (Poligala falso bosso)

[Primulaceae] Primula daonensis – (Primula della Valle di Daone)

[Ranunculaceae] Pulsatilla alpina – Alpine Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla alpina)

[Rosaceae] Sanguisorba spp. – Burnet (Salvastrella) [just leaves]

[Thymelaeaceae] Daphne striata – Striped Daphne (Dafne striata)

[Violaceae] Viola biflora – Yellow Violet (Viola con due fiori)


Left: An ant nest on trail 268. We saw many in the forested part of the hike. Center Left: An ant on a gentian flower. Center Right: Two moths mating. Right: A spider protecting her brood?


Left and Center Left: [Asparagaceae] Paradisea liliastrum – St Bruno’s Lily (Giglio di monte). Center Right: [Boraginaceae] Myosotis – Forget Me Not (Nontiscordardimè). Right: A spider on an [Asteraceae] Centaurea flower bud.


Left: [Crassulaceae] Sempervivum montanum- Mountain Houseleek (Semprevivo montano). Center: [Ericaceae] Rhododendron ferrugineum – Alpenrose (Rododendro rosso). Right: [Fabaceae] Laburnum anagyroides – Common Laburnum (Maggiociondolo).


Left: [Gentinanaceae] Gentiana clusii – Trumpet Gentian (Genziana di Clusius). Center: [Lentibulariaceae] Pinguicula vulgaris – Common Butterwort (Erba unta comune). Right: [Polygalaceae] Polygala chamaebuxus – Shrubby Milkwort (Poligala falso bosso).

Left: [Orchidaceae] Dactylorhiza maculata – Spotted Heath Orchid (Ochide macchiato). Center:
[Orchidaceae] Orchis mascula – Early Purple Orchid (Orchide maschio). Right: [Lamiaceae] Ajuga pyramidalis – Pyramidal Bugle (Iva piramidale).

Left: [Ranunculaceae] Pulsatilla alpina – Alpine Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla alpina). Center: [Violaceae] Viola biflora – Yellow Violet (Viola con due fiori). Right: Detail of [Rosaceae] Sanguisorba spp. – Burnet (Salvastrella) leaf.


Left and Center Left: [Primulaceae] Primula daonensis – (Primula della Valle di Daone). Center Right and Right: [Thymelaeaceae] Daphne striata – Striped Daphne (Dafne striata).


All three photos: [Campanulaceae] Phyteuma hemisphaericum­ – Globe Headed Rampion (Raponzolo alpino).


Left: Pasta at Capanna Lago Nero. Center Left: Polenta with melted cheese (polenta con formaggio alla piastre). Center Right and Right: Signs along trail 268 to Cinque Laghi.


Scenes from the trail 268 with the ever-present water pipe bringing water from two of the alpine lakes down to the Valgoglio hydroelectric plant in the valley.


Views from the trail 268. Left: Looking down to the valley. Center: The ENEL village. Right: Start of the hike at Ristoro dei Cinque Laghi.