Lago Palù from San Giuseppe in Valmalenco
An alpine lake among the larches, with Monte Disgrazia reflected in the water: you climb through the woods from San Giuseppe in an hour and a half.
- Difficulty
- E Hiking
- Length
- 7.9 km
- Elevation gain
- +520 m / −520 m
- Time
- 3–3.5 hours round trip
- Route
- Out and back
- Altitude
- 1413–1935 m
- Season
- Summer Autumn Winter
Download the GPXDirections to the start ↗
Saved. You'll find everything in My trip, where you can split it into days and see it on the map.
Saved on this device: you can open it even without a connection. All your saved pages are in Offline guides.
The topographic map loads OpenTopoMap tiles (an external server) only when you open it.
Why go
Because it is one of the most beautiful lakes in the Valtellina, and in winter it makes a snowshoe outing suitable even for beginners.
Practical information
- Start
- San Giuseppe, above Chiesa in Valmalenco
- Finish
- Lago and Rifugio Palù, about 1,950 m; back the same way or by cable car (when running)
- Best time
- June–October; in winter with snowshoes
- Parking
- In San Giuseppe.
- By public transport
- Bus from Sondrio to Chiesa in Valmalenco; Bernina cable car from Chiesa to Alpe Palù (check timetables).
- Water
- At the mountain hut.
- Shade
- Larch and fir woodland.
- Huts and refreshments
- Rifugio Lago Palù.
- With children
- Yes, in winter too on the packed trail.
Weather at the start
The forecast for the next 7 days at this spot: sky, temperatures, rain and wind.
Forecast by Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), from the models of national weather services. Your browser downloads it directly from Open-Meteo, and only when you ask. In the mountains and at sea the weather changes quickly: check the official forecast as well before you set off.
What to see on the route and nearby
More hikes in Lombardy
- 1Sentiero del Viandante, Lierna–VarennaE 7.4 km · +580 m · 3–3.5 hours · point to point
- 2★ Codera, the village you can only reach on footE 6.2 km · +570 m · 3–3.5 hours · out and back
- 3★ The Earth Pyramids of ZoneE 2.1 km · +170 m · 1–1.5 hours · loop
- 4★ Monte Isola, the climb to the Madonna della CeriolaE 5.5 km · +470 m · 2.5–3 hours · out and back
- 5★ The Forni glacier trailE 4.1 km · +460 m · 3 hours · point to point
- 6Lake Como Greenway, from Colonno to CadenabbiaT 11 km · +170 m · 3–3.5 hours · point to point
- 7The Via Sacra of the Sacred Mountain of VareseT 3.4 km · +200 m · 1.5–2 hours round trip · out and back
- 8Val di Mello to Cascina PianaT 6.8 km · +160 m · 2.5 hours round trip · out and back
- 9Rifugio Curò and Lago del Barbellino from ValbondioneE 9.8 km · +960 m · 5–5.5 hours round trip · out and back
- 10Laghi Gemelli from CaronaE 10.6 km · +860 m · 5 hours round trip · out and back
- 11Corni di Canzo: from Fonti di Gajum to Rifugio SEVE 10.3 km · +770 m · 4.5 hours round trip · out and back
Routes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via Waymarked Trails and BRouter; elevations from a digital terrain model. Times and elevation gains are indicative: waymarks on the ground and closure orders always take precedence.