Monte San Giorgio, a stroll

Going up to Monte San Giorgio is nothing more than a comfortable walk, however you decide to take it. Fame to this mountain arrived in 2003, when it became a Unesco site thanks to the outstanding prehistoric (Triassic) findings. Having in mind the report by paoloski  (and with today’s limited available time), we chose to start from the lovely little village of Meride. A large (free) parking area is located on the left of road, immediately before Meride. There is a vast array of paths to choose from; we started from the north-eastern part of the village, where the route moves up very gently direction north-east, then turns decidedly north-west running along Val Serrata. Quite a windy day, but otherwise splendid. A merging point (864m on the CNS) with the larger path which departs from S. Silvestro is soon reached; right here the walk turns into a stroll, until you get to Cassina. Next the path moves up towards Forello, and that’s about where we hit some residual snow, actually degenerating into very slippery mud. However, with large views over Milano and the Appenines, Forello is soon reached and, in a matter of minutes, the summit of Monte San Giorgio too. Very crowded. The building on the summit offers some room for a meal and a rest, but, sadly, the chapel was closed. Anyway, here’s the highlight of the hike: an absolutely spectacular view over the Lugano lake, some 800m below, from Morcote to Melide and to Lugano itself. Engaging the slippery path on descending proved, uh, an exciting excercise. To make a slight change we followed integrally the large, steep at times but well-paved track descending to S. Silvestro. The whole hike may take three-and-half to four hours, so just a half-day stroll, hassle-free, but with a very generous prize.