The fourth section of the Via del Gries starts from Riale and follows the comfortable route up to the Morasco dam and around the lake. Then, it continues along the path which, with some original paved stretches, leads to the beautiful plateau of Bettelmatt, the area renowed for the homonymous alpine cheese; finally, a rather steep path leads from the alp to the Gries Pass. An extraordinary view opens up from this pass: the lake, the glacier from the Blinnenhorn, Swiss peaks meeting Italian ridges… The special limestone rocks eroded by the glacier have given the ground a unique appearance: in the Walser language it’s called “Kries”, thus explaining the origin of the name of this important alpine pass. On the Swiss side, the route quickly descends to villages amidst meadows and larch forests. Along the way, you cross the beautiful stone bridge of Ladstaffel, dated 1749, where once stood a small chapel dedicated to San Nicolao, ex voto site of devotion built by some someggiatori (people who led mule caravans through mountain passes) from Formazza after escaping danger and now preserved in the Parish Church of Ulrichen.
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