Le acque naturalmente azzurre, quasi caraibiche, del Lago Vago, raggiungibile in circa 90 minuti dalla Forcella di Livigno. Il colore è dovuto alla presenza di solfato di rame nell'acqua, che si deposita sulle rocce creando una patina bianca.

The naturally blue, almost Caribbean water of Lago Vago, reached in about 90 minutes from the Forcella di Livigno. The colour comes from copper sulphate in the water, which settles on the rocks and leaves a white coating.

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8 hikes

Hikes to alpine lakes in Lombardy

A selection of hikes to the most beautiful alpine lakes and reservoirs in Lombardy.

The alpine lakes of Lombardy are the natural antidote to Milan's 40 degrees: an hour and a half by car and a couple of hours on foot, and you find yourself soaking in icy water that resets body and mind.

Whether you are after a restorative walk, a place to spread a blanket in the middle of nowhere or simply a way to convince even children to walk (“there's a lake at the end”), these hikes are ideal destinations.

Lago d'Emet, for example, is perfect for a family outing: an easy path, a mountain hut a few steps away and the chance to dip your feet in the water while the peaks of Valchiavenna are reflected in it. For a more lunar atmosphere, Lago Bianco at Pian dei Cavalli offers an almost surreal landscape of karst hollows and rocks sculpted by time. And then there is Lago Vago, above Livigno, with that incredible chemical-blue tint that makes you wonder whether it is an optical illusion.

Every lake tells of a geology, a microclimate, a different way of experiencing the mountains. And even if some can only be reached with a good amount of climbing in your legs, the reward is always the same: icy water, clean air and the clear feeling of having left the world somewhere else, at least for a while.

On this page you will find selected hikes to some of the most beautiful lakes in Lombardy.

Young lakes, fragile lakes

One of Lombardy's youngest lakes lies on one of these walks. At the foot of the Fellaria glacier in Valmalenco, the retreating ice has left a proglacial lake which, according to the Lombardy Glaciological Service, grew between 2007 and 2021 to more than 200,000 square metres, becoming the largest natural lake in the valley; and the water in contact with the ice in turn speeds up its melting. It is the same process that, over far longer timescales, carved the hollows in which so many alpine lakes sit, which is why the walk to the Rifugio Bignami and the glaciological trail works as an open-air geography lesson.

Precisely because these are young and fragile places, it is best to stay on the marked paths around them, as the managers of the Fellaria trail ask, and leave the shores untouched. A swim is a fair temptation on the hottest days, but the water stays icy even in August, so go in slowly and never alone, and keep soap and sun cream in your rucksack. At the Fellaria glacial lake, the blocks of ice floating in the water or breaking off the snout are to be watched from a distance.