Equipped trail of Monte Barro

An island of rock amidst the first Brianza plateaus, Monte Barro rises like a sort of Sugar Loaf over the foothill lakes and the initial kilometers of the Lecco branch of Lake Como. A narrow road, quite overcrowded given its width, ascends its steep slopes to a height of about 700 meters, to the famous Hermitage of Monte Barro, where a large early 20th-century hotel structure stands. Today, the facility houses a large restaurant and the headquarters of the Monte Barro Park, with some exhibition spaces (a natural history museum and the Archaeological Museum of Barro, which collects artifacts found in nearby Ostrogothic excavations).

The ascent from the Hermitage is rather steep but suitable for everyone. The climb from the southern side, on the other hand, presents some additional difficulties (a few enjoyable rocky slabs and chains).

We drive from Galbiate following the signs for the Hermitage; after a few kilometers of narrow switchback road, we take a right turn with signs for the ornithological observatory in the Costa Perla area. We ascend this road and look for parking (612m). The trail starts just to the right of the ornithological observatory, skirting near the outer fence. In a few minutes, we exit the forest and reach a large tree near a fork: in front of us, the path to the Hermitage, which we will return from, while we turn right and ascend towards a saddle with a view of Lecco and Resegone.

We start the ascent to the summit here, with brief rocky sections and chains, to reach the summit cross (922m, 45 minutes).

For the descent, we use the normal trail, the one that comes from the Hermitage. We quickly descend to a transmitter, then keep right to follow the switchbacks within the Giovanni Fornaciari botanical trail, which can offer interesting views of the Grigne. A few more steps, and we arrive at the towering beech trees shading the Hermitage of Monte Barro (732m, 30 minutes). A panoramic terrace on the roof of the structure allows us to admire once again the view over the plain.

To return to the car, we take the gravel path that descends in front of the structure. In a matter of minutes, we return to the fork encountered on the way up (612m, 20 minutes).