Hikes near Bergamo, within 70 km

From Bergamo the Alps are close in almost every direction, and the 70-kilometre radius we have chosen for this page takes in two rather different worlds: the limestone Prealps between Lecco and Lake Como, with their ridges overlooking the water, and the more alpine valleys that climb towards the Valtellina and the Valchiavenna. Our hikes, for now, look mostly west and north, towards the lake and beyond the Orobie, rather than into the Bergamo valleys themselves, and the list reflects that honestly. Every one of them, though, is an easy day trip from Bergamo.

The closest, in spirit as well, is the Via delle Creste Orientali on the Resegone, which starts from Brumano in the Valle Imagna and follows the dolomitic towers of Lecco's emblematic mountain from the Bergamo side. From there the lake is a step away: Monte Barro, Monte Due Mani, Cornizzolo, Moregallo, the Piani Resinelli with Rifugio Rosalba and the Val d'Era above Mandello del Lario, and further west the Triangolo Lariano with Boletto, San Primo and Alpe Giumello, as well as the long ridge between Monte Grona and Bregagno. For a more alpine day there are the Rifugio Benigni loop in the upper Val Gerola, on the Valtellina side of the Orobie, the Sentiero del Tracciolino between the Val Codera and the Val dei Ratti, the Ventina glacier trail and Rifugio Gianetti in the Val Masino, with its 1,480 metres of ascent below the granite walls.