After crossing through the Dorf, the small Walser community, climb along a dirt road until you reach the Anza River. Don’t cross; turn left and continue along its bank. The trail then becomes very steep and a ridge rises which leads to Alpe Roffelstaffel. Continue along the hillside to reach a small valley at the foot of the Belvedere Glacier’s moraine embankment, following it until just before Alpe Fillar. There, a turnoff will take you up the moraine embankment to then cross the glacier’s tongue along a signalled route which quickly reaches the glacier itself (where the chairlift from Pecetto arrives). Follow the trail along the moraine’s east crest and before long you will reach the pretty basin of Alpe Pedriola and the Rifugio Zamboni Zappa mountain hut. From the lodge, continue along the hillside between alders and rhododendrons on a lovely panoramic route including the pinnacles of Mount Rosa and which leads to the high plains of Rosareccio. From there, the steep, long descent begins, touching on Alpe Rosareccio and eventually reaching the hamlet of Burki. Take the farm track that heads downhill to cross the Anza and then return to Pecetto

Notes: This charming hike is set in the high mountains in sight of the imposing east face of Mount Rosa (4,634 m / 15,203 ft), which plummets to the basin of Macugnaga: a unique spectacle found only in the Italian Alps. The route runs along the Belvedere Glacier, the largest in the region, and extends along the foot of the Wildlife Oasis of Macugnaga where you may catch a glimpse of chamois or Alpine ibex. The itinerary may be shortened by taking the chairlift from Pecetto to Belvedere www.macugnaga-monterosa.it