Walking above Lake Como, on the old mule tracks

Lake Como is long, narrow and deep, and its mountains come straight down to the water. That shape, which makes it so beautiful, also made it hard to get around. Until the lakeside roads were built, the villages along its shores were linked by boat, and by a network of paths on the slopes above, the mulattiere: mule tracks, paved with stones laid on edge, stepped where the slope demanded it, and walled against the drop. They led from the lake to the hamlets and summer pastures above, from church to church and from one village to the next. Most of them are still there.

That is the secret of walking on Lake Como. The lakeside road is busy, and the famous villas and their gardens draw a crowd, but a few hundred metres above them the old paths run quietly through chestnut woods and terraces, past chapels and stone barns, with the water always below.

The shape of the lake

The lake is shaped like an upside-down Y. Its two southern arms, towards Como and Lecco, meet at the promontory of Bellagio, and the single northern arm runs up towards the Alps and the Valtellina. Each part has its own character.

The central lake, around Bellagio, Menaggio, Tremezzo and Cadenabbia, is the classic picture: villas, gardens, ferries crossing between the three towns. Here the Greenway del Lago di Como, a waymarked path of about ten and a half kilometres, runs along the western shore from Colonno to Griante, linking villages and old lanes above the main road. It is gentle, signed and an easy first walk.

The upper lake, the Alto Lario, is quieter. Its villages, among them Gravedona, Domaso and Sorico at the very northern end, look across the water at steep, wooded mountains, and the paths above them climb to small settlements such as Livo, where the valleys run back into the hills. Fewer visitors come this far, and the walking is wilder for it.

For long-distance walkers there is also the Via dei Monti Lariani, a high-level route of about 125 kilometres along the western side of the lake, from Cernobbio near Como to Sorico, generally kept at around a thousand metres above sea level. Walked in stages, it takes in a long string of mountain villages and pastures, and gives the lake from above for days at a time.

A walking week

Explore's seven-night Lake Como Walking is built on the upper and central lake. It begins in Milan and is based first at the northern end, with walks around Gravedona, Livo, Domaso, Aurogna and Sorico, then moves down the lake to Menaggio and Bellagio, with Civenna and Croce above the shore, and finally Griante and Cadenabbia. That is a good order to see it in: the quiet north first, then the grand central lake at the end, when you have earned a coffee on a lakeside terrace. The trip departs in April, September and October.

Those months are the right ones. In high summer the paths are hot, the slopes hazy and the lake towns full. In spring the chestnut woods are coming into leaf, the camellias and azaleas are out in the villa gardens and the snow is still on the high peaks; in autumn the air is clear, the light is long and low across the water, and the chestnuts are falling on the paths.

A gentler alternative

Not everyone wants to walk all day, and Lake Como is a fine place to look at as well as to cross on foot. Travelsphere's seven-night Magnificent Maggiore & Lake Como takes in both lakes from Milan: Baveno on Lake Maggiore, the Borromean islands of Isola Madre, Isola Bella and Isola dei Pescatori, then Como, Tremezzo and Bellagio, with a visit to Macugnaga, a mountain village at the foot of Monte Rosa. It suits those who would rather take the ferry than the path.

Some practical notes

The mule tracks are old and uneven. Their stones are polished smooth by centuries of feet and hooves, and they are slippery when wet, so proper walking shoes are worth more here than on many longer paths. The climbs are short but steep: the villages sit above the water, and the paths go straight up to them. The good news is that almost every walk can be shortened. Ferries run up and down the lake, buses follow the shore, and a tired walker can usually find a boat home.

And there is no need to feel guilty about the villas. Having walked down a chestnut wood into Bellagio, you are entitled to sit in one of its gardens and watch the ferries for an hour. The lake is best seen from above, but it is also very pleasant from the water's edge.