Through the Greenway

Lake Como is one of Italy's big lakes, up in the north, close to the border with Switzerland. It's a beautiful place, surrounded with nature, and one of my goals when I visited was to explore some of the nature trails. But at the hostel in Como (the location I chose as my exploration base), while trying to get some advice from the locals about what trails to do, I was advised to give the greenway a go! Not exactly a nature trail, but close enough!

The Greenway del Lago di Como is a 10km trail, that goes through some of the small villages near the west margin of the lake; this means you'll be near nature, since a good parte of the course is near the water, but you also get the chance to roam through the cool italian villages. Funny how I hadn't heard anything about it before arriving, but nevertheless I decided to follow the locals advice, and I'm glad I did!

***

From Como, it's around a 1h bus ride to Colonno, the village where the Greenway starts. The trail is well indicated, although I've missed the exact start for 500 meters!

Tip: better ask the bus driver to tell you where to get off, it's not that easy to spot the beginning!

From the first moment, the view was amazing. These small villages have a unique charm, with the ancient buildings all around. Being in the winter, the freezing cold and the faint smell of wood from the fireplaces only added to the experience!

The stripe on the ground marks the way, and in case of doubt, we just have to search the symbol of the greenway, that is present at very regular intervals in the ground.

Apart from checking regularly if you're on the right track... you just have to enjoy the scenery! From the church towers that stand from the remaining houses...

... through the narrow streets, following the signs all around that make it so easy to stay on the right track...

... up until the lake margin, with the snow capped Alps in the background, doing this Greenway is a must if you visit the Lake!

I spent the day doing the trail, taking my time to explore the surroundings, enjoy the lake view and of course, scouting for wildlife!

And although I prefer to be surrounded by nature, I aprecciated all the cool buildings I've came across.

For the ones that are more into history, there are a ton of signs along the way and near these landmarks, with explanations about the history and names of the buildings.

The last town of the trail is Griante, the seventh village you will know in the Greenway. But with a short walk, you'll reach Menaggio, another famous lake village, and the extra mile is worth it! Menaggio is beautiful, offering stunning views.

It's the best place to relax after all those km! And my advice, to get back? Instead of getting the bus back, catch the ferry, and enjoy a little bit more of lake Como after an amazing trail!

PS. This was my first post through the Travelfeed.io frontend. And although I was a little confused at first with the writing editor, I see a lot of small details that will probably make the delights of the more hardcore travel bloggers! I do need to explore all the perks a little better, but overall, it seems a great job! Congratulations to the team!