Monte Baldo – Lake Garda

Iain Gilmour

When you discover that special dehghtful place, the temptation is to tell nobody, and to keep it to yourself However, since no YRC man would dream of idling by a crystal clear trout lake and eating heavenly peach flavoured ice cream, or attending an outdoor opera in a Roman arena, I feel free to tell you about it.

Lake Garda is the largest of the Italian lakes, and is fed with clear pure water fiom the limestone mountains to the North, from the West and from Monte Baldo to the East.

A good 1:50,000 map is published by Kompass, “Lago di Garda, Monte Baldo”, and this is quite adequate for mountain trips and for information on mountain refuges.

A typical route from Castelletto rises by ancient tracks through leafy hazel woods for 3000 feet to a public road through Prada. The 654 marked path then rises to Rifugio Telegrafo at 7000 feet, passing through dramatic limestone scenery. There are up to a dozen refuges which could be used.

The ridge of Monte Baldo is around 7 miles long, and includes sections described as “suitable for climbers only” but mostly with good paths. Ascending fiom the level of Lake Garda, one would ideally like to stay at least one night at a refuge, but ascending from one of the higher roads, the ridge could be explored in day trips. The views of the lake and the mountains to the north are superb.

We stayed at a hotel in Bardolino on the lake shore, a pleasant little village with marina, cafes and near by camp sites. In the evening, a promenade around the streets was an entertainment in itself Lake Garda is 30 miles long by 11 miles wide, and can easily absorb the many yachts and fast motor boats which the Italians enjoy. The water buses or the fast hydrofoils will take you to explore other paits of the lake.

Verona is 15 miles away, and the old Roman arena has nightly performances of opera. To join 10,000 other people under a starlight sky and watch Aida with a cast of some 200, is quite a spectacle! There are two types of tickets for the opera, the numbered seats low down in the arena, and the un¬numbered terrace seats where you take pot luck and sit on a marble slab. If you have a terrace ticket and go into the arena early, you will experience a stream of cushion hirers, and people selling beer, ice creams, and sandwiches. Performances start at dusk, and as the overture commences, the audience light up thousands of tiny candles, contrasting with the stars overhead. The sense of occasion was magnificent, and it was midnight before we left the arena.

If you feel like a lazy holiday with an odd hill thrown in, then why not give this a try?