Monte San Salvatore to Morcote: Switzerland’s Sweetest Hike
The panorama trail from Monte San Salvatore to Morcote, a village which has been voted the ‘most beautiful’ in Switzerland, has the sweetest ending: La Casa Del Gelato, the best gelato place in Lugano!
Essential Information
Where: Lugano, Italian speaking part of Switzerland
When: March to November
Distance: 11km
How long: 3 hours hike one way, Monte San Salvatore to Morcote. Then return with the ferry to Lugano.
Difficulty: Moderate
Why do it? For the panorama views over Lake Lugano, plus you get to enjoy the most delicious gelato as a reward at the end!
Where is the start of the hike? How do I get there?
The hike starts at the top of Monte San Salvatore, 912m above sea level. To get there, you need to:
- Catch the train to Lugano or drive to Via delle Scuole 7, 6902 Paradiso .
- If you caught the train, walk down through the city towards Lake Lugano and stroll along the promenade to the funicular station. It takes 30min.
- Catch the 12 minute funicular railway up the mountain. Or walk up if you’re really keen! It’ll add an extra 2 hours 15 min to the hike.
Zürich to Lugano is 2 hours by train, 2 hours 40 min by car, Luzern to Lugano is 1 hour 45 min by train 2 hours and 10 min by car.
Do be aware that if you’re driving from anywhere else in Switzerland to Ticino (the Italian speaking part of Switzerland) that there can be literal traffic stand stills and hours long wait time outside the Gotthard tunnel during the holidays or long weekends. My Swiss parents-in-law will literally drive to Ticino at midnight sometimes to avoid the wait. Check the traffic conditions and tunnel waiting times here.
Price and Tickets
Monte San Salvatore to Morcote is a one way hike. The costs involved include the price for the funicular up to the top of Monte San Salvatore and the price for the ferry or bus back to Lugano, from Morcote. (If you’re really broke you could walk everything instead and it would be free…but that would be over 8 hours of hiking).
See the original source of the map here.
The funicular to the top of Monte San Salvatore costs 25chf one way for an adult and 11chf for kids 6-16 years. It’s cheaper if you have a GA or other discounts- check the funicular website for up-to-date prices. Please note that it can get quite busy, so if you can book your tickets ahead of time online. The funicular is open throughout the year and there’s also a restaurant at the top of the mountain. In summer the opening hours are 9am to 11pm, but do double check the funicular website in case changes have been made.
The ferry from Morcote to Lugano costs 28chf for an adult one-way, 14chf for a child one-way. It’s half price with the Halbtax. You’ll want to plan your arrival time carefully to catch the ferry though, otherwise you could be waiting as long as 2 hours for the next one, depending. The last ferry leaves at 6.05pm, so if you arrive later than that you’ll have to take the bus. Check the ferry times on the SBB App or even google maps has been pretty accurate based on past experience. I looked for the official website for the timetable, but it was confusing and I didn’t find it.
It’s cheaper to take the bus back, but not nearly as nice! If you miss the ferry you might want to bus it anyway, as it comes much more frequently, every half hour or so. Get on the bus at Morcote, Piazza Granda. It costs 5.20chf for an adult one-way and takes about 50minutes.
If you’re doing this hike as a day trip from another part of Switzerland, I recommend getting a Day Pass, which covers all public transport in Switzerland for the day. It’s cheaper if you book in advance and on a weekday too. For this hike, it means the ferry and bus are ‘free’ with the Day Pass, but for the funicular it only gives you a 50% discount, as it’s privately owned.
Good to know: Info & Tips for Monte San Salvatore to Morcote Hike
- First and most important tip: Try the La Casa del Gelato in Morcote! It’s in a tiny little store, a little hidden down an alleyway off the lakefront. It’s all made by hand and is the real deal.
- I couldn’t find out whether or not the trail is open in winter- in any case, I recommend doing this summer, spring or autumn, as ferries in Switzerland don’t usually run over winter…and the gelato store might be shut. So it’s a risk.
- This hike is moderate to easy in difficulty. There’s very little ascent (230m) and the steepest part is in the beginning. After that it’s mostly flat before the descent to Morcote. It’s well signposted throughout.
- After you pass the picturesque village of Carona, the trail splits and you have the option to go to the right or left- both trails will get you to Morcote. We chose the left, because it’s more direct and goes through the botanical gardens.
- As previously mentioned, if you want to catch the ferry back to Lugano, check the timetable on the SBB App or google maps. I looked up the times for this Saturday, and the ferries depart at 13.20, 15.20, 17.15 and 18.05 from Morcote to Lugano.
- If you drive to the Funicular station in Paradiso, get off the ferry (or bus) one stop before Lugano, at Paradiso (lago), so you don’t have to walk back.
- Factor in some time to enjoy Parco San Grato. It’s a beautiful botanical garden you’ll walk through on the trail (free entry) with incredible views back to Monte San Salvatore, so you can see how far you’ve come.
If you can, go to the park in April or May so you can enjoy carpets of azaleas and rhododendrons. It’s a good place to stop for a picnic or there’s a restaurant there as well. You can even stay overnight. For more information, see their website.
- This isn’t the only hike around Monte San Salvatore. You can see other hiking options here.
Our experience: Hiking from Monte San Salvatore to Morcote
We started off enjoying the view from the summit of Monte San Salvatore.
After that, we started on the trail. On the way you pass through two little villages: Ciona and Carona.
Arriving at Morcote- this is the view as you descend into the village.
I loved Morcote’s big church tower, looking over the lake.
Taking some time to explore Morcote. Just before the gelato!
Hope this guide to hiking from Monte San Salvatore to Morcote was useful! If you’re looking for another, equally stunning hike, check out this post I wrote:
Seealpsee hike + Äscher: Switzerland’s most unique hike
Oriana
Oriana was born in Zürich and is currently living in Basel, in northern Switzerland.
This travel blog is is her newest project with her twin sister. Their mission is to give everyone the confidence to travel Switzerland with ease.