Description
Small glacial lakes: Montorfano and the ascent of Monte Orfano. The Brughiera Briantea Park.
The climb up to Brunate runs along the Cosia torrent and through places associated with Alessandro Volta, including Villa Campora and the Camnago Volta mausoleum. We then follow the old tramway and pass over the Ponte dei Bottini bridge to reach the road that leads to Montorfano.
Lake Montorfano lies within the Montorfano Regional Nature Reserve and is part of a group of Brianza lakes between the southern tips of Lake Como in the so-called “Larian Triangle” (Larius being the Latin name for Lake Como) between Como, Bellagio and Lecco.
The smallest of all the lakes in the Alta Brianza (Upper Brianza) area, it is known for its distinctively round shape, which is rather unusual for this type of lake. Lake Montorfano was created by the last major glaciation that occurred during the Würm glacial period between 100,000 and 10,000 years ago.
Montorfano takes its name from Monte Orfano (Mons Orphanus – 554 metres) which overlooks the town. Monte Orfano stands alone detached from the surrounding mountains. The ruins can still be seen of an abandoned fortified compound that dates back to the second and third centuries bc.
The lake covers 0.46 km² (0,18 m2) and is bordered in places by reedbeds, while the shoreline is 2.67 km (1.66 m) long. The lake is suitable for swimming and very popular with fans of open water swimming, even in the winter.
Our return to Como follows trails through the Brughiera Briantea Park with drops and technical difficulties that can be easily managed by all riders and passes by Cascina Inchigollo, where we can stop off for refreshments.
Ready to ride with us?
This guided tour by e-MTB (electric mountain bike) offers two itineraries of varying lengths: one is a three-hour ride while the other is four and a half hours. The level of technical difficulty and physical effort required also varies according to your chosen itinerary, which you can check below. The following summary illustrates the level of technical difficulty and physical effort that apply to each option.
e-MTB: 3-hour route
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY (rated from 1 to 5): ▼▼
PHYSICAL RATING (rated from 1 to 5): ♥
STS (Single Trail Scale): S1
e-MTB: 4 1/2 hour route
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY (rated from 1 to 5): ▼▼
PHYSICAL RATING (rated from 1 to 5): ♥ ♥
STS (Single Trail Scale): S1
The Single Trail Scale (STS) is an international trail grading system: to find out more you can download the description of all the STS levels.
Our guides are on hand to give you all the information and tools you needs to tackle the itineraries. The price of the tour includes e-MTB hire. If you would prefer to use a conventional MTB or bring your own bike, please email us at info@bikemotion.net.
Discounts are available for large groups: please contact us to find out more about pricing.
With regard to the possible risks created by the spread of COVID‐19 and in compliance with the relevant laws, BikEmotion adopts all measures necessary to combat and contain the spread of the new virus, and regulates all the safety measures that need to be taken.
