Valle dei Mocheni and the Fersina walk

Today we are going to write about the Fersina Walk in Valle dei Mocheni.
We have seen this walk suggested on many websites, but none of them tells you exactly how to get there and where the starting point is. The reason for this may be that the other websites are written by people who have never been to these places. We, on the other hand, write only about the places we have "tried and tested".
So, remember that you saw it here first! :)

La Valle dei Mocheni, only 20 km away from Trento, is a unique place, very different from the Trentino region. Indeed, seeing the road signs you could think that you are in a German speaking country. The Mocheni Valley is inhabited by people speaking an old variation of German, and their culture and customs are also unique in this respect. 

The place gives us an impression to be a bit of a forgotten valley. It has a quiet and sleepy atmosphere. You can see many traditional farmhouses, some of them have long passed their glory days, scattered on the hillsides. The nature is unspoilt and a bit wild. In November the golden colours of autumn are particularly beautiful. 

The Fersina torrent starts at Lake Erdemolo which is another great place to visit in the summer months. It goes through the Valle dei Mocheni and Valsugana towards Trento where it joins the Adige river. 

This could be a great walk in all seasons, unfortunately one part of the path to the left towards Palu' was damaged by August rains and remains now closed to the public. The recent November downpours did not help either...


We started our walk in Sant'Orsola. You have to follow the sign "Passeggiata Torrente Fersina". The path goes alongside the torrent and, as we've already said, you can choose to either go left (towards Palu) or right (towards Pergine). Along the footpath you'll find a green picnic area with places to sit and play ball. The path is very well sign-posted as you can see from the pictures below.

We passed many beautiful "masi" on our way. A "maso" is a typical old farmhouse of this area. Apart from the "masi" you'll also find here some old mills and sawmills. They were all closed now but you can visit some of them during the summer months.

We are planning to visit the mills next summer, and that's when we will be able to write something more about it. For now this is the information we've found on the Internet:

Maso Filzerhof (not the one in the pictures above) near Fierozzo/ Vlaroetz (tel.0461 550073) belongs to "the Open Museum" which includes some old farmhouses and mills in the area. Here you can see how the people of the valley lived in the past. It is only open during the summer months and even then not every day. 

Miniera Grua va Hardoembl (tel.0461 / 550053) is another place worth a visit in summer. It's an old mine turned into a museum. You can actually go underground and see how the miners used to work. The mine is located 5 km away from Palu, on the footpath leading to the Lake Erdemolo.

How to get there: 
From Trento take the Valsugana SS47 towards Pergine, from Pergine follow the indications for Valle dei Mocheni. When you get to Sant'Orsola centre turn right towards the church and follow the road going down until you see the signs for the car park and the Passeggiata Torrente Fersina (Localita' Caspito).


Duration: from 2 hours onwards;


Level: easy, suitable for pushchairs;


Refreshments and toilet facilities: available in Sant' Orsola Terme;