Biellese Nord Ovest - Valli Elvo, Oropa, Cervo hiking map 1:25.000 with guide

The Biellese district has a remarkable variety of landscapes. It is bounded both by the alpine chain separating it from the Valle d’Aosta and Valsesia, as well as Europe’s largest moraine relief in the southwest. Its rich history embraces herding and gold prospecting, high quality textile industry and art, along with sustainable tourism for visitors in search of genuine mountain areas combined with food and wine. It has five river valleys: the Elvo, Oropa, Cervo, Strona and Sessera (the last two will be covered in forthcoming publications). Valle Elvo, the watershed between the Biellese and Canavese districts, is vast and drenched in sun. It features streams galore, pasture and woodland, and regales breathtaking panoramas even from low altitudes. Its many places of interest include the Marian Sanctuary at Graglia (17th century), the Parco Burcina “Felice Piacenza” at Pollone, the Bessa nature reserve, an ancient Roman-era gold mine, and the Trappa monastery at Sordevolo. Valle Oropa, where religion, pastoral tradition and mountaineering come together, boasts the most important Marian sanctuary in the Alps, dedicated to the cult of the Black Madonna, along with the Sacro Monte and a botanical garden at the WWF oasis with important collections. This valley gave its name to the “Pezzata rossa di Oropa” the native bovine type that has been bred for centuries in the Biellese district for its excellent meat. Numerous mountaineering routes, climbing walls and via ferratas complete the picture. Rugged Valle Cervo enchants walkers with its fascinating vast beech woods traversed on ancient mule tracks linking the many hamlets perched on mountain flanks where time seems to stand still. The hospice-sanctuary San Giovanni Battista is noteworthy along with the nearby village of Santa Maria and its 12th-century chapel. There are walking routes with all levels of difficulty, and examples of environmentally sensitive redevelopme.

1 Mombarone, the mountain that unites

2 From the chestnut woods of Bagneri to the Trappa monastery

3 The heart of Valle Elvo

4 The old way from Biella to Oropa

5 Monte Tovo, in the heart of valle Oropa

6 The Cucco Circuit

7 From Rosazza to Piedicavallo

8 Lago della Vecchia

9 Monte Bo