Gema - Frascesca Spring

From the town center of Teglio, follow the signs for Prato Valentino until you reach the locality of Gema Bassa. At the main hairpin bend, next to a farm, a beautiful dirt road branches off to the right, which is the starting point of the route, where parking is possible. From the wide pasture on your right there is a beautiful view of the eastern part of Valtellina and in particular the town of Tirano. Leaving the meadows of Gema, you enter a beautiful mixed forest of chestnut, cherry, and birch; beside the road, a undergrowth of wild strawberries accompanies you. Towards the mountain, near the first pasture encountered, it is possible to observe the head of the Rio valley, behind which runs the Swiss border and, further to the right, you can see Monte Cancano overlooking a wide slope covered by spruce and larch forests. Continuing, after passing through a wet area characterized by an alder forest, near two small stone buildings there is a beautiful view of the Orobic side and the Mortirolo pass. Upon reaching a small stream crossing, continue straight at the foot of green pastures, leaving the uphill dirt road to the left. You then reach a green metal railing from which you can see in all its majesty Monte Cancano; from this point the path briefly enters a beautiful pure beech forest and the route is accompanied by the babbling of the Rio creek. Shortly after you arrive at the Frascesca spring. After a few more meters downhill, you can observe a limestone vein, distinguished by its whitish color, which was once worked in the nearby kiln.