Riva del Garda, Strada della Forra, Lago di Tenno, Canale di Tenno & Varone Waterfall
This day we we planned to travel northward along the lake to experience the famous road "Strada della Forra" that appears in the opening scene of the James Bond movie: Quantum of Solace.
https://youtu.be/yfYC_CBNtiM
Did you know that Winston Churchill called this road the 8th wonder of the world??
We also planned to sightsee along the way, but the drive itself was the main attraction! The road does not disappoint at all and is an unforgettable experience! Strada della Forra is a spectacular, beautiful road on Garda Lake that opened in 1913. The road is quite narrow and very winding in parts, but offers stunning views and excellent photo opportunities (for the passenger of course)! The road is a challenge so I would only recommend it for the confident and experienced driver.
Along the way, we stopped at the picturesque village Limone Sul Garda. We walked around the pretty cobble-stone streets and stumbled upon a lemon museum "La Limonaia del Castel". We went in more out of curiosity and were pleasantly surprised. The museum is all about the agriculture of lemons in this part of Italy. However the highlight of the museum were the views of the town and lake from the fifth level of the museum... breathtaking....
Back to the car, we drove to the main town of Lake Garda, Riva del Garda. The town itself was of little interest to us as it is more a small city, but the esplanade along the beach is stunning.
Our next stop was Lago di Tenno, a small mountain lake about a half an hour north of Lake Garda. To get there, you need to drive up a winding mountain road but you are rewarded with fantastic views of Lake Garda from high above. Once you get to the car park of Lake Tenno, there is a short walk through forests to the Lake. It really is in the middle of nowhere and is very tranquil compared to Lake Garda. We walked around the aqua blue lake and just enjoyed the peacefulness and the pure beauty.
Next to this lake is a beautiful Medieval Village - Canale di Tenno. This village is an obligatory stop for those who desire to immerse themselves in the magic of the past, where you breathe history, art and culture. The village has been included in the list of the most beautiful villages in Italy and this is not surprising. You wonder through narrow cobble-stone alleys and old houses set one against the other like in the ancient villages of the 13 century. The village was abandoned after the WW2, but in the sixties it was revived by artists and today offers many trendy galleries and cafes.
*** Tip for Canale di Tenno. We visited this beautiful village on a Sunday afternoon in "shoulder" season. Everything was closed!! I therefore recommend that you first check if the town is open when planning to visit!
On our way back to Salo, we passed an attraction called: Varone Waterfall. We stopped the car and decided to have a look. The Varone Waterfall path provides two different observation points and two different settings to admire the spectacular waterfall. The first observation point is the Lower Cave where you can see the last phase of the waterfall. The second observation point, the Upper Cave, is 40 metres further up and from there you can see the full force of the waterfall. The cave and the waterfall are surrounded by a private natural park, a small nature reserve. I wouldn't go out of my way to visit this waterfall but we really did enjoy it!
We drove home (again along the the famous road "Strada della Forra") back to our accomodation in Salo. It was a wonderful day.
Enjoy!