Visiting Italy's Lake District: Part III - Monte Mottarone

Our second morning in Stresa was scheduled for the eagerly-anticipated visit to nearby Monte Mottarone, a mountain crouching between the Lago d'Orta - which we were scheduled to visit the next day - and Lago Maggiore where we were.  As the highest point in the region, Monte Mottarone offered a wide panoramic view of the seven neighboring northern Italian and Swiss Alpine lakes and mountain ranges.  Unfortunately, the day dawned with haze covering the mountain top, which did not bode well for our viewing possibilities.  Still, off we trekked to the cable car, which is the quickest access from Stresa's lakefront, hoping that the haze would lift by the time we reached the top of the mountain.

Spirits were high nonetheless.  Monte Mottarone is 1,491 meters (approximately 4,900 feet) high.  The mountain is a haven for outdoor pursuits such as skiing, hiking, mountain biking and paragliding, each in its season.  Near the cable car station at the top is the Giardino Botanico Alpinia, another of Stresa's well-known attractions.  Unfortunately, the garden was not part of our schedule that morning. 

Even though the haze never did lift, we had a nice hike from the cable car station to the top of the mountain and were able to get a glimpse of Stresa below us.

At the very top of the mountain was a cafe, with mementos of visitors from all over the world.   Here was a "Wall Street" sign and tacked to the wall behind it was a license plate from my home state of Montana!

Although most of our hardy group hiked back down to the cable car station, a few of us decided to travel comfortably on the chair lift, in the hope that the clouds would lift during our ride.

The people standing in line ahead of us reported that the cloud haze had lifted for a few moments while they were at the summit and they had been able to see the much-vaunted panoramic view.  This was the best of my own photos, however.

Of the photos that HWMBO and I took that morning, one of the best was of the cable car itself!  Ecco!