Hiking the Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 30 Tesserete to Lugano (Comano)
Stage 30 of the Trans Swiss trail is 5 km long with 220 m ascent and 220 m descent and goes from Tessereste to Lugano (Comano). This section, while short, is a pleasant enough hike.
Note: Like stage 9, this stage doesn’t end where the next stage begins (Lugano, Paradiso), and it is recommended that you take public transport from Comano to Paradiso. Because 5 km was not much of a hike, the weather was nice, and we want to cover as much of Switzerland on foot as possible, we also walked the additional 5 km from Comano to the Lugano train station. Truthfully, it was only an ok walk and taking public transport and spending more time in Lugano would probably have been better.
| Where: | Tesserete to Lugano (Comano) Canton Ticino, Switzerland |
| Train/Bus: | Zürich HB -> Teserete, Paese – 2 hr 32 min Comano, Chiesa -> Zürich HB – 2 hr 23 min |
| What: | Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 30 – Tesserete to Lugano (Comano) Yellow trail markers/ Red and white trail – Trans Swiss Trail Route 2 Comano, Chiesa to the Lugano Train Station – unmarked but walkable |
| Skill: | Easy – About 1 hrs 30 min Length 5 km, Ascent 220 m, Descent 220 m There is additional 5 km from Comano to the Lugano train station that is unmarked but walkable using directions from Google/Apple maps. |
| Stage 1 – Porrentruy to St-Ursanne Stage 2 – St-Ursanne to Soubey Stage 3 – Soubey to Saignelégier Stage 4 – Saignelégier to St-Imier Stage 5 – St-Imier to Chézard-St-Martin Stage 6 – Chézard-St-Martin to Neuchâtel Stage 7 – Neuchâtel to Murten Stage 8 – Murten to Laupen Stage 9 – Laupen to Bern Stage 10 – Bern to Worb Stage 11 – Worb to Lützelflüh Stage 12 – Lützelflüh to Langnau i.E. Stage 13 – Langnau i.E. to Eggiwil Stage 14 – Eggiwil to Schangnau Stage 15 – Schangnau to Sörenberg Stage 16 – Sörenberg to Giswil Stage 17 – Giswil to Flüeli-Ranft Stage18 – Flüeli-Ranft to Stans Stage 19 – Stans to Seelisberg Stage 20 – Seelisberg to Erstfeld Stage 21 – Erstfeld to Wassen Stage 22 – Wassen to Andermatt Stage 23 – Andermatt to Passo del San Gottardo Stage 24 – Passo del San Gottardo to Airolo Stage 25 – Airolo to Osco Stage 26 – Osco to Anzonico Stage 27 – Anzonico to Biasca Stage 28 – Biasca to Bellinzona Stage 29 – Bellinzona to Tesserete Stage 30 – Tesserete to Lugano (Comano) Stage 31 – Lugano (Paradiso) to Morcote Stage 32 – Morcote to Mendriso |
Getting There
The Trans Swiss Trail is best done with public transportation as each stage starts and ends at different points. Stage 30 picks up right where stage 29 left off, at the Tesserete bus station.
We arrived a the bus station right about lunch time and decided to have lunch at the restaurant across from the bus stop – Ristorante Stazione. I got the zucchini lemon pasta and it was very good. It was nice way to start our hike. After lunch, we crossed the street and were on our way.
The Trail – Tesserete to Lugano, Comano
After the hike leaves Tesserete behind, it goes past a small park and then heads into the forest. There was a lovely view here of the mountains.
On the way, we passed a self-service farm shop and picked up a really nice cow’s milk cheese. They also had goat cheese and honey.
Most of the hike is on a forested trail and not particularly steep, however there was a short section just before the detour up to the church of San Bernardo that was a bit of a climb.
The church of San Bernardo (last picture above) is a tiny detour off the trail, maybe 30 m or so, but it is definitely worth it has it has the best views of the hike.
After leaving the church, the rest of the trail is down hill. The forested section is a pilgrimage trail and there are metal sculptures representing the stations of the cross.
When we reached Comano, it was just a short walk to the bus station.
Getting Back
The bus stop is the official end of this section of the hike, however it is not the beginning of the next section. The recommendation is to take public transport from here to the start of the next section at Lugano, Paradiso. After getting directions on our phones, we decided to walk the rest of the way to the Lugano, train station instead of taking the bus.
The walk to the Lugano train station was about 5 km and it was ok, but I can totally see why they recommend taking the bus instead. While there were a few spots with pretty views, for the most part it is just residential and we were mostly walking past privacy fences and garage doors. Much better to spend more time in Lugano.
This was a very easy hike and a nice day out, but not particularly exciting. I am looking forward to the next section, though as it is supposed to be one of the best. Can’t wait to find out for myself!
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