Cool off in Livigno

After almost exactly two years we are going back to Livigno. The high valley, located at around 2000 m above sea level on the border between Switzerland and Italy, impressed us back then with its wonderful nature, delicious food, friendly people and cheap fuel prices. And of course, in a summer with extremely high temperatures and burning forests in southern Europe, cooling down is also welcome.

Before driving to Livigno, you should first clarify which of the three road entrances you can take (dimensions of the vehicle, season/weather, etc.). While passing through the “Munt La Schera” tunnel with our Hymer ML-T 580 4×4 was no problem two years ago, our current MAN TGM 18.320 4×4 with Blissmobil 16ft cab is a few centimeters higher than those permitted for the tunnel 3.60 m (see https://www.livigno.eu/en/tunnel-munt-la-schera-landing). So we decided to drive over Pass “Forcola di Livigno”, where there is only a ban on passage 18t. Since our vehicle weighs approximately 11.4 tons, this was not a problem. There is another access to Livigno from Bormio Eira Pass. Coming from the Adventure Southside trade fair in Friedrichshafen Our route then led over three passes - the Julier Pass, the Bernina Pass and the Forcola the Livigno. As always, our Polarsteps followers can see the entire route – https://www.polarsteps.com/AllradWohnmobil.

Since it can get very crowded in Livigno around August, the Italian holiday month, we had already looked for a free parking space and reserved it “Campeggio Livigno”, which lies at the southern end of the valley on the way to Forcola Pass. At a cost of almost exactly 20 euros per night, we stayed here for 6 nights. The site has excellent sanitary facilities, is located directly on the cycling and hiking trails, a well-stocked “Negozio Forcola” shop next door and the southernmost stop of the free “blu” shuttle bus from Livigno.

There are wonderful hiking and cycling trails along almost the entire high valley, where, in addition to normal tourists, you can often meet top athletes from different nations training at altitude.

At the northern end of the valley, near the “Munt la Schera” tunnel, is the impressive wall of the reservoir.

Without a doubt, the local cuisine can be particularly enjoyed in Livigno. We would like to highlight the restaurant “Bait dal Ghet” as well as the ice cream parlor “Gelateria Biancaneve” in the center of Livigno.

North of the town of Livigno, on the way to the reservoir you can reach the “Latteria Livigno”, a dairy offering milk, cheese, butter, yogurt and ice cream, among other things. According to information from the company, the milk for the products comes exclusively from local animals that are sustainably raised. The production is transparent and can be observed through large windows. From our point of view, the products taste excellent, but the prices can be described as quite high.

Finally, it should of course be mentioned that no sales tax or VAT is charged in Livigno due to the special tax status of the area. This means that goods and of course fuel can be obtained relatively cheaply. The density of gas stations is very high.

This article was written in German and then automatically translated into the other languages offered. We apologize for any errors or inaccuracies.