The basin of the
Lakes Gemelli Refuge is one of the most romantic and relaxing places in the Bergamo mountains, primarily due to the presence of numerous artificial lakes, large and small, now part an integral part of the environment and the landscape.
During the excursion we are about to describe, including also the Carona lake at the start, you can observe as many as four, and a fifth — Lake Colombo — is located just over twenty minutes walk from the hut. It is no coincidence, therefore, the area is among the busiest in the province, despite the relative length of the climb, which in any case requires a certain degree of training.
From the town of Carona, in the upper Brembana Valley (52 kilometers from Bergamo) it is possible to park on the southern shore of the artificial pond, reachable along the top of the dam: altitude 1096 meters.
We then start to walk a comfortable and unmistakable mule track that, with countless bends, goes up the side of the valley, immersed in a thick and refreshing forest.
After about two hours of walking, now almost near the forest limit, you reach the small dam of
Lake Marcio, at 1841 meters above sea level: the barrier, completed in 1925, is 18 meters, and the basin contains 850,000 cubic meters of water.
The mule track continues slowly along the western shore of the lake, until it reaches its southern end, where among other things comes the ENEL service cable car, which also starts from Carona. And a few meters lower here is another lake unexpected, decidedly larger: Lago delle Casere, an altitude of 1784 meters, containing 2,470,000 cubic meters of water, held by a dam completed in 1946 and 47 high meters.
The return takes place along the same path as the climb and takes about 2 hours.
The refuge, which has 70 beds, is located a few meters from the dam of the Gemelli Lakes: a curious name to remind us that before the erection of the barrier, completed in 1932 and 39 meters high, in This grassland were two small ponds rounded and side by side, precisely “twins”. Today, on the other hand, the invaded contains as many as 6,990,000 cubic meters of water.
Technical sheet:
Travel time: 4.30 hours
Starting altitude: 1096 m
Elevation gain: 872
Difficulty: T-Tourist
Recommended period: May - October
Region: Lombardy
Province: Bergamo
Valle/area: Valle Brembana
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