Stones in a river near the hamlet of Lavertezzo, in the Valle Verzasca of Switzerland

© Robert Seitz/Offset by Shutterstoc

Into the Valle Verzasca

Let's perch for a while on this smooth river rock, dangle our feet in the water and soak up this gorgeous Swiss scenery, virtually speaking that is. We’re in the Valle Verzasca, a valley in Ticino, Switzerland, close to the Italian border. There in the near distance is the tiny hamlet of Lavertezzo, where almost everyone speaks Italian. In normal years, tourists flock to this area come the warm summer months to swim and snorkel in the Verzasca river’s famous turquoise waters, which flow over colourful rocks and pool into natural jacuzzis. They also come to jump off the 17th century double-arched bridge known as the Ponte dei Salti (Bridge of Jumps). The huge bungee jump off the nearby Contra dam was made famous in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye.