Things to do
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Monte Rosa
The second highest massif in the Alps, topping out at 4,634 metres on the Swiss border, with the biggest wall in the range on its Italian side above Alagna. The east face is a serious undertaking; the normal routes from the huts are glacier travel rather than technical climbing.
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Sacro Monte
A devotional hillside of forty-five chapels begun in 1491, filled with painted terracotta figures staging the life of Christ at life size. It is the oldest of the Sacri Monti and is on the UNESCO list.
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Sesia
Fed by the Monte Rosa glaciers at 2,500 metres and running more than a hundred kilometres, the Sesia is the technical river of Italian white water, with grade four rapids on the upper sections. Gentler stretches around Balmuccia are run as soft rafting for families, and the same water is used for hydrospeed and kayaking.