You’re unlikely to find natural pools anywhere as beautiful as in the enchanted Val Verzasca in Switzerland, a valley where aquamarine waters have sculpted and smoothed the rocks into a range of surreal shapes.

 

Val Verzasca makes a great contrast with bustling Locarno and is also the perfect place to cool off on hot summer days.

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The emerald pools are so perfectly formed that they resemble artfully created swimming pools and with large slabs of sculpted rock, the area makes a great place for enjoying a picnic in the sun or showing off your diving skills before an appreciative audience.

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Needless to say, despite the chilly temperature of the water, it can get crowded here in high season, but the urge to dive in is hard to resist.

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Val Verzasca has become particularly popular iamongst Italians since a famous Youtube video was published advertising the transparent waters as Milan’s answer to the Maldives.

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Due to its incredibly bewitching colour, clarity and depth, the river has also become popular with subaqua divers.

Underwater too there is a stunning world of beautifully sculpted stone to be explored. The river is exceptionally transparent and inviting because it is regularly flushed out by floodwater.

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In addition to diving, the Verzasca river also offers wonderful canyoning though, with many steep vertical drops, you’ll definitely need to sign up with a guide.

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The most picturesque, and famous, spot is undoubtedly next to the elegant, double arch Ponte dei Salti bridge at Lavertezzo, photographed so frequently that it has almost become an emblem of the Canton of Ticino.

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If you’re a high adrenalin type, you’ve also got the option of combining canyoning with bungee jumping on the world’s most famous jump, off the 220 high Contra dam which featured in the opening sequence of the James Bond film Goldeneye. You’ll notice the huge dam at the bottom of the valley.

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