About Cascata del Varone
Cascata del Varone (Varone Waterfall) was one of the more unique waterfall experiences we had in Italy.
It was basically a waterfall that had carved deep slots into the mountain.
There were a couple of caves (grotte) where we were able to see parts of the waterfall’s drop, but it also got us drenched in the process.
In a way, it kind of reminded us of the Trümmelbach Falls experience.
The difference here was that Cascata del Varone was more compact as it had put us in more direct contact with the waterfall’s spray, which was very intense.
Cascata del Varone and Riva del Garda
Cascata del Varone was our waterfalling excuse to visit Riva del Garda, which was a charming town on the northern tip of Lago di Garda.
It was one of those instances where chasing a waterfall such as this led us to unexpectedly beautiful scenery.
In the case of Riva del Garda and Lago di Garda, we’re talking about a lake that was surrounded by tall and steep mountains with the town practically hugging the lake’s shores while surrounded by those same mountains.
Such scenery was probably as close to a Norwegian fjord experience as you’re going to get in Italy.
So as much as we thought this place was obscure in our trip research, we discovered that the lake and town were quite popular (at least amongst Italians and some international visitors in the know).
Therefore, it wasn’t surprising to see that popularity spill over into this waterfall, which was about 3km from town (see directions below).
Experiencing Cascata del Varone
Once we were able to park the car, we followed a walkway that headed straight for the Cascata del Varone complex.
There was a cafe and souvenir shop plus some picnic tables with umbrellas.
Inside the shop, we purchased our entry tickets for 5.5 euros per person (as of June 2013) and went through the turnstile.
Once on the other side, we found ourselves in a manicured garden with wide walkways, interpretive signs (in four different languages – Italian, French, German, and English), and some soothing music.
Barely a few paces into the garden, we were at a wide opening where we noticed there was a cascade falling into the main stream as well as a cave-like entrance with mist blowing out of it (called the “lower cave”).
That immediately indicated to us that we were probably going to be very wet once we would go inside cave, and we turned out to be correct in our hunch.
For the short walkway lit up by floodlighting ultimately ended at the base of the Cascata del Varone.
Given the confinement of the slot canyon that the waterfall was in, the mist generated had nowhere to go but right onto the viewing deck.
Thus, it was very difficult to take photos or even movies (plus very risky to electronics due to the intensity of the “rain”), and we pretty much had to rely on Julie’s iPhone for still photos of the waterfall itself.
Back at the wide open area, the path ascended opposite a fountain with a shrine behind it.
Interpretive signs continued to line the walkway highlighting various aspects of the area’s history, nature, and geology.
It would eventually make a switchback where a viewpoint as well as restrooms were located.
Then, at the end of the ascent, the walkway ended up in front of the so-called “upper cave” at a split in the path.
The left path went onto a bridge with a view of the deep gorge while also getting some of the spray coming out of the narrow opening in the gorge.
The right path went into the “cave” where the path shortly ended right next to another section of the Cascata del Varone.
Like the view of the falls at the lower cave, this upper cave was also very turbulent with spray going right onto the viewing area.
It practically dared anyone to risk drenching clothes and cameras to get a shot of the waterfall.
So given how difficult it was to even satisfactorily photograph the waterfall from within any of the caves, it might have explained the relative scarcity of waterfall photos floating about on the internet regarding this waterfall.
Experiencing Cascata del Varone from outside the paid complex
When we left the complex and started heading to the car, I went down to the bridge on the main road to see if there was more to Cascata del Varone than what was revealed in the paid admission area.
It turned out that there was at least another attractive tier that I was able to photograph from the road bridge.
However, it was risky in that there was no formal shoulder on the road.
Thus, I was taking a chance with getting hit by a car the whole time I was taking photos from here.
In any case, it turned out that the most satisfying photo I had of the waterfall was from this spot, and it was free (see photo at the top of this page).
Authorities
Cascata del Varone resides in the commune of Riva del Garda in the Trento Province within the Trentino-Alto Adige Region of Italy. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit the Varone Waterfall Cave Park website.
From Riva del Garda, we headed north on the SS421.
There were signs for Cascata del Varone at many of the roundabouts and intersections in town so we didn’t have too much difficulty covering the 3km distance from the center to the car park.
In hindsight, that distance was not too bad, and we probably could have walked since we were staying in town.
Anyways, there were two car parks that we observed.
The first one was right at the complex where spots were very limited.
If you go in and you can’t find a spot, you’ll have to reverse your way out of the car park onto the SS421.
However, just a few meters past this car park, there were signs pointing the way to another car park on the other side of a hotel and restaurant opposite the first car park.
This second car park was much larger than the first though they apparently raise the barricades when the Cascata del Varone closes.
For the latest information on hours and cost (among other things), here’s a link to the official website.
Finally, to give you some geographical context, Riva del Garda was 50km (under an hour drive) west of Trento, 106km (90 minutes drive) southwest of Bolzano, 200km (2-2.5 hours drive) northwest of Venice (Venezia), and 181km (over 2.5 hours drive) northeast of Milan (Milano).
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Hasty movie starting from the red-lit lower cave waterfall before retreating to a less mistier part of the cave
Very hasty top down sweep of the waterfall seen from the upper cave before I sought to keep the camera from getting further drenched
Top down sweep starting from a very partial view of the uppermost part of the falls before panning down a vertical abyss with mist being thrown out through the cracks
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