Varone waterfall near Riva del Garda

The Varone waterfall near Riva del Garda was opened to the public in 1874. Since then, the cascata del Varone has become one of the most popular destinations on lake Garda.

Directions to the Varone Waterfall

The short hike to the Varone waterfall starts at the car park just before the village of Varone (from Riva del Garda follow the road signs towards Tenno).

Already the striking entrance building to the waterfalls surrounds the visitors with a touch of history: it was built according to the plans of the architect Maroni (1893-1952), who also designed the eccentric residence of the eccentric writer and womanizer Gabriele D'Annunzio, the so-called "Vittoriale degli Italiani" in Gardone Riviera.

Behind the entrance, a gently ascending path winds its way deeper and deeper into the mountain in numerous curves and bends. Thanks to the tunnels, viewing platforms, paths and stairs dug into the rock, the visitors witness a truly imposing spectacle of nature: while in the lower tunnel, the so-called "grotta inferiore", one can admire the lake bathed in spectacular light and the lower part of the cascade, in the upper grotto one becomes aware of the imposing height of the Varone waterfall.

The breeze, the mighty roar and the fine water dust literally embrace the visitors and cast a spell over them - to put it in the words of Thomas Mann: "[...] breathed in and sprayed on, enveloped in water vapor", one looks from close proximity Mann's words: "Damply breathed, sprayed in a watery haze," one looks from close range into the "spectacle of hell" accompanied by "thunder and hissing, roaring, hooting , hissing, crashing, clattering".

In the narrow gorge that the waterfall has carved into the rock over the last 20,000 years, the waterfall plunges 98 meters with breathtaking force.

By the way, the path from the lower to the upper waterfall passes through a botanical garden where a variety of mediterranean and alpine plants thrive. Thanks to the special microclimate, the north and the south merge here in a very confined space. In addition, multilingual information boards provide a little insight into this flora and the (geological) peculiarities of the waterfall.

About the name Varone waterfall / Cascata Varone

The Magnone river, fed by the waters of the Lago di Tenno lake, disappears into the mountain and falls about 98 meters in this funnel-shaped gorge of stratified limestone. After its fall, it emerges again from the rocks, changes its name after the homonymous village of Varone and flows directly into lake Garda. This is where the name of the grotto comes from.

Interesting details about the Varone waterfall

During his stay at the spa in Riva in 1901, the german writer Thomas Mann was also drawn to the "picturesque cascade". His doctor, Dr. von Hartungen, had prescribed him long walks. Thomas Mann recorded his impressions in his diary. Almost a quarter of a century later, he adopted these notes almost verbatim in his Bildungsroman "The Magic Mountain," which, however, is not set in Riva but in Davos, Switzerland. The roar of the waterfall, by the way, had reminded the writer of the cannon thunder of the first world war...

The above-mentioned architect Maroni, by the way, was also significantly involved in the reconstruction and redesign of Riva del Garda after the first world war.