Among these hiking regions, Ticino holds a special place. There I found deeper and wilder valleys. Trails full of surprises, good or bad. Sheepfolds and pastures at the remotest locations. As explained by the author of the German website alpi-ticinesi.ch, here more than elsewhere, passages used by shepherds for centuries have fallen into oblivion, high passes are not used any more. My advice: unless you are a hardcore hiker, fearing neither heights nor tracks invaded by vegetation, it is worth asking around before venturing to an high alpe just because the national maps show there is a trail.