This itinerary starts near the Maggia's river delta (Foce della Maggia), at the end of Via al Lido and stretching through a nice green area along the Maggia river takes you to Tegna. This trail is mostly level, but because of its length (6 km.) it's still recommended to wear comfortable walking shoes. The time necessary to walk the whole trail is approximately 2 hours (45 minutes by bicycle).
The Astrovia is an educational itinerary realized in 2001 by the Astronomical Society of Ticino. It reproduces the solar system in 1 : 1'000'000'000 on a of scale. (1 mm in the Astrovia equals 1?000 km in the reality). At the starting point of this itinerary you will find a board with information regarding the planets proportions, dimensions and their distances from each other. The models are made of Plexiglas, marble and steel.
At the very beginning is the model of the sun, followed by Saturn (near the new Morettina road-bridge). Here you should go across the river, continuing heading north to the golf course Alle Gerre, in Losone, where is located the model of Neptune. Once arrived at the shores of Melezza River, continue to the footbridge and crossing it you will arrive to Tegna, where next to the bell tower you'll find the last planet of the Astrovia, Pluto. From Tegna, if you don't want to walk back the whole trail, you can catch the Centovallina train back to Locarno.
At the beginning of the walk, at the mouth of the river Maggia, one can get an idea of the hole distance by looking up towards the valley direction "Terre di Pedemonte". On the right hand on the hill above Tegna you will see a light building which is the small church St. Anna.
For a personal tailored walking route we suggest various partial itineraries with indications about the distances, walking times including the stops for reading the various texts. There are three arrival points by car; at the solar models of the Sun (at the mouth of the river Maggia), Saturn (Morettina bridge) and Pluto (church of Tegna).
