San Salvatore

Standing just shy of 3000ft Monte San Salvatore may not be the highest or grandest of peaks, but it certainly has a commanding position overlooking the city of Lugano and the northern 'arm' of the lake.

The three of us took the funicular railway from its base right behind our hotel, to the top of San Salvatore, on Wednesday afternoon and were very glad we did. We had some excellent views from the summit. Looking south, we took in the Melide causeway which carries the main road and railways into Lugano. Behind this, the highest peak to the far left is that of Monte Generoso with the smaller one, sitting in the middle of the two forks of lake Lugano, is Monte San Giorgio.

Further round and the ridge of San Salvatore runs into the town of Carona and the botanic gardens of the Parco San Grato.

Luckily, we were not crowded out by other tourists as we enjoyed the views and for much of the time, seemed to have the whole place to ourselves. This gave us the chance to enjoy the peace and quiet too and also enabled us to hear the deep crowing sound of some displaying Ravens.

As always, they were tricky to catch on camera as they performed their aerial dance...

Turning the other way, we were looking across the city of Lugano and its small airport, towards the higher Alps far beyond.

Far off lay the still snow-capped peaks around Glifertenstock in the Glarus Alps.

At the top of San Salvatore, sits a small church dedicated - unsurprisingly -  to San Salvatore.

The church also offers another viewing platform, accessed up some rather precipitous stairs on the outside of the building.

That's all for today, but there's still more to come...