Chiavenna holiday ski home rental, Engadina with walking, log fire, balcony/terrace, rural retreat

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Casa dell Ava (house)

Home description

Casa dell'Ava a lovely three-bedroom holiday home set in the Alps, on the Swiss-Italian border. We are about halfway between Lake Como and St. Moritz - at the end of Engadina, a beautiful valley that gets 320 days of sunshine a year and is surrounded by some of the most dramatic mountains in the Alps. The house itself is about 300 years old and built from stone. It is perched on a sunny hillside 10mins above Chiavenna, with a splendid view over the mountains. The house and area offers an unbeatable location for mountain holidays, whether you want to walk, ski or just relax. This comes partly from the sunshine and the lovely mountains of the central Alps, partly from the charm of the house and village, and partly from eating out in some of the very many outstanding local restaurants.

The Times Ecotourism choice - Nov 2006
"Alpine Dolce Vita" - The Daily Mail - February 2007
"A lovely house in the breathtaking Engadine valley" - The Italian Magazine - March 2007



WINTER ACTIVITIES + SKIING
We ski from the house at either St Moritz or Madesimo - 45mins and 15mins from Chiavenna. For full list of winter activities see below

	Village views
Pianazzola village (left) and Engadina

To see more photos please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/16033

The Lombardy / Bergamo Alps/Sondrio region

The House is situated in an area of outstanding beauty close to three of the largest National Parks in the Alps, covering a massive 2000Km2 - these are the Swiss National Park (www.nationalpark.ch), Stelvio National Park (www.stelviopark.it), and Orobie Valtellinesi Park (www.parcorobievalt.com)

The area is rich in wildlife and has some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the Alps. The parks contain many protected species of wildlife including Golden Eagles, Ibex, Bearded Vultures, Capercaille and Fire Salamanders. There is talk of Lynx and wolves arriving back into the area and famously Brown Bears have recently been reintroduced into the Adamello Brenta National Park which adjoins the Stelvio National Park

Chiavenna / Engadina area

Pianazzola is a charming mountain village perched on the mountainside above Chiavenna. There are about 60 stone-built houses, and while you can reach the village by car, you can only enter on foot, which makes it a peaceful spot. It sits on a south facing hill above a large zone of vineyards and below a large forest of chestnut. Pianazzola has a panoramic view across Engadina, which stretches from the top of Lake Como, into Switzerland. Since ancient times, these valleys were an important route between Northern Italy and central Europe. Fortunately Valchiavenna has not remained a major arterial route, but it is relatively easy to get here from Milan (90mins from Linate, Bergamo or Malpensa airports) of Zurich (2h30min). High above are some of the most spectacular mountains in the Alps, where famous Italian mountaineers like Cassin pioneered routes. Some of the mountains like Pizzo Cengalo and Piz Badile have granite spires and rock faces over a kilometre high

ACTIVITIES
Here are some suggestions of what to do (for more details see our website)

WINTER/SPRING - 1 week
- 2/3 days skiing at Madesimo and a day in St Moritz
- A day exploring Pianazzola and Chiavenna, walking up to Crotto Belvedere for lunch in a 'cave restaurant' in front of their roaring fire
- A wintery walk past the ice falls of Val Febbraro
- Lunch in Soglio (CH) and a walk up the dizzy granite peaks in Val Bondasca
- A day on Lake Como - wander through the narrow streets of Varenna, before having a lakeside pizza

WINTER SPRING - 2 weeks. The ideas above plus
- Back to the ski slopes for a day or two.
- Walk up the spectacular gorge to Codera, staying overnight in the rifugio. Spend the evening drinking wine and roasting chestnuts on the fire using their special chestnut pan
- Curl up on the sofa in front of our wood burning stove and catch up on all those books you wanted to read. Nip down for a swim and a sauna in the afternoon in Chiavenna, before a meal at the excellent Trattoria Uomo Selvatico
- Visit Val di Mello to see if you agree that it looks like Yosemite National Park


SUMMER/AUTUMN - 1 week
- A day exploring Pianazzola and Chiavenna, walking up to Crotto Belvedere for lunch
- Lunch in Soglio (CH) and a wander up Val Bondasca to see the dizzy granite peaks
- A spectacular day canyoning in Val Bodengo
- A day on lake Como - take the car ferry from Bellano to Menaggio and then wander around the lovely gardens of Villa Carlotta

SUMMER/AUTUMN - 2 weeks. The ideas above plus
- Walk or ride following the old route of the spectacular "tracciolino" mountain railway near Val Codera
- Lie in the sunshine and read in the meadows at Val di Mello and gawp at the scenery in Europes 'Yosemite' national park
- Ask in the tourist office where the mountain 'festa' is. Each weekend, locals in one of the villages celebrate the summer with a barbeque and wine - open to all. Make a day walk to the village and help them celebrate!
- Take the lift up to Albigna to see the high mountains the easy way. Walk 45mins to Rifugio Albigna for lunch at the end of a glacier
- For the ultimate mountain experience, make the two day walk up Val Bondasca to see the stunning Piz Badile, Sciora spires, and the kilometre high rock face of Pizzo Cengalo. Stay in Rifugio Sciora overnight.

How to get there

The house is situated in the mountains halfway between lake Como and St Moritz in Switzerland. It is 90mins by car from Milan or Linate, Malpensa or Bergamo airports. For full travel details see our website

Activities near Chiavenna

Facilities

Further details indoors:
The house has recently been completely restored in keeping with the local area

Further details

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
The house has been restored in a way sympathetic to its style and age, however where possible we have introduced ways to conserve energy and water

- Heating and hot water for the house is provided using a stove that runs on recycled paper pellets. We are intending to install solar panels which will link to our hot water system. All electricity for the house is provided from hydroelectric schemes via an electricity coop run from the local town. Double glazed windows have been fitted throughout the house
- The house has a shower (a good one!) rather than a bath, in addition both toilets are new and have a reduced water flush
- Split waste disposal is available in bins at the entrance to the village (paper, plastic, cardboard, glass) and further split waste disposal (organic, metal) is available 6 days a week in the local town

More details are available on our website

Conditions

You have to walk about 200m from the car down steps to the house so we recommend you bring suitcases that you can carry! We do not allow smoking in the house, but you can smoke on the terrace

Rental rates

Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
	18 Feb 08	23 Feb 08	790£  790	0-	0-	1 Week
	23 Feb 08	1 Mar 08	670£  670	0-	0-	1 Week
	1 Mar 08	22 Mar 08	490£  490	0-	0-	1 Week
	22 Mar 08	12 Apr 08	670£  670	0-	0-	1 Week
	12 Apr 08	19 Apr 08	540£  540	0-	0-	1 Week
	19 Apr 08	24 May 08	490£  490	0-	0-	1 Week
	24 May 08	31 May 08	670£  670	0-	0-	1 Week
	31 May 08	21 Jun 08	570£  570	0-	0-	1 Week
	21 Jun 08	12 Jul 08	730£  730	0-	0-	1 Week
	12 Jul 08	1 Sep 08	770£  770	0-	0-	1 Week
	1 Sep 08	15 Sep 08	660£  660	0-	0-	1 Week
	15 Sep 08	29 Sep 08	580£  580	0-	0-	1 Week
	29 Sep 08	28 Oct 08	550£  550	0-	0-	1 Week
	28 Oct 08	2 Dec 08	390£  390	0-	0-	1 Week
	2 Dec 08	23 Dec 08	509£  509	0-	0-	1 Week
	23 Dec 08	5 Jan 09	790£  790	0-	0-	1 Week

NB: Prices may be subject to change at the owner's discretion.

Availability notes

To see availability please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/16033

Contact owner

To contact this owner please visit: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/16033

Contact details for home 16033 Please mention Holiday Lettings
Name:	Richard Pash
Tel:	+44 (0)1672 870665
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Contact Notes: E-mail or phone, daytime
Advertiser joined: 5 Oct 2006 This property added: 5 Oct 2006

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