This is an extremely pleasant and varied stage of the Great Tour of Garda, which keeps away from traffic, and goes through villages, woods, countryside, dotted with churches and sanctuaries.

The itinerary follows quite faithfully the BVG path (Bassa Via del Garda), remains substantially in the hills, and goes beyond Toscolano Maderno and Gardone Riviera without crossing them.

Various scenic spots along the way offer wide and enchanting panoramas. The passage along the Valle delle Cartiere is very interesting and suggestive, the views of Monte Pizzoccolo and Monte Castello di Gaino are beautiful, and the panorama of Salò and its surroundings is remarkable.

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Path

From the center of Gargnano, near the Church of San Francesco, you head south-west,

and after a couple of minutes turn left onto Via Donatori di Sangue:

You go along the streets of the center,

continuing in Via Colletta:

Finally, you rejoin the state road, cross it, and walk along it for about 80 m, then turn right, along a road marked with signpost 40:

You continue, following the way,

thus taking a paved stretch that climbs alongside high walls:

The path continues between two walls, whith occasional interruptions that allow a good view on the surroundings,

You reach Via Villavetro, and take it to the right, uphill:

Already the Monte Castello di Gaino appears in front of you:

At a crossroads, take slightly left, entering Via Fornico,

and shortly after you reach the settlement with the same name:

You avoid going up to the center of the village, and turn left,

and two minutes later on the right:

At a crossroads with a gate,

you can turn right for a visit to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Supina,

or go straight:

At the next crossroads you continue on Via Cervano, instead of going down Via Sassello:

At the next one go up to the right,

and continue through the countryside, along Via Mezzane,

then in Via Cabiana, passing under the mountainside of Monte Castello di Gaino,

vith a view on Monte Pizzoccolo:

The road leads you to the town of Gaino,

that you cross,

leaving it in a north-west direction.

At the capital at the exit of the town,

you turn left, towards the Valle delle Cartiere:

A crossroads on the right leads to a sharp downhill trail:

Towards the bottom of the valley, you turn completely left, along a small road:

You cross a bridge,

still proceed,

and you cross the paper mill area:

A double crossroads to the right

leads to take a moderately steep uphill path:

You turn right continuing uphill:

You cross Via Sanico, continuing along the small road:

You pass a stream that forms a beautiful waterfall,

you ignore the road that climbs to the right,

and cross a bridge, thus crossing another stream:

Now you go down to Località Bezzuglio,

At the next junction you ignore the road that goes down to the left:

You then pass Bezzuglio, along the road of the same name:

Then, in the hamlet of Fasano, you turn slightly right onto Via Supiane:

You follow a path on the right side of the street,

then the road itself:

You reach and go beyond Supiane:

Further down, among cypress woods, you can see the Vittoriale of D'Annunzio, a historical location:

About 1 km further you reach San Michele. At the crossroads at the beginning of the village you can turn right,

or turn left, to reach the Church of San Michele, an excellent panoramic point:

After passing through San Michele, exiting west-north-west,

you enter the road to Serniga, to the left:

After about 800 m, at the few houses that make up the town of Serniga, you turn right,

and at the next crossroads on the left,

or on the right for a brief digression to the Sanctuary of San Bernardo:

With an left-then-right curve, you go down to take the central road of the town,

then take the path that climbs to the right, uphill:

After the next fork on the left,

the climb continues,

with views of the lake,

up to the town of San Bartolomeo, the highest point of the stage:

After going through the hamlet, you overcome a gate,

then pass the Church of San Bartolomeo:

Now the descent towards Salò begins, in a wood crossed by a dense network of paths, which offer various route possibilities.

For example, you can take a series of crossroads in the right-left-right order:

Shortly after you can deviate very little to the left for the Corna di Salò, an excellent panoramic point:

Then you turn left,

and straight afterwards, going down in a zigzag:

At the bottom of the path you join a small road, to the right:

Shortly after, this converges in turn in Via Renzano, where you turn left:

You cross the highway,

entering Via Silvio Pellico, then follow the curve to the left, thus converging in Via Belvedere, at the end of which you turn left in Via Garibaldi:

About 300 m further, on your right, you find Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, and the Clock Door: