Verzasca Valley · Switzerland · Freshwater
Ponte dei Salti
Clear, cold pools under the two-arched bridge at Lavertezzo
Photo: Irene Grassi from Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0
The double-arched stone bridge at Lavertezzo stands over the best known pools on the Verzasca, and in summer the same water is busy with bathers. The river is clear, nowhere deeper than 10 metres and averages 7 to 10 °C, so this is a short, shallow dive in cold snowmelt rather than anything with a profile to plan.
Where it is and how deep
46.2500° N, 8.8330° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
This is shore diving with no boat and no mooring: you kit up at the car, walk down to the bank and enter off rock into whichever basin you have picked. The water is the reason to come. The Verzasca carries so little in suspension that its clarity is described simply as crystal clear, and in a pool this shallow there is daylight all the way to the bottom.
Depth is never the point. No part of the river passes 10 metres, so the descent is over in seconds and the dive becomes a slow circuit of one pool rather than a route with stages. Current is the thing to respect instead: the Verzasca is known for treacherous flow, and the basins are only calm relative to the water moving between them. If the river is up, the dive does not happen.
Cold ends the dive before the gas does. At an average of 7 to 10 °C a day here is a run of brief immersions with long warm-ups on the rock in between rather than one long dive. The ascent is a couple of metres and needs no planning, but the walk back up to the road under a kit bag deserves the same care as the dive itself.
Background
The Ponte dei Salti is a double-arched stone bridge over the Verzasca at Lavertezzo, and the water beneath it is the stretch of the river that visitors know. The Italian-language record of the Verzasca singles out this point, where the river passes under the two arches, as particularly appreciated by bathers in summer.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Verzasca Valley: Jun–Sep only, once the spring snowmelt has dropped; heavy rain raises the flow fast and makes the river undivable.
Know before you go
- The Verzasca is a genuinely dangerous river: 35 people died in it between 1990 and 2000. Flow, not depth, is the limiting factor, and rising water is the signal to get out.
- Water averaging 7 to 10 °C sets the dive length before the cylinder does; plan short immersions with dry warm-ups rather than one long dive.
- This point is particularly popular with bathers in summer, so plan entries and exits where you can see what is above you before surfacing.
Photos from Ponte dei Salti
Diriye Amey · CC BY 2.0
Martin Thurnherr · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Sub. Ponte dei Salti -2- Verzasca-Lavertezzo-2012. · daniel mazza on YouTube
Ticino November 22 Salamander Ponte dei Salti . · daniel mazza on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the diving at Ponte dei Salti?+
Shallow. No part of the Verzasca is deeper than 10 metres, and the pools under the bridge sit within that, so the dive is a short descent and a slow look around rather than a profile that needs planning.
How cold is the water?+
The Verzasca averages 7 to 10 °C. A drysuit is the sensible choice, and dives end on cold rather than on gas, so expect several short immersions in a day with long warm-ups on the rock between them.
When are conditions best?+
Diving conditions on the Verzasca are usually best from late spring to early autumn. Flow is still the deciding factor on the day: the river is known for treacherous currents, so the call gets made at the water.
Sources
- Lavertezzo — Wikipedia
- Verzasca (fiume) — Wikipedia (Italian)
- Verzasca (river) — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- Stone double-arched Ponte dei Salti bridge over a turquoise pool on the Verzasca river by Irene Grassi from Italy, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Turquoise pool with granite boulders on the Verzasca river at Lavertezzo by Diriye Amey, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Autumn view of the Ponte dei Salti stone bridge above the green Verzasca pools by Martin Thurnherr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Altitude diving: how the rules changeBody & health · 7 min read
- Why you get cold diving, even in a wetsuitBody & health · 8 min read
- How long to wait before flying after divingBody & health · 8 min read
- Cold-water diving: is it worth the drysuit?Cold water · 8 min read
- Freshwater diving: lakes, springs and quarriesFreshwater · 15 min read
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