There are a number of other country and forest treks to the north of Varese, the most interesting of which is the haul across to Maccagno on Lago Maggiore . The walk starts at Porto Ceresio at the foot of Lago Lugano near the Swiss border and takes ten days; you could, though, pick it up at any point along the route. The booklet Via Verde Varesina , available only in Italian from local bookshops, is useful for information on how to get to starting-points on public transport and for places to eat and stay over; its maps, however, are poor, and unless you can read its route descriptions you'll need to buy a decent map as well.