LOMBARDY’S ADVENTURE HOTSPOT

Italy’s Lake District in the northern part of the country offers as many charms and escapades as the beaches in the south. Set against breathtaking Alpine backgrounds and dotted with picturesque towns, these Italian lakes have inspired both literary eulogies and celebrity summer homes. While the latter has been in no small way responsible for the fame of the exquisite Lake Como, it was the enormous Lake Garda that D H Lawrence had declared “as beautiful as the beginning of creation.” The largest lake in Italy is also among Europe’s favourite adventure hotspots—for sailing, windsurfing, and hiking in the nearby mountainous terrain. Hikers from the DACH region often use Garda as their home base when they go trekking through the Alps, and a few years ago, the Garda Trek was