Bungy Jumping the Verzasca Dam
Trek Essentials
Where: Near Locarno, Switzerland
Best season: Any season/weather
Best sights: Seeing the ground rush up to meet you.
Remember to bring: Your courage
Watch out for: Fear of heights or anything else that wouldn’t make you the best candidate for this adventure!
The Contra Dam, commonly known as the Verzasca Dam and the Locarno Dam, is an arch dam on the Verzasca River in the Val Verzasca of Ticino, Switzerland. It was constructed between 1961 and 1965 and starting shortly after its reservoir was filled, a series of earthquakes related to its water load occurred until 1971. The dam is owned and operated by Verzasca SA and is the fourth tallest in Switzerland.
The dam’s designer, Dr. Lombardi considers it one of his most aesthetically pleasing dams, primarily because of the slenderness of the concrete arch and the “outstanding cleanness of the design.” The design also reduced the amount of concrete needed, therefore reducing the cost as well.
Where It’s At
Locarno is located in Ticino, the Italian style region of Switzerland – with its palm trees, piazzas, pizzas and pasta, you would never think that this is a part of the same country that produces Swiss cheese. The financial hub of Lucarno, once home of a post WWI peace conference, is a good place to explore the nearby hills and Lake Maggiore.
Our Journey Path
Our presenter follows in the footsteps of James Bond as he bungy jumps his way down an 700 foot dam(or his stuntman at least!) in the opening scene of the 1995 film GoldenEye; a stunt voted as the best movie stunt of all time in a 2002 Sky Movies poll.
Tips
Be sure you only bungy jump with an experienced professional. Our Guide, Antoni Draganits of Trekking Team AG has hundreds of jumps under his belt and and has supervised over 1000 people jump.
Did You Know
- the Dam is the world’s highest bungy jump at 700 feet
- The climax scene of the Indian Bollywood movie Dhoom 3 was shot at this dam
- Concrete pouring and placement occurred for 18 months, of which the maximum poured in a day was 3,100 m3(110,000 cu ft) and in a month, 55,000 m3 (1,900,000 cu ft).
Nearby Attractions
The beautiful Italian town of Locarno – the sunniest area in Switzerland
More Information
The Treks crew bungy jumped with Antoni Draganits and the Trekking Team AG
Tel: 00 4379 6007 007
Email: info@trekking.ch
Website: www.trekking.ch
By Xanthe Apostolos
main image: By Martin Abegglen – http://www.twicepix.net/imgdb/pic.php?id=8290, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5388464
