Hinderbalmo is the name of an alp with a small mountain shelter and a group of tiny stone houses, situated at an altitude of 1950 m above Macugnaga in the Anzasca Valley.

To the right of the path leading to the alp, look out for a huge, roughly rectangular boulder on which there are some cup marks and foot-shaped engravings, concentrated in two areas of the stone’s surface. Though there are none of the typical cross-shaped marks, it is thought that these rock engravings are connected with the pilgrims who passed by here on their way from the Valais in Switzerland.

Cup marks are small round depressions carved into a rock surface, sometimes connected by channels (or “gutters”). Their significance is not yet clear, though there are a number of theories that they are associated with ancient religious cults. The foot-shaped engravings are a special type of engraving, and may be a symbol of the possession of a territory.

Around Hinderbalmo the panorama is quite spectacular; dominating the scene is the majesty of Monte Rosa, all of whose peaks can be seen from the alp. Six beautiful waterfalls, in a semicircle, as if designed to form an amphitheatre, descend from the peaks of Roffel and the Corno Rosso. At the bottom of the valley you can see the remains of the avalanches which every year fall from Monte Rosa.