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Overview
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The essential guidebook for walking in Abruzzo, a wild and beautiful region of Italy which includes the Maiella and Gran Sasso national parks and Sirente-Velino regional park. 40 walks include the Val di Rose, the Prati di Tivo, and an ascent of Corno Grande, the highest point in the Apennines of peninsular Italy. Walks range from 4km to 25km and there are routes for all abilities. Alongside detailed route descriptions and maps there is advice on where to stay, access and parking information to get you to the start, and a useful Italian-English glossary.
Despite being close to Rome, Abruzzo is one of Italy's least known and populated regions - a spectacular and harmonious blend of snowy mountains, grassy plains and forested canyons; of hillside olive groves, vineyards and long sandy beaches. Its stunning natural environments are protected in three national parks, one regional park and many smaller reserves. Thousands of years of history are reflected in a multitude of abandoned castles, hilltop villages and ancient farmsteads; religious dedication echoed in splendid abbeys, silent churches and remote hermitages.
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Table of Contents
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CONTENTS
Map key
Overview map
Location of walks
Introduction
Abruzzo
Geological history
Human history
Animals and birds
Plants and flowers
Food and drink
Walking in Abruzzo
When to go
Getting there
Getting around
Places to base yourself
Daily essentials
Maps
Using this guide
Advice for the trail
The Maiella National Park
Walk 1 Fara San Martino gorge and Val Serviera
Walk 2 The hermitage of San Bartolomeo di Legio
Walk 3 Monte Morrone from Passo San Leonardo
Walk 4 Morrone di Pacentro and Monte Mileto
Walk 5 The Orfento valley
Walk 6 Caramanico and the Orfento gorge
Walk 7 Monte Amaro from Lama Biancha
Walk 8 Monte Amaro from La Maielletta
Walk 9 Monte Amaro from Fonte Romana
Walk 10 The Alento valley above Serramonacesca
Walk 11 Monte Porrara ridge
Corno Grande and Campo Imperatore
Walk 12 Monte Prena and Monte Camicia
Walk 13 Santo Stefano and Rocca Calascio
Walk 14 The west summit of Corno Grande
Walk 15 The east summit of Corno Grande
Walk 16 Campo Pericoli and Pizzo Cefalone
Walk 17 Monte Bolza ridge
Walk 18 Pietracamela and Prati di Tivo
Walk 19 Monte Corvo and the Val Chiarino
Monti Della Laga
Walk 20 Monte di Mezzo circuit from Campotosto
Walk 21 Cima della Laghetta and Monte Gorzano
The Abruzzo National Park
Walk 22 Villetta Barrea and Civitella Alfedena
Walk 23 The Val di Rose
Walk 24 Monte La Meta and the Mainarde crest
Walk 25 La Terratta
Walk 26 The Scanno town and lake loop
Walk 27 Serra del Campitello and Monte Godi
Walk 28 Monte Marsicano
Walk 29 Colli Alti and Bassi from Pescasseroli
Sulmona Valley and Monte Genzana
Walk 30 Anversa degli Abruzzi and Castrovalva
Walk 31 Monte Mattone from Pettorano sul Gizio
Walk 32 Monte Genzana from Pettorano sul Gizio
Walk 33 A tour of the Valle del Gizio
The Sirente-Velino Regional Park
Walk 34 Monte Sirente
Walk 35 The Celano gorge via Fonte degli Innamorati
Walk 36 Monte Velino
Walk 37 Monte Ocre
Walk 38 Fontecchio and Pagliare di Tione
Walk 39 The Navelli plain
The Simbruini Regional Park
Walk 40 Monte Viglio
Appendix A Route summary table
Appendix B Further access information
Appendix C Italian–English glossary
Appendix D Useful contacts
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Maps
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Maps
There is no comprehensive mapping of Italy for walkers. Published maps of Abruzzo are patchy, both in coverage and quality, but the maps listed in the table below are recommended and cover most walks:
Map
Name
Scale
Publisher
1
Majella – Carta Escursionistica
1:25,000
Parco Nazionale della Majella/D.R.E.SM. Italia
2
Maiella National Park – Tourist Map
1:50,000
Monte Meru Editrice
3
Majella
1:25,000
Edizioni il Lupo
4
Gran Sasso d’Italia
1:25,000
Edizioni il Lupo
5
Gran Sasso d’Italia
1:25,000
Club Alpino Italiano (CAI) – Sezione dell’Aquila
6
Monti della Laga
1:25,000
Club Alpino Italiano (CAI) – Sezione di Amatrice/SER
7
Monti Marsicani
1:25,000
Edizioni il Lupo
8
Abruzzo National Park – Trekking
1:50,000
Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise/S.E.L.C.A.
9
Monti Marsicani – Mainarde
1:25,000
Edizioni il Lupo
10
Monte Genzana, Monte Rotella
1:25,000
Club Alpino Italiano (CAI) – Sezione di Sulmona
11
Velino-Sirente
1:25,000
Edizioni il Lupo
12
Simbruini
1:25,000
Edizioni il Lupo
The sketch maps in this guidebook should suffice for shorter walks below the tree line, but you should take the recommended sheet map as well. You should definitely take a sheet map for routes that visit peaks, ridges and open mountainside.
The recommended map for each walk is given here and also in the information box at the start of each route. A lesser alternative is given in brackets (it might not, for example, cover the whole route).
Walk
Map
Walk
Map
Walk
Map
Walk
Map
Walk
Map
1
1 (3)
9
1 (3)
17
4 (5)
25
7 (8)
33
10
2
1 (3)
10
1 (3)
18
4 (5)
26
7 (8)
34
11
3
1 (3)
11
1 (3)
19
4 (5)
27
7 (8)
35
11
4
1 (3)
12
4 (5)
20
6
28
7 (8)
36
11
5
1 (3)
13
4 (5)
21
6
29
7 (8)
37
11
6
1 (3)
14
4 (5)
22
7 (8)
30
10
38
11
7
1 (3)
15
4 (5)
23
7 (8)
31
10
39
8
1 (3)
16
4 (5)
24
9 (8)
32
10
40
12
Maps can be difficult to obtain, especially outside of the region. In Sulmona, try Susilibri on Via Panfilo Manzara or the tourist information office in the Annunziata on Corso Ovidio; in L’Aquila, try Agnelli on Corso Principe Umberto; or, near Pescara, the bookshop in the Abruzzo Centre shopping mall. Tourist information offices and park visitor centres often keep a small selection, and maps may also be found in bars, restaurants and newspaper kiosks. Keep an eye out! Maps 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 12 can be bought online at www.edizioniillupo.it. Other suppliers include Standfords (www.stanfords.co.uk) and The Map Shop (www.themapshop.co.uk) – both of which are based in the UK but deliver by post worldwide.
ViewRanger is an online route mapping service for walkers and cyclists. Its mapping of Abruzzo is good and can be accessed via an app on a GPS-enabled smartphone when you are out and about. It can be considered a good backup to the paper map. You can create an account at https://my.viewranger.com.
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Updates
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October 2023
Walk 12
A recent report suggests that the traverse of Monte Camicia from Vado di Ferruccio to the summit has become more serious and should now be considered a mountaineering route. There is probably more loose rock and the way is more insecure. Fixed protection points have been added indicating that parties may now choose to rope up for the scrambling sections. The consequences of a fall could be very serious. The advice is not to do the traverse unless you are confident in scrambling at height and experienced in moving on loose rock on steep ground, using hands and feet. A helmet is also recommended.
October 2022
Path closures
Path closures are quite common in Abruzzo, which is an area that is seismically active and suffers from landslips from time to time. We advise that you check in advance. Information can usually be found in the visitor centres.
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Reviews
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Useful and detailed information
Abruzzo is just another of Italy's beautiful regions rich in history, art, culture and traditions. lt is a real natural and cultural continuum, where all sorts of historical eras and landscapes are present from the Apennine Mountains right up to the Adriatic coast. Dozens of old villages dot the landscape lighting up in the evening like jewels set in the mountains.
Walking is one of the best ways to appreciate places at one's own pace. Stuart Haines, the writer, is an experienced guide with an in-depth knowledge of the region offering invaluable advice. He describes the wonderful feeling of tranquillity experienced:
"The peace is extraordinary and the view immense. lt is easy to understand why 10th-century barons chose this place to raise their fortress -the highest and surely the most picturesque in Italy."
Before going to the specific areas of the region, this updated second edition 457 page guide offers a list of useful and detailed information in the introduction, such as geological history, human history, animals and birds, plants and flowers, food and drink, walking in Abruzzo, when to go, getting there, getting around, places to base yourself, daily essentials, maps, and advice for the trail.
Review by Georgina Jinks, Living Italy
this is a book that’s as user-friendly as it is beautiful.
I am always enamored by folks who are as crazy about Abruzzo as I am. So when I was offered a chance to read and review Stuart Haines’ new walking guide about Abruzzo, I said yes without hesitation. Full disclosure here: I am neither an athlete nor a big walker and will probably never embark on any of the 20 kilometer (km) walks he’s carefully outlined. But I’m already considering some of the shorter ones for a future tour.
This is a gem of a small book. Called Walking in Abruzzo: Gran Sasso, Maiella and Abruzzo National Parks, and Sirente-Velino Park, Haines’ guide is published by Cicerone press out of the U.K. – which specializes in guides for walkers, cyclists, trekkers and mountaineers. This is a must-have book for all those who love to explore the wild regions of Abruzzo — and there are many, as it is known as “the green heart of Europe.” As a tour director who calls Abruzzo home for part of the year and who brings small groups of travelers there as often as possible, I know what the region is composed of: three national parks and a regional park that are simply stunning. Even an amateur walker like me can appreciate what Stuart writes:
"Abruzzo is wonderful walking country. It is one of the wildest and least populated regions of Italy, with 169 peaks over 2000m, long mountain ridges, high plains and deep gorges, huge forests of native beech, oak and pine and gentle fertile valleys. The highest points in peninsular Italy and the southernmost glacier in Europe are all here."
This is a very well organized book, providing solid background information about the region, its history, its geography, its flora and fauna (brown bears! wolves! red deer! wild boar!), its food and drink, and even how to get there. And with lots of detailed maps and color photos, this is a book that’s as user-friendly as it is beautiful.
Incredibly, Stuart has created 40 different walks that span the entire region and that will appeal to all levels of walkers. Want a 2-hour, 4km walk in the Maiella? He’s got it. Feel like something more challenging, like a 7-hour, 25km walk in the Abruzzo National Park? He’s got that, too. His routes are all graded for difficulty (1= easy, 3= difficult) and vary from gentle easy going strolls to serious mountain expeditions. Most start and end in a village with at least a bar and a shop. GPS coordinates are provided and CPX tracks are available to download for free through the publisher’s website.
Each walk is painstakingly outlined, mapped, and described in detail, so walkers can decide for themselves which outing is best for them. I personally am intrigued by the walk that goes from Anversa to Castrovalva — two of my favorite villages — as well as the one that takes you around the Scanno town and lake loop. I see new shoes in my future!
As a novice hiker, one of my favorite things about this book is the attention that Haines pays to providing what he calls, “Advice for the Trail.” He covers everything: weather, what to take, how to behave when you encounter the inevitable sheep dogs or rockfalls, and what to do in case someone in your party requires a mountain rescue. There’s even an English-Italian glossary in the back of the book, along with two pages of very useful contact information.
Stuart Haines is no stranger to Abruzzo. Walker, mountain lover, writer and more, he has been exploring the region for more than a decade and even renovated a country property with his partner in Casa La Rocca in the heart of the region. You can even stay there.
Whether you’re an experienced walker and want to see first-hand the beauty of this largely untraveled region of Abruzzo or, like me, are familiar with the region, but only through the lens of a moving vehicle, this is a great little resource to have and learn from. Abruzzo is so worth exploring, and I hope Stuart’s book will bring more people there to share its beauty.
Linda, Travel the Write Way
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