Trekking

The Pollino National Park with its 192 565 hectares, is the largest national park in Italy. Since 2015, the Park has been part of the European and Global Geoparks Network under the auspices of UNESCO.

Thanks to its size and biodiversity, the park offers an innumerable variety of trails for the enjoyment of all trekking enthusiasts and others.

Given its vastness, the proposals listed below are only a sample of what is possible.

The Heart of the Park and the peaks: 

Impiso Pass (m.1573)
Piani di Vacquarro (m.1435)
Piani di Pollino (m.1774)
Great Gate of Pollino (m.1947)

A classic hike, long but not difficult. It is the main excursion as it allows you to visit the most important environment for the Pino Loricato. The Serra delle Ciavole is home to the largest number of large specimens of this tree.
With their twisted forms acquired over millennia by defying the natural elements, each of them represents a true arboreal monument. Along the trail, one encounters rocks on which one can see 'rudiste', fossilised remains of molluscs that are now extinct.
(This excursion is also done at night, on a full moon)

Impiso Hill (m.1573)
Piano Gaudolino (m.1684)
Mount Pollino (m.2248)

Challenging hike. The oldest specimens of the loricate pine (including the patriarch, 980 years old) can be found at Pollinello. It crosses an area with a young formation of Loricate Pines. There is a wide view of the southern slope of the Pollino.

Piano Ruggio (m.1535) - Belvedere del Malvento

A walk for all. Starting from Piano Ruggio, one crosses green meadows in a feast of colours due to the spring blossoms, observes karst phenomena, enters the forest to find the 'seven sisters' beech tree, and finally reaches the Belvedere, a panoramic terrace used in the past as a cableway station for transporting timber. From the terrace it is possible to see the Castrovillari plain, and the rocky ridges of Serra del Prete where some Loricate Pines are located: On the ridges it is easy to spot some squirrels climbing on the pines and rocks and large birds of prey circling on the warm updrafts. 

Impiso Hill (m.1573)
Piani di Pollino (m.1774)
Ciavole Pass (m.1872)
Piano di Acqua - cold, 'the snake trees' (m.1816)
Serra Dolcedorme (m.2266)

Long and demanding hike.
You reach Serra Dolcedorme, the highest peak in the Pollino Massif. You cross the Piani di Pollino with its 'fossilised' glacial moraines from west to east. At Piano di Acquafredda, we reach the 'Serpenti Trees', large beech trees with particularly twisted shapes. We ascend to Serra Dolcedorme from the eastern slope and descend again from the western slope. Breathtaking views towards the Ionian Sea and the eastern slope of the Massif. 

The Orsomarso Mountains and the upper valley of the Argentino River

Piano di Lanzo (m.1351)
Cozzo del Pellegrino (m.1987)

Piano di Lanzo is located in the municipality of S.Donato di Ninea, a pretty village perched on the western slope of the Park. An excursion of medium difficulty, it allows you to see the other side of the Park, more rugged and wild.
Cozzo Pellegrino is the highest peak of the mountain group. To the north-west it has sheer cliffs overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, while to the south-east it has gentler slopes towards the forest.

The Tour of the Plains:
Piano dell'Erba (m.1263)
Piano di Novacco (m.1340) 
Piano di Scifarelli (m.1600)
Piano di Caramolo (m.1572)
Miner's Plane (m.1415)

Beautiful long walk, but very atmospheric, for the wide spaces, for the colours,
for the views;
takes place for several stretches on small roads used for logging in the early 1900s.
 View of the entire Pollino massif from the Scifarelli pass. 

Fonte Acqua la Pietra (m.1056)
Count Orlando Refuge (m.1192)
Mount Palanuda (m.1632)

We are in the upper valley of the Argentino River, a stupendous Wilderness panorama that, having reached the Deo-Gratias valley, takes us above 'the giants of Palanuda', slender specimens of 30-metre-high Loricate Pines embedded in the overhangs of the 'Crivi di Mangiacaniglia' and the Falaschere.
The view reaches as far as the Tyrrhenian coast with the beaches of S.Maria del Cedro and Scalea.

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