dossier

Apuane Alps

Travel Information

Arrival: By train from Pisaairport to Fornaci di Barga to arrive at first accommodation (2 hours). 
Travel: Fly to Pisa

Nearest airport: Pisa

End of Tour: After breakfast onday 8. Travelers take the direct train from Fornaci di Barga back to Pisa (2hours).
Season: April to November, heavyconvectional rain can occur at  times.Bookings can be difficult   August 1-20because of national holidays, so if you want this period then we advise bookingearly.

Fitness
This trip is graded moderate to challenging.  This self-guided tour traverses rugged and remote terrain and  is therefore not available to singles.

Travelers should be in reasonable condition and be able to walk between10-22kms/ 6-14 miles, 3-7 hours per day. The maximum altitude is 1860m andwalkers should be prepared to ascend in excess of 1100m in one day.

If you take the option to climb Pania della Croce (1860m), there is a 1400mdifference in altitude.  This walk is 9hours (but some people have found it up to 11 hours).

Waymarking
The route is waymarked red and white by the CAI (Italian AlpineClub) or with our own orange marks. The Italian maps are very different to, andnot as detailed as French or British maps and so a navigational sense and mapskills are important for the tour. The area is renowned for fast growingvegetation which can obscure some of the quieter trails.

Accommodation & Meals
Accommodation is in small hotels and pensions with dinner, bed andbreakfast throughout. Owing to their size, however, en suite facilities are not generally available except on nights 1& 7.

Nights 1 &  7: At Fornaci di Barga, clients will stay in a friendlymodern hotel which is centrally located, about 15 minutes walk away from thetrain station.

Night 2: This is spent in a little pension at Verni, with simply furnishedrooms and a bathroom shared between every couple of rooms. It is situated inthe historical centre of Verni, and from the balcony there are some very niceviews of the town of Trassilico. The pension has its own restaurant. 

Nights 3,4 & 5: Fornovolasco.  A typical small hotel.  2 bathrooms are shared by the 5 rooms.  The very friendly owner serves deliciousfood in his welcoming little restaurant.

Night 6:  Eremo di Calomini.  Hereour attractive accommodation is in a recently converted forester’s  abode with renovated rooms  formed  from ancient caves. Everything is clean andcharming. Dinner is at the excellent restaurant at the  church cave complex and the Trout is renowned here.

Night 7: Fornaci di Barga.  As night1.

Baggage will be transferred on those days you move hotel during the walkingtour.  However if you are spending anextra night at Lucca you will need to take your baggage with you on the train.

Extension : We thoroughly recommend that you have  a night in the  beautiful  city of Luccaeither on the way in or out of the  AlpiApuane. This fortified Medici stronghold has defied time in many respects, buthas a very different feel and identity to Pisa, Florence or Siena. This is alsoa very convenient  springboard  for taking our Cinque Terre or Elba  Extensions.

Extra nights
In Lucca (between Pisa and Fornaci di Barga) at the start/end of thetour: about US$95 per person  per night(3*, centrally located hotel). We can thoroughly recommend Lucca for itselegance and urban beauty in complete contrast to the  wildly rural area that you will have been walking through. We canalso offer nights in Pisa at the start/end of the tour: around US$95 also perperson per night.  Bed and breakfast ineither case. Extra nights should be booked at the same time as the tour.

ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrive Pisa airport. Take the train from Pisa to Fornaci di Barga (2 hours; normally change trains en route at Lucca). Fornaci, “the cave of clay” with its little town, derives its name from the solitary brick kiln which existed in the area before 1915. From here, Monte Penna, Gragno and Cardoso can be viewed. Today the town is more famous for its copper works. Day 2: There is an early morning start for your  five hour walk today, which will take you mostly through woods from Fornaci to Verni, with 600m  difference in altitude. Passing the river Serchio, you ascend to Cardoso, a medieval hamlet with a beautiful Roman church. As the footpath climbs, the vegetation changes from oaks to chestnuts. Just after the grotto of  Casteltendine there is a superior vantage point from a rock with a cross which affords a  wonderful view of the highest summits of the Apennines, including Giovo, Rondinaio and Tre Potenze. Passing a little shepherd's hamlet, you make your way to Verni,  a very charming and picturesque hilltop home (732m) to a mere 80 inhabitants, who are spoilt for choice with no less than four churches and many little chapels which bear testimony to its rich past. Overnight  in Verni, a village with four old  churches and the old ruins of a castle from where there are splendid views. Verni has some authentically intact old streets.  14km/ 9miles 5.5hrs walking.  Ascent 710m; descent 400m. Day 3: 6 hour walk from Verni, and passing Trassilico, a second very charming village; following a high track with stunning views across the Apuan Alps. Pass by the little village of San Pellegrinetto  and the totally abandoned village of Col di Luco and overnight in the  typical Apuan village of Fornovolasco where we have three nights. 15km/ 9 miles. 5.5hrs walking.  Ascent 600m; descent 650m.   Day 4: Circular 6 hour walk to Monte Forato (1223m), with panoramic views to the Mediterranean, the woods  and Apuan villages below. 600 metres difference in altitude. Walk through chestnut trees to the Foci di Petrosciana- an old crossroads, from where you may view the sea. There are two options from here: either an easy ascent or a longer footpath to Monte Forato, a splendid natural arch. There is a great view of  Procinto with its perpendicular rock-face and Monte Nono from here. We continue until just under the Pania, which from below is rather breathtaking, then descend along a footpath by abandoned houses to Fornovolasco. 10km/ 6 miles. 6hrs walking.  Ascent 790m; descent 790m. Day 5:  Begin the day with a short walk around Fornovolasco, then onward to visit the famous Grotto del Vento, with its internal lakes, stalagmites and stalactites.  After lunch follow an easy strada bianca offering gorgeous views of Turrite, Trassilico, Chieva and San Pellegrinetto.  Return to  Fornovolasco.  Distance varies depending on where you go, but it is meant to be an easy day because tomorrow is the longest and hardest!  3 hours including caves. Day 6:  If the weather is good and you are up for a hard day we recommend the ascent of  Pania della Croce (1860m), with over a  1100m difference in altitude. This 9 hour walk (some people have found it up to 11 hours) involves a reasonably tough ascent, but the reward is definitely worth the effort in the view over the sea, the marble quarries, the Apennines and the Apuans. This view is yours if you reach the summit! The way winds up a good footpath with sometimes stunning views, it makes its  way up through pleasant woods to Piglionico,  which has a chapel dedicated to the Partisans who fell in the area. A footpath takes you to the  beech forest boundary, where, in a basin between the two summits, Pania Secca and Pania della Croce, we find Rifugio Rossi. Another half an hour's walk would take you to either of the two summits, but the view from Pania della Croce is much more pleasing. Descent to Rifugio Rossi and onto  the  11th century hermitage  of Eremo di Calomini, with its community of monks for  your overnight stay.  26km/ 17miles 8hrs walking.  Ascent 1400m approx; descent 1500m approx.  As part of  the route up and down is the same this day can readily be shortened especially if the weather is closing in.  There is also a shorter alternative today following the Valley of the Turrite River, once again with good views. Day 7:  Eremo di Calomini to Fornaci di Barga a 4 hour easy walk, with a descent of about 300m. You will pass  through Gallicano, although perhaps not as attractive as the other villages on the route there is a neo-gothic aqueduct and a beautiful Roman church - each of which are worth a visit. 11km/ 7.5 miles, 4hrs walking.   Some people have taken bus from Gallicano to the attractive town of Barga and then walked back to Fornaci (approx 3.6 mi/6 km extra). Day 8: Depart by train to Pisa (50 min).  We also recommend that you spend an afternoon or extra night looking around the beautiful city of Lucca.  We can arrange accommodation here on request.