TREK THROUGH “PARCO NAZIONALE D’ABRUZZO “

This National Park was founded in 1921. By now it is over 50.000 acres. There still is a lot of wild-life, including wolves and even bears. 

Saturday
You are expected to arrive on Saturday evening at the farm-house. After a welcome drink there will be dinner with your hosts/guides. A three-course Italian dinner will be served every night, accompanied by local wines.

Sunday
The morning is yours. You may sleep late, take your time over breakfast, do whatever you like. Before lunch there is a safety-briefing. Then we groom and saddle up the horses, followed by a short demonstration in western riding. After lunch the trek starts. For about 4 hours we will ride through forests and hilly pastureland before we arrive in San Pietro Avellana, our daily goal for today, where the horses will stay in a paddock. We return by car to the farm-house but before going to bed we get served a delicious dinner in the new Bistro of our host.

Monday
In the morning we are brought to the horses and at about 10.30 a.m. we get in the saddle and follow the Tratturo Celano-Foggia. A Tratturo is a 2.000 years old track that is still used to move cattle from the far south where grass is scarce in summer. Picnic is in Montedimezzo which used to belong to the royal family of the Bourbons. The hunting lodge nowadays contains a museum. The forest is protected by UNESCO. Worldwide this organisation protects 256 forests. Four of them are located in Italy; two of which in Molise. We continue along the Tratturo as far as the river Sangro. Here we leave the Tratturo to follow small paths. Sunbathing lizards take to their heels. The air smells like the Italian kitchen. Rosemary and thyme grow everywhere. Next we climb through a forest after which we reach Roccaraso. Here we dine and spend the night. Roccaraso is at an altitude of 3,600 feet a.s.l. It is locally a well-known ski-resort.

Tuesday
After breakfast we leave Roccaraso behind us and reach the Piano delle cinque Miglia (the valley of five Miles). Here we enjoy a long canter! At the end of the valley the first tall mountains loom up at either side, a gravel road takes us to the Montagna Spaccata (split mountain) where benches and old oaks tempt us to stop. The narrow, stony road, going up and up, takes us to a watertrough where the horses can drink, while we enjoy the view over the valley. We continue our climb till all of a sudden there is an open space in the forest that offers a beautiful panorama. After this we lead the horses on foot until we reach “Agriturismo Jovana” (mountain hut) where lunch is served. The owner has won various awards for his “ricotta” (cheese). After lunch we follow the gravel road which takes us upwards to Scanno. Outside the village the horses are left in riding centre “Il Ranch”. We will be taken to the hotel in the village. Dinner is at a restaurant in the historical centre of Scanno. After dinner we usually make a walk around this adorable.

Wednesday
Today is going to be challenging! We leave the civilized world behind us and ride through the unspoilt nature of the mountains of the Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo where no cars are allowed. With a bit of luck we should come across wild boars or some deer. The wolves and bears keep away from the clatter of hoofs. A brooklet shows the way through the mountains. After a long climb we halt at 6,300 feet a.s.l. and enjoy the panoramic view. The mountain peaks are covered by snow until late spring. Then we lead the horses down on foot. It is too steep here to stay mounted. Having reached the right path we mount again and ride through extensive forests. In a meadow we have a picnic and if the weather is fine you might like a nap. After this the route continues through the forests until we reach Pescasseroli. After the long ride we deserve a good dinner and that is what we are going to have at the lovely place of Eleonora.

Thursday
This morning invites you to sleep longer and have a late breakfast. Pescasseroli is the “heart” of the Abruzzo and may it allows you to have a view in the hustle and bustle of it. You can take a walk, there is a Museum of Nature, the FaunaPark and the Apennin-Garden to see or just enjoy the flair of the town with a coffee on the piazza. After lunch we return on horseback to unspoilt nature. The route gets steeper and having arrived in a valley, there is a canter to enjoy. From there we ride to Opi, a little town with 400 inhabitans where we and the horses will stay at night. The dinner will take place in a traditional restaurant.

Friday
After the breakfast the horses will bring us to the val Fondillo. There are almost four miles of a very exiting trail along the river. It leads to one of the most protected areas of the National Park, Camosciara. Here we stop for picnic. After many miles there is the (storage) lake Barrea deep down on the left. And on we go, this time to a different type of forest until, most likely exhausted, we reach Sandras riding centre. Here the trail ends. The last evening we enjoy on that centre with our horses and during having Pizza, we look back of our week before we will go to bed in the comfortable rooms.

Saturday
Departure after breakfast from Alfedena to Isernia.

N.B. Due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances the programme may have to be adapted.

Price 2023 :  Euro 2250

Date 2023 :    only on request

Including

• 7 nights bed and breakfast (3 at the farm-house and 4 at hotels)
• Full board with wine and beer at lunch and dinner starting with dinner on the first day up to and including breakfast on the day of departure
• 5 ½ days of riding (6 – 7 hours a day)
• English-speaking guide(s) / staff (also Danish, Dutch, German, Italian and French spoken)
• Luggage transport
• Transfer on the day of arriving from the railway station in Isernia to the farm-house at 19.45 p.m.

Excluding
Transfer on the day of departure at 08.30 a.m. from Alfedena to railway station Isernia / Euro 25

Other drinks / Euro 35

Number of participants
Min. 5 / max. 8 (in exceptional cases 10)

(september 2022)