“TWO PARKS”

TREK THROUGH THE “PARCO NAZIONALE D’ABRUZZO” AND THE “PARCO NAZIONALE DELLA MAJELLA”

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

Sunday
The morning is yours. You may sleep in, 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 follow the Tratturo Celano-Foggia until we reach Montedimezzo, it is a old hunting lodge and belonged to the King Family Bourbons. Today it is a Museum. The surrounding forest is protected by UNESCO. Worldwide the organisation protect 256 forests. Four of these forests are in Italy and two of them in Molise. We will leave the Tratturo to ride through this beautiful protected area which included a picnic place where we can enjoy a nice drink. Close by is a paddock, our daily goal for the horses today, we return back 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 11.00 a.m. the ride will start. We 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. We continue along the Tratturo as far as the river Sangro. Here the Tratturo begins to be very wild and quite overgrown leaving us narrow paths to follow. A shadow place under trees will be our picnic place. We continue on small paths. Sunbathing lizards take to their heels. The air smells like the Italian kitchen. Rosemary and thyme grow everywhere. Before the last step of today we stop on a plateau where we find originally Cows of Molise with their grey fur grazing around us. From here you can see which amazing way we already have been ridden today. The horses stay overnight at a riding centre, which also features a restaurant. We will enjoy dinner there before heading for a nearby hotel for the night.

Tuesday
Today we go up to the first mountain of the Majella Park. The trail takes us through increasingly high mountains. Arriving at the top of the pass we have a picnic and can enjoy two very different panoramas. Looking back we have the hilly landscape of Molise. In front of us the Majella National Park welcomes us with its high mountains and vast valleys. At the end of the afternoon we canter through one of these valleys.  Roccararso will be our station for the next two nights. It is a locally well-known skiing-resort. Dinner will be at our hotel.

Wednesday
Today we enter the Abruzzo National Park. The first part of the trail leads us to the Piano delle cinque Miglia (the Valley of the five Miles). Here we enjoy a long canter! At the end of the valley tall mountains loom up at either side. A gravel road takes us to the Montagna Spaccata (split mountain) where benches under old oak trees tempt us to stop. Then we turn left and the scenery becomes different, a bit like a lunar landscape with a little lake. At the end of the day a skiing track takes us down the mountain. The horses will be left at the stable. The riders go back to the hotel. Having spent about 7 hours on horseback we are bound to be longing for a drink in there. Later we meet for dinner in another restaurant.

Thursday
The first part of our trail takes us upwards towards a large valley. Here on this plateau, the Aremogna ( little Tibet) we can have a long canter. A nice trail bring us down through Roccaraso. Now we leave the 2 Parks and starting to Rocca5miglia, a town where the time seems to stand still. Nearby we have a picnic before we go downhill to the valley of the river Sangro again. But now we follow the river along the Park of the town with the same name, Castel di Sangro. Here the inhabitants can find some outdooractivities.
We leave the horse in a paddock and by car we reach the B&B were we sleep. Tonight we will get PIZZA!!

Friday
After breakfast we make our way home with our four-legged friends with whom we have become a good team. A long day lies ahead of us and the horses who ride ahead with serenity and determination. One last time we enjoy being together with the horse, nature and of course a glass of wine for a picnic in the heart of Italy. We pass the Ponte della Zittola, the border between Abruzzo and Molise. One last time, Carmine introduces everyone who is interested in the exciting history of his country and its native people. Back at the farmhouse we unsaddle the horses one last time and enjoy the farewell dinner.

Saturday
Departure after breakfast to Isernia.

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

Price 2023    

Euro 1.530

Period 2023

16 to 23 September  

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 (7 – 8 hours a day)
English and German-speaking guide
Luggage transport
Transfer on the day of arriving from the railway station in Isernia to the farm-house at 19.45 p.m.
Transfer on the day of departure at 08.30 a.m. from the farm-house to railway station Isernia around 9.00 a.m.

Excluding
Other drinks / Euro 40€
Other departure or arrival timings must be payed extra

Number of participants
Min. 5 / max. 8 (in exceptional cases 9)

(September 2022)