DAY 1
D included
After meeting at Rome Fiumicino airport we have a private road transfer (2.5 hours) to Pescasseroli (1167 m), a large village in the Abruzzo National Park where we stay for 3 nights in a comfortable 4 star hotel. We have time to explore this mountain village, birthplace of the philosopher Benedetto Croce, before dinner - perhaps local lamb with chickpeas and saffron, accompanied by a classic red Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and followed by a chocolate cake Parozzo Abruzzese, reputed to have been the poet Gabriele d’Annunzio’s favourite.
DAY 2
B, L, D included
We enjoy the National Park and its beautiful views, flora and fauna with an introductory, morning walk and a picnic. We explore the cobbled lanes of the village and visit the small natural history museum and the fine 12th century church. There is an optional walk up to the ruined castle above the town with extensive views. An informal wine tasting of local wines such as Trebbiano d'Abruzzo and white Pecorino, precedes dinner at a noted local restaurant and maybe try a local liqueur flavoured with orange or ‘a hundred herbs’.
DAY 3
B, L, D included
A morning’s walk takes us through ancient beech forest and up onto a ridge with long views. Accompanied by a guide from the National Park, we undertake an afternoon expedition to an area of the park where the Marsican brown bear is often seen in late spring. We walk in forest and through meadows (3h 30 mins) learning about bears and perhaps watch deer in the evening light from a well-known viewpoint before returning to a late supper in the village.
DAY 4
B, L, D included
We set out across a grassy valley on the route taken by shepherds – and millions of sheep - for millennia. We have the chance to look for deer and chamoix on the rocky slopes above us at our picnic spot and we may find the rare Lady’s Slipper Orchid. The route follows an ancient mossy woodland track before descending towards a lake (6h/15km) and our modest, welcoming hotel (all rooms with private facilities) overlooking a river.
DAY 5
B, L, D included
The lakeside is scattered with flowers (we have found wolf tracks here) and we skirt it with views of a hilltop village ahead (1067 m) where a Samnite necropolis was discovered, dating back to the 6th century BC. There is time for a coffee before we ascend a low limestone ridge (brilliant for flowers) and make our way through oak and hazel woods towards Alfedena (5h/12km). A short road transfer takes us to our delightful, family run hotel in the centre of the small Abruzzo town of Castel di Sangro. We dine in a nearby restaurant which specializes in local dishes, particularly black truffles.
DAY 6
B, L, D included
We cross into Molise, a very unpopulated, wild area and begin our walk at 945 m. There are sweeping views – the snowy peaks of the Apennines can be seen - and the track gently contours up and over the hills where buzzards and kites often soar (7h/17km). In the late afternoon we have a short beautiful drive to our hotel (for 2 nights), set at 650 m in the heart of a mediaeval village, once a Samnite stronghold. The restaurant serves very local dishes, perhaps lentils and sausage and the fiery diavolillo (fiery red chillies called little devils!).
DAY 7
B, L, D included
The landscape changes as we walk south and there is more cultivation, with sainfoin lining the tratturo and the fields rolling away into the far distance – we hope to hear hoopoes calling and perhaps find orchids. There is time for a gelato in a café before arriving at a hilltop village (623 m) with a castle famed for its Pecorino cheese. We return to our hotel by road. (6h/15 km).
DAY 8
B, L, D included
We walk out of our hilltop village, enjoying open scenery, long views and swathes of flowers, and descend gently through fields, passing distant villages perched on summits (5 hrs). When we meet our vehicle we continue by road to the ancient Roman ruins of Saepinum, with its great arches through which shepherds have been leading their flocks for millennia. There is time to explore the site before enjoying a glass of prosecco and toasting our walk. We spend our final night in a beautifully restored Bishop’s residence, set below a village with the Matese Mountain as backdrop.
DAY 9
B included
Following a leisurely breakfast we transfer back to Rome airport for our flights home.