Sentiero delle Foreste Sacre

The tour starts at the Casa Ponte hut, right next to the car park on the Via Casa Ponte provincial road (SP86) in the middle of the Casentinesi Forests National Park. The trail heads south past the Lago di Ponte river and winds its way southwest up the Passo del Tramazzo to the Colle di Tramazzo (1006 m). The trail now descends slightly and heads south past Monte Susinelli until it reaches San Benedetto in Alpe after just under 9 km. Here we change onto the SS67 and head west along the Fosso dell’Acquacheta ditch, which leads to the Cascata dell’Acquacheta waterfall. At the end of the ditch, after about 5 km, go round it and head south until, after about 10 km, you cross the Passo del Muraglione (907 m). After 6 km you reach the village of Il Castagno d’Andrea. Cross the village and take the provincial road SP95 at the southern end of the village.

We continue towards the south, crossing the provincial road several times, until after about 6.5 km we see the lake Lago degli Idoli on the left. Then follow the trail steadily uphill towards the east until you reach the village of Montelleri. We follow the route and after a total of 40 km we reach the highest point of the tour at Monte Falco at 1657 m above sea level. We continue in an easterly direction on slightly sloping terrain and pass a military base before reaching Poggio Sodo dei Conti (1559 m). The trail continues southeast past the summit of Poggio Lastraiolo (1485 m) and the hut La Burraia (1450 m) until, after about 4 km, we cross the Passo della Cala (1296 m).

After passing the hills Il Poggione (1424 m), Piggio Pian Tombesi (1465 m) and Poggio Scali (1520 m), we reach the hermitage of the Franciscan monastery La Verna after about 10 km. From there, only 2 km on the CAI 68 separate us from the monastery to the south. We then keep to the east until we reach the Cotozzo hut on CAI 72. From there, continue northwards, crossing the main road twice, until after 3km you reach the Prato alla Penna clearing (1250m).

Then continue in an easterly direction, crossing the Onorio Mellini car park and the main road to continue north. After 250 m, the path turns north and goes straight past the peak of Poggio allo Spillo (1449 m). After just under 700 m, keep to the south at Passo della Crocina (1380 m) until you reach the village of Badia Prataglia. The trail continues southwards and after just under 3 km passes the Poggio della Cesta hill (1113 m). 2.5 km further south, you cross a car park at Frassineta before passing Poggio della Forca (876 m) after another 2.5 km. We then pass through the settlements of Santicchio and Rimbocchi and continue along the main road towards the south. After passing the village of Casalino, we head straight for the Monte Penna (1289 m). We go around it and after about 2 km we reach the southern slope of Monte Penna, where the Franciscan monastery of La Verna is located.