Reaching higher grounds

In what follows I wish to share with you two beautiful hikes, one planned the other by accident (I’ll explain later :’) ). You do not need professional gear… though wearing good walking shoes (also good running shoes) will only make the walk more pleasant. I do recommend doing these hikes in the morning, at least in summer time, because with the sun walking uphill becomes more challenging and you’ll need to take more breaks.

OPTION 1: Up Mount Epomeo

duration: a 4-5 hour hike (including the lunch break)

starting point: Bar Epomeo (Fontana)

map:

itinerary:

From the bar (across the street from the bus stop) you need to walk Via Francesco Trofa in the direction of the church and take Via Epomeo which you will find at your right hand side (shortly after having passed the corner). Here it all begins, though I have to say the first part of the climb is not that impressive since you walk up a rather steep asphalted road with little to see. Once you pass the restaurant A Cuieta the road will become sandy and you can start to enjoy the surroundings:

When the sandy road starts to get rockier and the real climbing begins you know that you are almost there:

And then, there you are at 789 metres above the sea level (“KING (QUEEN) OF THE WORLD”)

and what a view:

Since the space on the top is quite limited you cannot stay long so off you go again after 10 min. Having reached the top at lunchtime my stomach started to protest at that point. Luckily there is a restaurant near the top, La Grotta da Fiore, which I, unfortunately, had not expected to find at that height… leaving me to eat the lunch I had packed that morning but in a nice spot which I recommend you to see. Enter the restaurant (don’t worry the personnel is used to it), walk through the dining area, open the door at the end and you will find a beautiful sea view (which you can admire without any time pressure).

To head back to the civilised world you go down the sandy road until the sandy road splits in two. If you go to the left you will return as you came. If, instead, you turn right you will descend passing by the Pietra dell’Acqua (as you see on the map).

I have to add that it did get tricky at a certain point: it got really steep and I did slip a few times. Important to add, however, that during the last part you are protected from the sun by high natural walls of sand covered by bushes and trees.

OPTION 2: Sant’Angelo: up close and from high above

duration: 3 hour hike

starting point: Bar/Gelateria Ridente

map:

From Bar Ridente in the port you walk towards the Provinciale Succhivo Sant’Angelo, turn left and after a few meters right. At the end of the street you turn left and keep climbing… for a whooooooole while, no kidding. The road might not seem long but it is very steep, making it a quite intense hike (given also the heat at that period of the year). I say this because I started this hike in search of a church square which offers a marvellous overview of the coastline of Sant’Angelo, not knowing that how far (up) this church was, as in that it was the main church of another town, called Serrara Fontana, at 360m above the sea level. This rather unexpectedly long search for a mysterious panoramic point would have been a bit easier had I worn good walking shoes instead of silly sandals… I also suggest to take some food along: for example, in Sant’Angelo (the first part of the walk) you will pass some grocery shops where you could buy a snack or a tasty sandwich. Silly me had to go all the way to Serrara Fontana to eat something (I was starving at that point) and the only place still open was a rather strange looking bar. Luckily someone gave me instructions on how to reach a supermarket (walk through the gateway, go to the right and walk for about 50 metres and you will find it on your left hand side) where I bought an oh so tasty sandwich for only 2,5 euros which I ate looking at this beautiful scene: