Beautiful naturalistic trekking where La Montagnola Molisana offers a varied and fascinating show. The valleys and ridges alternate between wide pastures, rock formations, small and large lakes, large woods with specimens of ancient beech trees, and many karst phenomenons. Even today it is possible to find herds of cattle and horses in the wild, which freely graze between the pens and the many small pools of water, as well as wild animals of all kinds.
Day 1
Arrival at Isernia and meeting with Professional Nature and Interpretive Guide.
Accommodation and explanation of the journey.
Dinner at restaurant.
Night in ‘albergo diffuso’ (restored house for tourism), in twin rooms with private bathroom. If needed, in bed-and-breakfast, in twin rooms with private bathroom.
Day 2
After breakfast, we transfer by motorized vehicle to Carpinone, where we start the hike to Macchiagodena.
Packed lunch.
Dinner in farmhouse.
Night in farmhouse, in twin rooms with private bathroom.
From the village of Carpinone, dominated by Caldora’s castle, we descend into the fascinating ravine of the Carpino river, where we are able to admire rock formations and waterfalls. Leaving the village, we take a nice path in the woods and, later, we go towards the village of Castelpetroso and up to the mountains Colle Pezzo della Stella (1148 m (3766 ft) a.s.l.) and Colle della Macchia (1165 m (3822 ft) a.s.l.), from where one can observe the human work on the territory: agricultural land terracing and heaps of stones where shepherds used to take over. Then, we cross the valley of Vallefredda and we descend towards the village of Macchiagodena, where we are able to admire the castle and the historical centre. In sum, we walk until the farmhouse.
Technical Information
Duration: 6 hours (rest-times not included).
Length of the trek: 22 km (13.7 mi)
Elevation gain: +1290 m (+4232 ft)
Elevation loss: -1160 m (-3805 ft)
Difficulty: challenging.
Day 3
After breakfast, we start the hike from Macchiagodena to Frosolone.
Packed lunch.
Dinner in trattoria.
Night in bed-and-breakfast, in twin rooms with private bathroom.
If needed, in ‘albergo diffuso’ (restored house for tourism), in twin rooms with private bathroom.
From the farmhouse we reach a nice mule track, which climbs almost to Colle Monaciello (1286 meters above sea level). As we ascend, the panorama of the Apennine massif of Matese, the village of Macchiagodena and the underlying plain of Bojano continue to get more impressive. Along the way we are able to see the small church of Santa Maria Palestina and some pastoral artifacts in dry-stone. At the highest altitudes, on continuous ups and downs between gentle peaks, accentuated valleys covered by reforestation, small rocky walls, numerous wind turbines, a beautiful and large fountain, we arrive at the Vallefredda pastoral refuge. Leaving the massive building behind, we climb up to the Acqua Spruzza locality, walk near the Pesco la Messa lake, climb near the rock formations of Monte Pesco La Messa (1383 meters (4537 ft) above sea level), and arrive at the small chapel of the Addolorata, located on Colle Confalone (1348 meters (4422 ft) above sea level). From here, on a clear track and then on a paved road, we go down to the village of Frosolone.
Technical Information
Duration: 4.5 hours (rest-times not included).
Length of the trek: 12 km (7.5 mi)
Elevation gain: +700 m (+2296 ft)
Elevation loss -640 m (-2099 ft)
Difficulty: medium
Day 4
After breakfast, we start the hike from Frosolone to Acquevive.
Packed lunch.
Dinner in farmhouse.
Night in bed-and-breakfast, in twin rooms with private bathroom.
From Frosolone we go up towards the hermitage of Sant’Egidio and then to the Cannavine lake and the Grisciata wood, up to Monte Marchetta (1376 meters (4514 ft) above sea level), from which you can admire the hills of central Molise. Crossing the Acquaspruzza wind farm and the Piano Santa Maria, we now see the view over western Molise. With a short descent we reach the Lake Carpinone and then go up to Mount Colle dell’Orso (1393 meters (4570 ft) above sea level). From here we go towards the Castrati lake and back to the eighteenth-century hermitage. Afterwards, we visit the “museum house” of the shepherd Pasquale Paolucci, pass by the large Sant’Onofrio fountain and come along the long rocky wall of the Morgia Quadra. After passing the rocky wall on a somewhat challenging path, we reach an easy dirt road to Acquevive hamlet. There are many animals in the wild that we can come across in this stretch.
Technical Information
Duration: 6.5 hours (rest-times not included)
Length of the trek: 20 km (12.4 mi)
Elevation gain: +630 m (+2066 ft)
Elevation loss: -685 m (-2247 ft)
Difficulty: medium-challenging
Day 5
After breakfast, we start the hike from Acquevive to Civitanova del Sannio.
Packed lunch.
Dinner in restaurant.
Night in different bed-and-breakfasts, in twin rooms with private bathroom.
From Acquevive we go up an old path, passing by the drinking trough of Fonte Calcare. At the end of the track, the climb continues through meadows and bushes until we reach a wide track, first dirt and then gravel, just above a big barn. In the midst of meadows, rocks, peaks and views, we descend on a wide track to the Lake Castrati and from here we walk close to the Morgie Molise. Once we reach the source of the Frati, we start walking in a wonderful and luxuriant beech forest towards the suggestive plateau that hosts the lake of Civitanova. Then, we go up to the highest peak of La Montagnola Molisana, La Montagnola (1421 meters (4662 ft) above sea level), and then descend, through meadows, beech woods, canyons and panoramic “balconies” over the entire alto Molise, up to the Regio Tratturo Castel di Sangro-Lucera and the underlying village of Civitanova del Sannio.
Technical Information
Duration: 7.5 hours (rest-times not included)
Length of the trek: 24 km (14.9 mi)
Elevation gain: +1300 m (+4265 ft)
Elevation loss: -1450 m (-4757 ft)
Difficulty: challenging
Day 6
After breakfast, we start the hike from Civitanova del Sannio to Sessano del Molise.
Packed lunch.
After the hike, we transfer by motorized vehicle to Isernia for the rest.
Dinner in restaurant.
Night in ‘albergo diffuso’ (restored house for tourism), in twin rooms with private bathroom. If needed, in bed-and-breakfast, in twin rooms with private bathroom.
From Civitanova del Sannio we retrace the initial stretch of the “Frassati” path, walking on the Regio Tratturo Castel di Sangro-Lucera. At a small pass we turn off to climb the Civita hill and see what remains of a Samnite military fortress (4th-3rd century BC). Where we leave the Regio Tratturo it is also possible to admire ancient distance markers along the path of transhumance. Returning to the Club Alpino Italiano path, we continue on a stretch of paved road, and then move away from it to meet four tholoi. Returning to the “Frassati” path, the last daily stretch is on a beautiful and wide track. Leaving the religious path, we immerse ourself in a beautiful beech forest, where the trail climbs nice and wide, among some erratic boulders and remarkable trees. Shortly before leaving the wood, we visit the walls of another Samnite fortification (4th-3rd century BC), in Colle le Case. Afterwards, we pass close the small mountain refuge Valle Banca and then we reach the plateau of the Guado dei Monti, downstream of Lake Civitanova. From here, along the country road, we go down to the village of Sessano del Molise.
Technical Information
Duration: 5.5 hours (rest-times not included)
Length of the trek: 19 km (11.8 mi)
Elevation gain +1240 m (+4068 ft)
Elevation loss -1090 m (-3576 ft)
Difficulty: medium
Day 7
Time to say goodbye and go back.
After breakfast, we visit Isernia and the important archaeological area of the Paleolithic “La Pineta,” dating back 700,000 years.
Afterwards, we transfer to the railway or bus station.
