Go through the sheep track Cortile-Centocelle and the Regio Tratturo Celano-Foggia, follow the shepherd’s traces in Molise, enjoy the ancient architecture of pastoral culture and the historical villages and towns of Molise, we’ll cross an extremely silent and solitary landscape, where nature is dominant and that from the hill reaches sub-Apennine mountain environments.
Day 1
Arrival at Campobasso and meeting with Professional Nature and Interpretive Guide.
Accommodation and explanation of the journey.
Visit of the historical center.
Dinner at restaurant.
Night in different bed-and-breakfasts, in twin rooms with private bathroom.
Day 2
After the breakfast, transfer by motorized vehicle from the center of Campobasso to Taverna del Cortile (Ripalimosani).
Then, starting of walking day from Taverna del Cortile (Ripalimosani) to Villa di Centocelle (Sant’Elia Pianisi).
Packed lunch.
At the end of walking day, transfer by motorized vehicle from Villa di Centocelle (Sant’Elia a Pianisi) to Ripabottoni for the rest.
Dinner at home reatuarant.
Night in different bed-and-breakfasts, in twin rooms with private bathroom.
From Taverna del Cortile we’ll start to walk and we’ll follow what remains of shepherd tracks Braccio tratturale Cortile-Centocelle. In a few steps we’ll immerse ourself in the silence of the Molise countryside. We’ll go along the medieval village of Matrice, visit the Romanesque Church of Santa Maria della Strada and go up to the Campolieto pass. We’ll still walk towards the hill of Femmina Morta (898 m a.s.l.), to then descend towards the beautiful and very elegant Villa di Centocelle.
Technical features of the journey
Duration: 6 hours (rest-times not included).
Lenght of the trek: 21 km.
Difference in height (up): +520 m.
Difference in height (down): -480 m.
Difficulty: Medium.
Day 3
After the breakfast, we’ll visit the village of Ripabottoni. Then, starting of walking day from Ripabottoni to Castelbottaccio.
Lunch in a bar.
Dinner at farmhouse.
Night in farmhouse, in twin rooms with private bathroom. After exhaustion of rooms in farmhouse, in different guesthouses, in twin rooms with private bathroom.
We’ll enter the Valle del Biferno, heading towards the riverbed. Then, we’ll going up to the opposite side, to the small village of Castelbottaccio and, then, to the farmhouse. We’ll be walking through deeply natural and green environments, often isolated, and we’ll meet some farmhouses.
Technical features of the journey
Duration: 6 hours (rest-times not included).
Lenght of the trek: 19 km.
Difference in height (up): +730 m.
Difference in height (down): -750 m.
Difficulty: medium.
Day 4
After the breakfast, starting of walking day from Castelbottaccio to Salcito.
Packed lunch.
Dinner in a restaurant.
Night in different bed-and-breakfasts, in twin rooms with private bathroom.
From the farmhouse we’ll reach the Regio Tratturo and we’ll climb the Colle Marasca (924 m a.s.l.), where you can see the awe-inspiring Regio Tratturo with its natural large dimensions of almost one hundred meters. We’ll go down towards the wild small valley of torrente Rivo, where we’ll admire the great buttresses of Pietra-Fenda, Pietralumanna and Pietra Martino, and we’ll go up and down towards Salcito.
Technical features of the journey
Duration: 6 hours and half (rest-times not included).
Lenght of the trek: 24,5 km.
Difference in height (up): +845 m.
Difference in height (down): -930 m.
Difficulty: moderate.
Day 5
After the breakfast, starting of walking day from Salcito to Pietrabbondante.
Packed lunch.
Dinner at farmhouse.
Night in different farmhouses, in twin rooms with private bathroom.
We’ll go down to the valley of Trigno, surrounded by the beautiful views on the high Molise, on the south of Abruzzo and the villages of Salcito and Bagnoli del Trigno. Before arriving to the riverbed, we’ll go along the medieval tower of San Bartolomeo. Near the Trigno’s riverbed we’ll be able to see the ruins of Taverna di Sprondasino (XVI century). Then we’ll go up to the other side of the valley, walking on Casino del Duca, an elegant architectural example of the transhumance culture, and along some old sources located in Case Frasso and Arco. Then, we’ll reach the important archaeological site of Pietrabbondante and the village, perched among big rocks. During the part from Pietrabbondante to the farmhouse we’ll meet the great UNESCO reserve of Collemuccio.
Technical features of the journey
Duration: 7 hours and half (rest-times not included).
Lenght of the trek: 26 km.
Difference in height (up): +1100 m.
Difference in height (down): -865 m.
Difficulty: challenging.
Day 6
After the breakfast, starting of walking day from Piano San Mauro (Vastogirardi) to Taverna del Sangro (San Pietro Avellana).
Packed lunch.
At the end of walking day, transfer by motorized vehicle from Taverna del Sangro (San Pietro Avellana) to Isernia for the rest.
Dinner at restaurant.
Night in ‘albergo diffuso’ (restored house for tourism), in twin rooms with private bathroom. After exhaustion of rooms in ‘albergo diffuso’, in bed-and-breakfast, in twin rooms with private bathroom.
Once we passed again through Trigno river, we’ll cross Piano San Mauro and we’ll go up to Colle Riposi (1098 m a.s.l.). The view on Mainarde mountains, the village of Carovilli and the Molise pentro is wonderful. First, we’ll go along Colle Taverna (1009 m a.s.l.) and then Monte Pizzi (1373 m a.s.l.), a suggestive mountain with small stone peaks. After having passed through the small community of Cerreto (Vastogirardi), we’ll be walking in the wood of Monte di Mezzo, an other UNESCO reserve. It is impressive what remains of the sample called re Fajone (a centuries-old beech tree no longer alive). Beyond the reserve, we’ll reach the Santilli furnace (an example of industrial archaeology) and then we’ll arrive in San Pietro Avellana. From the village, we’ll go down until the Sangro river, where the homonymous Taverna is present.
Technical features of the journey
Duration: 6.5 hours (rest-times not included).
Lenght of the trek: 22.5 km.
Difference in height (up): +580 m.
Difference in height (down): -535 m.
Difficulty: medium.
Day 7
Time to say goodbye and go back.
After breakfast, we’ll visit Isernia and the important archaeological area of the Paleolitico La Pineta Site of Isernia, dating back to 700,000 years ago.
Afterwards, transfer to the railway or bus station.
Write to info@molisetrekking.com to have infos about price and booking.
For group from 8 to 14 people.