HIKE & BIKE THE SIRENTE

9 days 8 nights

B&B accommodation
from €960 per person (8 people sharing twin/double rooms)

Contact

If you wish to enquire about this tour please contact us on +44 (0)77 2788 3475 or +39 378 0655 884 or email: enquiries@vyvigo.co.uk

4 Self Guided Cycling Days, 3 Guided Hikes: Minimum 4, Maximum 8 People

Custom dates for 2024 are subject to availability

4 Cycling Stages
Total distance: 328 km Total climb 6400 mts
average mileage: 82 km/day
average climb: 1600 mts/day

A piece of Dolomites in the centre of Italy, the Sirente is home to bears, chamois, wolves and hospitable humans.

This tours is a mixture of cycling and trekking adventures. You will be based in a charming bed & breakfast at the edge of Parco Sirente Velino. Alternating days on the saddle with treks to peaks and canyons, you will be always surrounded by dramatic scenery.

Maximum number of guests: 8. The accommodation has four rooms sharing two bathrooms. There is a large garden with fruit trees and barbecue facilities

our price Includes:

• 8 nights B&B accommodation in Valle Subequana

• Transfer to your accommodation from Rome or Pescara

• Welcome host

• 8 breakfasts

• Detailed route description and planning

• Professional trekking guides on three days

• On-call emergency assistance

• Daily maps and cue sheets

• We provide you with all hotel bookings, a 24hr phone number for emergency assistance, daily maps with a detailed itinerary, tips on local scenic stops and cultural highlights, refreshments and restaurant suggestions

The itinerary

Day 1:
Arrival
The Sirente region is easily accessible from Rome or Pescara on the Adriatic coast. We will pick you up at your arrival and transport you to your accommodation. After settling in, depending on your time of arrival, we will guide you to an orientation hike, followed by dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 2:
Cycling Stage 1: Three valleys: Subequana, Peligna and Aterno 72 km - 1600 mts total climb
The three valleys are quite distinct; the Subequana, where we are staying is a wide crater with five villages; after reaching a col, we descend into the Peligna, a fertile plain with Sulmona, Ovidio’s birth place, on one end. Then through a narrow gorge we reach the Aterno Valley, with several villages perched on steep inclines.

Day 3:
Hike 1: Rifugio Sebastiani
Rifugio Sebastiani located in the heart of the Velino group, is an important hub for local trails. Excellently managed by the Equo Rifugio cooperative, Sebastiani is the ideal base for ascending to most of the group’s peaks. We start our hike at Campo Felice following a trail which goes up the wide and wooded Leona valley until we reach the wide open spaces of the Puzzillo valley, which offers an unforgettable panorama, allthe way to the Sebastiani. From there we climb further to Cima Trento, before returning to the Sebastiani for an excellent meal.

Day 4:
Cycling Stage 2: Le piane del Sirente 80km 1786m climb
After a 10km climb we reach the stunning panorama of the Sirente plain and admire the peaks that we will climb tomorrow; after traversing the plain, another climb to a col and we reach the expanse of the Plain of Rocca di Mezzo. After a coffee, we descend to the Aterno Valley, visit the Stiffe caves and return, counting the medieval towers along the valley.

Day 5:
Hike 2: Sirente top
The first section of the climb is through a magnificent beech forest. Once we exit it at 1700m we are in the realm of the chamoix. The climb is not technically difficult but the incline is challenging. Our guide will narrate the history of this mountain from the geology to the ice trade, when people would take their mules to collect the snow and take it to railway stations in the valley, for it to be transported to the coast. Indeed we will see the coast from the top of Sirente at 2349m

Day 6:
Cycling Stage 3: Caramanico and the Maiella – 98 km – 1628 mts total climb
Yesterday, from the top of Sirente we could see the Majella massif to the East. Today we will be riding to its feet. After passing the Venanzo Gorge, and the Peligna valley we start a steady climb, never steeper than 6%, past the spa town of Caramanico, to the col, from where the magnificence of the Majella is spread in front of us. We descend on the other side stopping at the towered medieval town of Pacentro for lunch. A few more km downhill and we arrive in Sulmona, from where we take the train back

Day 7:
Hike 3 – San Venanzio Gorges and Wine Cellars
In the morning we follow a trail along a dramatic gorge that has a lot of history, Roman and medieval. The afternoon is devoted to visits to local vineyards and cellars, ending with an apericena on a treehouse

Day 8:
Cycling stage 4: Scanno – 78km, 1400m
The last ride takes us to Abruzzo National Park, the oldest park ever established in Italy. The first climb takes us to the largest European eolian park and then down to Cucullo, famous for its May Day procession, when the statue of San Domenico is adorned with dozens of snakes. Anversa degli Abruzzi marks the entrance to the wild Sagittario gorges. The road clinges to the rock with breathtaking views of the emerald creek far below. You have plenty of photo opts in the long but never steep climb to Villalago. You circle around the Lake of Scanno, its still waters mirroring the mountains around, and arrive in town. Thanks to its landscapes Scanno has been a favourite hang-out of photographers and painters. If you like a little shopping the town is also celebrated for its fine jewerly and laces art-works. We ride back to Sulmona and catch a train back, which climbs up the mountain to give us a last look at the Peligna Valley.

Day 9:
Van transfer back to Rome/Pescara – Departure

Enquire with us if you wish for us to arrange this last or next part of your trip and we will follow with a quote for you.  

Extras

• Flights

• Lunches, beverages and any meals other than those specified under “Our Price Includes”

• Single room supplement

• Bike hire: road or gravel bikes available, or e-bikes if you prefer

• Cycling guide with full van support for the cycling stages (please ask for a quote if you prefer a guided cycling trip).

• Gratuities and items of a personal nature

• Bicycle case storage (if bringing your own bike)

• Italian tourist tax at hotels (between €1 for small towns and €5 for large cities, per person per night)