Italy, Sicily - Madonie Mountains Trail Ride
A fascinating ride through the Madonie Natural Park, which extends to approximately 40 thousand hectares and is home to more than 70% of the island's wildlife.
Program
Preliminary day-by-day program
Day 1: Arrival Transfer from Palermo airport, you will arrive at Casa "Il Bosco", a charming restored nineteenth century country house, immersed in the wild countryside of the Madonie Park, with breathtaking views of the island's north coast and the Aeolian Islands. You will enjoy a dinner prepared with local produce and spend the night here.
Day 2: Casa "Il Bosco" - Rocca di Gonato (hours of riding: 7)
After breakfast you will be assigned your horse for the trail and we will set off from Casa "Il Bosco" at about 8.30 in the morning. The day will begin with a beautiful climb up through wild Mediterranean vegetation and woods, with fantastic views of the Tyrrhenian Sea. We will ride through the medieval town of Castelbuono, where we will stop for a picnic lunch, before riding on in the afternoon to Rocca di Gonato, a beautiful agriturismo with a swimming pool at the foot of the high Madonie Mountains. Dinner prepared with local produce and overnight.
Day 3: Rocca di Gonato - Piano Battaglia (hours of riding: 6)
Breakfast and departure around 8.30. We will begin the day riding through woods to reach Piano Pomo, where we find one of the most important botanical particularities of the Madonie Park: giant holly trees, which for reasons yet to be fully understood, have grown much taller than the average specimens. We will then follow a highly panoramic route to reach the area known as Pomieri, where we will stop for a picnic lunch. In the afternoon, we will continue to climb into the high mountains to reach Piano Battaglia (1600 metres), a mountain station located at the heart of the Madonie Park, where you will enjoy a dinner prepared using typical local produce and spend the night at Hotel Rifugio Marini.
Day 4: Pizzo Carbonara - Monte Cervi (hours of riding: 6)
After breakfast, we will begin by visiting the Battaglietta, a fascinating high mountain carsic sinkhole, which collects snowmelt, which is then carried to the sea by natural underground tunnels. We will then begin to climb towards Pizzo Carbonara (1979 metres), Sicily’s second highest peak after Mount Etna, where we can often spot wild deer and goats grazing, and when the weather is clear, we can admire breathtaking views of some of Sicily's highest summits, including Etna to the east, Rocca Busambra to the west, Monte Cammarata to the south, and the Aeolian Islands to the north. We will stop for a picnic lunch beneath the imposing Serra della Quacella, an area home to a number of endemic species, before continuing our ride through high mountain pastures and forests on the wild Monte Cervi. We will return for a second night to Hotel Rifugio Marini.
Day 5: Piano Battaglia - Casalvecchio (hours of riding: 6)
After breakfast, we will set off from Hotel Rifugio Marini at around 8.30 in the morning. We will ride along remote paths through the heart of the Madonie Park, where we often see groups of wild deer, boar and birds of prey. We will stop for a picnic lunch at Portella Mandarini, an important crossroad between ancient transhumance routes through the mountains. We will continue along little frequented ancient pathways on the northern side of Pizzo Catarineci, with breathtaking views towards the centre of Sicily and the medieval towns of Petralia Soprana and Gangi. We will continue through endless fields of wheat and hay to reach Agriturismo Casalvecchio, hidden in the middle of the countryside, where we will enjoy a dinner prepared using products directly from the farm and spend the night.
Day 6: Casalvecchio - Geraci Siculo (hours of riding: 6)
Breakfast and departure around 8.30. We will begin the day riding along the valley of the River Pollina, a wild area of rare natural beauty, and very little known to tourists. We will stop for a picnic lunch in a tiny, forgotten village, before climbing towards beautiful Geraci Siculo, a majestic medieval village dominated by its castle ruins, once the seat of the Ventimiglia Barons, one of the most important feudal families on the island from the eleventh century onwards. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Donna Vi, equipped with a spa.
Day 7: Geraci Siculo - Casa "Il Bosco" (hours of riding: 7)
We will have breakfast and set off from Hotel Donna Vi at around 8.30 in the morning. We will ride through the village of Geraci Siculo, before beginning our descent through a beautiful cork oak forest. We will ride close to the town of Castelbuono and stop for a picnic lunch at an old abandoned water mill. In the afternoon we will return to Casa "Il Bosco" following panoramic and beautiful pathways through a rich variety of vegetation: olive groves, vines and dense mediterranean brush. Delicious dinner and overnight.
Day 8 Breakfast and transfer to Palermo airport.
Similar tours
Italy - Lazio Castle Ride
Italy - Tuscany
Scotland - Glasgow
Greece, Crete
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo
