Hikes in the Pollino National Park
Route 1: Life around the stream – Bosco Magnano along the Peschiera path
Starting point: Cropani, Bosco Magnano (600 m, San Severino Lucano)
Arrival point: Casette della forestale, Marmitte degli Elfi
Total distance: 10 km a/r
Type: round trip
Path type: clear path, forest track
Height difference (nominal): 60 m
Total duration: 4 hours
Difficulty level: T – Easy
Description
The excursion will start from the road just after the hamlet of Cropani (San Severino Lucano) and will take place in the beautiful scenery of Bosco Magnano, zone 1 of the Pollino National Park along the path that runs along the Peschiera stream, kingdom of the otter and numerous species faunal and arboreal. In addition to the visual approach, the excursion is also aimed at listening to the sounds of nature, the sound of water and the sounds of birds, in a total immersion in the atmosphere of the forest. We will begin to follow the stream with points where the path almost touches the river water. We will encounter numerous species of trees: there are turkey oaks, field maple, flowering ash, centuries-old alders (black alder and Neapolitan alder), black poplar, then we will encounter an undergrowth made up of butcher’s broom and tree heather and the beech and a spectacular white hornbeam forest. There are many centuries-old specimens, which contribute to creating the atmosphere of a place that is still “wilderness”, that is, intact and uncontaminated, despite being a few kilometers from roads and houses.
In these clear waters there is the otter, one of the most important species of the park, synonymous with clean waters and abundant fish fauna, a bioecological indicator of environmental conservation… It is very difficult to spot, it is easier to find footprints on the sand and the “slides” along the stream. We will then reach a dirt road and arrive at the Forestry “houses”. enjoying the silence of the forest. On the way back we will instead take the comfortable dirt road that leads near the Hotel Bosco Magnano.
Route 2: Piano Ruggio – Belvedere del Malvento
Starting point: Piano Ruggio ( 1550 m.) Viggianello
Arrival point: Belevedere del Malvento (1600 m)
Lenght: About 5 km
Type: round trip
Path type: clear path and trail trace, dirt track
Height difference: 50 m
Total duration: 3 hours
Difficulty level: Tourist – Easy
Gear: high trekking shoes, long trousers, windbreaker (breathable and waterproof), hat, camera and binoculars, trekking poles
Description
It is the shortest and easiest excursion to admire the loricated pine up close. Piano Ruggio is a large and panoramic karst plateau (reachable by car) surrounded by mountains, populated with gentians and asphodels, where in summer you can meet grazing cows. From Rifugio De Gasperi take the path to the Belvedere del Malvento, skirting Timpone della Capanna and arriving at a pass close to Serra del Prete, a small valley characterized by beautiful clearings and surrounded by beech forest, with some majestic and centuries-old beech trees. You look out onto a rocky balcony, the destination of the route, being able to admire characteristic loricated pines clinging to the rocky walls of the southern offshoots of Serra del Prete: the panorama of the plains, mountains and villages of northern Calabria is beautiful. On the way back, it is best to follow a forest track and then cross the wide pastures to return to the starting point of the excursion.
Contacts and reservations
Saverio DE MARCO
Environmental Hiking Guide, member of LAGAP (Free Association of Professional Environmental Guides)
Tel: (+39) 3405976061
Mail: saveriodemarco.indio@gmail.com – ladrodiombre@gmail.com
Web site: guidapollinosaveriodemarco.wordpress.com
My name is Saverio (“Indio” for friends) and I am an Environmental Hiking Guide. I was born in 1980 and live in the hamlet of Mezzana (municipality of San Severino Lucano), on the slopes of Pollino. Always passionate about nature, hiking and photography, I have frequented the Pollino mountains since I was a teenager, making hundreds of excursions there, especially solo. I also went on excursions in other parts of Italy: especially in the parks of Abruzzo and those of Tuscany. I graduated from Sapienza University of Rome in Sociology, Territory and Environment and then attended the Master’s in Abruzzo in “Management of Local Development in Parks and Natural Areas”. I then worked as a sociologist as part of research on ecotourism on behalf of the Pollino National Park. He dedicated a blog to my passion for the mountains: leucodermis.blogspot.it, which I have managed since 2007. Over the years, I have accompanied dozens of friends and acquaintances to the mountains, always trying to communicate the beauty of wild nature and the importance of its conservation. I attended a 600-hour training course in Tuscany (Lucca), at the end of which I passed the provincial exam, obtaining the qualification of “Qualified Environmental Hiking Guide Technician” in March 2014, with the prospect of making my passion for mountains also a real job. From the moment I obtained my guide qualification I have accompanied thousands of people of all ages and geographical origins along the Pollino paths. I was a member of AIGAE (Italian Association of Environmental Hiking Guides) from 2014 to 2019, and then moved to LAGAP (Free Association of Professional Environmental Guides) in 2020, Basilicata Regional Delegate of the Italian Wilderness Association (formerly Vice President), President since July 2016 of the San Severino Lucano Lupi Group Association, member of the CAI (Italian Alpine Club), Castrovillari section.