A short but intense weekend, 2 days of guided trekking tours along Elba’s trails, accompanied by skilled environmental guides who will lead you to discover fascinating itineraries, full of history and impressive panoramas.

Trekking Weekend on Elba Island program

1st day Thursday

Arrival to the port of Piombino by your own means of transport, boarding onto the ferry to Portoferraio, transfer from Portoferraio harbour to the hotel, rooms allocation, dinner, overnight stay.

2nd day – Friday

Marciana – Pomonte trekking ,  length 16 km  maximun altitutde 1019

3th day – Saturday

Chiessi – S. Bartolomeo – Pomonte  trekking ,  length 7,5 km  maximun altitutde 410. Departure on the afternoon

Excursions Itineraries

First stage

We set off from Marciana (408 a.s.l.m.) the island highest village, built on the north ridge of Monte Capanne granite massif. Through the solemn and steep alleys of this medieval little town we reach its 1200 AD fortress, then take an easy path that runs through the leafy Valley of Pedalta up to San Cerbone Hermitage. A sanctuary in the vicinity of “Grotta del Santo”, built in 1421AD by Benedictines monks and where San Cerbone retired to in the latest years of his life, before dying in 1534 AD. Once left the Sanctuary, we start our ascent towards Mount Capanne (1019 m.a.s.l.), initially on a path underneath chestnut trees, then across steep “macei” (large granite slabs) surrounded by holm oaks. About 40 minutes after leaving the hermitage, we get to a caprile (a stone shelter once used by local shepherds) and to a “chiuso” (fenced area for livestock). From here our path becomes much more panoramic and while overlooking the lush “Valle della Nivera”, leads us to Mount Capanne summit (the highest point on the island) where you can get to enjoy an incomparable view not only over Elba but also over the other Tuscan Archipelago islands, Corsica and a large stretch of Tuscan coast. From Capanne we descend rather rapidly towards “Le Filicaie” (870 m.a.s.l.), a small plateau halfway between Capanne and Mount Calanche, then further down towards the rock overhang shelters of “La Grottaccia” , then across ” Cenno” ridge where mouflons live undisturbed under the watchful eye of buzzards and peregrine falcons, to finally reach Elba’s largest upland fortification : “Le Mure”, an ancient stone village once inhabited by Villanovan populations, destroyed in 453 BC by Syracusans and never built up again; today, what is left of the original structure is a significant part of the wall perimeter (some sections even more than 2 meters high) as well as quite few hand cut stones, later in time used by shepherds to build shelters and fence off areas. Here, we start to descend towards Pomonte through “Valle del Poio”, a valley crossed by a stream characterized by waterfalls and ponds, that is never short of water even in the summertime. This great valley (the largest on the island) had been terraced from the sea up to 640 meters and cultivated with vines; nowadays most of the vineyards have been abandoned, but a kind of vast granite amphitheater remains as an evidence of the hard labour of Elba peasants. Our excursion terminates in Pomonte, among lemon trees and white houses overlooking the sea.

Second stage

We set off from the village of Chiessi along an path steep from the start, surrounded by old rural terracing. After about 2.5 Km we get to at a junction where a sign indicates the way to the ruins of Chiesa di San Bartolomeo (Km 3.3, 410 m.a.s.l.), a small church in Romanesque style, built around 1100AD under the rule of Pisa, in memory of Saint Bartolomeo who lived here as a hermit in the early years of Christianity. Following this short detour, we head back to the main path, where after about 20 minutes we find ourselves by path no. 4 intersection. Here stars our descent towards Pomonte along a masterly set up trail, mostly paved and with hairpin bends for the steepest sections, while surrounded by scents of helichrysum, lavender, myrtle and broom that together with cistus and heathers have taken over and replaced vineyards.

Other dates on request ( min 8 people)

Price

€ 195 on person (€ 245 on easter and bridge)
Package includes: 1 full days and 1 half day of guided trekking excursions, each respectively long: Km 16 + 7,5, 2 overnight stays in a double room with half board at a 2 or 3 star hotel, a return foot passenger ferry ticket to/from Elba, all transfers within the island (up to to 8 people), insurance, technical assistance during the excursions.
Package does not includes:
own journey to / from Piombino or any other port of departure, an eventual return ferry ticket for vehicles, meals, extras or anything not specified under “Package includes”.