Technical data

Sport: snow-shoe trekking (but also cross-country skiing)

Difficulty: medium

Season: December – April

Municipality: Roccaforte del Greco

Locality: Serro Sgarrone-Nardello vicinity

Route: circular

Length: 7.4 kilometres

Elevation difference: 187 metres

Maximum altitude: 1,780 metres above sea level

This most frequently covered route, whether you travel alone or in company, permits you to leave the everday behind and concentrate exclusively on the contact with nature which this route provides. At first it winds between forests of beech and fir, but when you reach the top of Mount Nardello the landscape opens up to reveal Mount Etna and a part of eastern Sicily. Along the way, you may come across the footprints of wolves and hares.

You may also meet the odd snowplough clearing the road leading to the Menta dam. In any case, it is best to have snow-chains on board or have an off-road vehicle at your disposal.

Arriving by car

From the SS 183 take the road leading up to Montalto. Follow it for about 4 kilometres. Then you will meet the first junction (in the Tre Limiti vicinity). Leave the car here.

The trek

Take the road going towards Montalto but, at the first curve, turn right onto a path that leads through woods, parallel to the road. In this stretch you need to pay attention to the frequent upward and downward slopes between the trees and to the narrow pathway (for a stretch with red and white signposts). After about 1 kilometre you arrive at Serro Sgarrone where you take a track branching northeast and fording a small stream. Bypassing the Serro you leave the dirt road for a path that points north and veers uphill towards the former USAF base in the Nardello locality. You have now completed roughly half of your itinerary and have also reached the end of the climb. Take a break to enjoy the view. The return lap consists in a 3-kilometre descent along the road that leads you back to your car.

Source: Guida Naturalistica della Calabria Greca– Alfonso Picone – Rubbettino Editore – Collana Parco Culturale della Calabria Greca.

Text and photos by Demy D’Arrigo.