Technical data

Difficulty: easy

Season: from April to November

Municipality: Roghudi

Locality: Cammarino – Cuzzo

Note: the first possible escape route is next to the mill immediately after the first two drops

Exploration: Trovato and Bellisario, May 1996

Anchorage: explorative

Pegs: spitfix

Altitude at entry: 595 m

Altitude at exit: 490 m

Elevation difference: 105 m

Length: 1,000 metres

Vertical maximum: 13 m

Fractioning: none

Number of drops: 5

This is an easy, though complete descent. The Furria Torrent flows between Ghorio di Roghudi and Roghudi, in the very heart of the Graecanic Area.

Arriving by car

Drive along the SS 106 towards Taranto and exit at Melito di Porto Salvo, immediately after the tunnel. Take the road up to Roccaforte del Greco. Pass it by and then follow the signs down to Roghudi; cross the bridge over the Amendolea and the deserted village of Roghudi Vecchio. Continue uphill, disregarding the turning for Ghorio, then, after less than 1 kilometre downhill, you reach the bridge on the Furria. Park here.

The descent

The Furria flows under this bridge, which has become a parking place. Already from this height you can see the gorges. Approach the torrent from above. After a few metres you are ready to enter the water.

The Furria gorges were explored completely for the very first time in 1996 by Peppe Trovato and Antonio Bellisario. At the time Trovato himself placed the pins. In the years that followed these were substituted by spitfixes, although some of the original pins still hold extremely well. Recently some resting points were placed higher up than the previous ones. This allows for some very agreeable and amusing climbing. AspromonteWild  replaced the ropes at the resting places during the 2015 season.

Here we are in the presence of the most travelled of the gorges in Aspromonte. Sicilian and Calabrian rafters are regulars to this itinerary which does not present any particular difficulties. It is advisable, however, to be accompanied by experts. Besides the beauty of the gorges, they have the advantage of being the only ones in Aspromonte you can reach in a few minutes. It also has an exit at the end of the route which leads almost back to the cars, although this is on the top of a ridge and involves a climb with an elevation difference of 150 metres. In summer, we recommend the use of a 3 mm wetsuit. At least three of the drops permit diving, subject to a preliminary check, as the good rafter’s manual suggests.

The depth of water at the third drop, although divable, can vary and you can often “touch” with your feet. Halfway down the gorges, there is a single resting place overlooking a vertical drop, and from here you can choose two different descents. One of these is particularly spectacular in that, here, the river water has eroded a hole through which daredevils may choose to pass, to emerge at the other end under a jet of water pouring down from above.

This is the highest cliff, no more than 12-13 metres. The exit from the gorge is recognisable because it stands near the point where the Furria meets it tributary, the Mangusa, another rafting route worth mentioning.

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

Text and photos by Demy D’Arrigo.