Saturday
First encounter with the mountains …
Arrival
Presentation of the local area by the national forest rangers and folklore group.
Sunday
Trekking and nature: woods, meadows and lakes…
8:00am Departure for a day of trekking and discovering nature among the woods, meadows and lakes, starting with a visit to the Botanical Gardens at the Abetone Nature Reserve.
After the visit, departure on a trekking route to the Lago Nero lake.
On arrival, lunch on the banks of the lake with a packed lunch provided by the hotel.
After lunch, the route continues on foot to the Val di Luce.
5.00pm Meet the bus at Val di Luce.
5.30pm Visit to manufacturer’s of typical products of the Pistoia mountains at Abetone.
6.30pm Return to hotel.
8.00pm Dinner in hotel.
Monday
A day dedicated to the discovery of local features of artistic, cultural, environmental and astronomical interest.
9:30am Departure to Museo di Arte Sacra e Religiosità Popolare in Popiglio.
11.00am Visit to the impressive suspension bridge: at 35m high and 212m long it is one of the longest pedestrian suspension bridges in the world.
1.00pm Lunch at Agriturismo La Piastra.
Afternoon relaxing at the Agriturismo, located at 900m altitude, and offering possibility of outstandingly beautiful walks. In October visitors can go chestnut picking with locals.
6:00pm Return to hotel.
7:30pm Dinner in hotel
9:00pm Visit to the Observatory at Pian dei Termini, one of the leading astronomical observatories for studying minor planets and asteroids.
The visit includes an introductory explanation to enable visitors to observe the sky with more preparation, observation of the stars with the naked eye and from one of the largest telescopes present.
The experience will astonish you.
Tuesday
Conquering Monte Libro Aperto.
10:00am Departure for Abetone for an exciting walk to the Libro Aperto mountain – a fascinating 1937m peak with the unusual shape of an open book. The peak offers a breathtaking view of the Florentine plain, Pianura Padana and (with luck and good clear weather) the Alps and Corsica.
The route begins by entering a beautiful wood and opens out into large green fields.
The descent is even more astonishing, since it follows the ridge part of the way and then returns down steep slopes into the wood.
Packed lunch.
4:30pm Meet with bus. Continue to Rivoreta and visit Museo della Gente dell’Appennino Pistoiese, part of the Ecomuseo.
6:30 Return to hotel.
8:00 Dinner in hotel.
Wednesday
Free day.
We recommend visiting the historical and artistic town of Pistoia and the Pistoia Zoo.
Those wishing to remain in the mountains can enjoy a number of activities, for example:
A day relaxing at the pool (at the hotel or at the public pools at Maresca and Cutigliano)
Recommended activities:
Paragliding
Fishing
Mountain biking
... and the Parco Avventura with the longest cableway in Italy!
Thursday
Traditions and crafts of the mountains: visit to the Ecomuseo of the Pistoiese mountain area
9:30am Departure for the trip to the Ecomuseo della Montagna Pistoiese.
Guided tour of one of the ancient ice-houses to learn about the stages of ice production from the late 18th to the mid-20th century.
This is followed by a visit to the ironworks to see iron production, made possible by abundant water and coal.
1:00pm Lunch in restaurant with typical local products.
3:00pm Departure to discover other stages of the processes on which the mountain economy and culture were once based, at Orsigna: after a relaxing walk, a visit to a metato for chestnut drying, a mill for sweet flour production, a charcoal pile for charcoal production and a hostel where charcoal burners would spend the night.
Friday
Relaxing walk towards to ridge to reach Lago Scaffaiolo.
9:30am Departure for Doganaccia, where the route begins that leads to the glacial lake between the peaks of the Tuscan-Emilian Appennines.
1:00pm Packed lunch.
3:00pm After relaxing on the banks of the lake, we begin the walk back.
6:00pm Return to hotel.
8:00pm Dinner in hotel.
Saturday
Departure
Half-Board treatment in 3 Stars Hotel.
Lunches all included, except the free day lunch.
The other services are included.
Bus not included
€ 329
Bus included
Possibile local transfers not included.
€ 389 (groups with 40 pax)
€ 383 (groups with 50 pax) |
