Italian Apennines: Walks & Wildlife

After arriving in Rome, transfer (three hours) to Pescasseroli, a quaint mountain town in the Abruzzo mountains. Here is our home for the adventure: the four-star Villino Quintiliani Hotel. Say ciao to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead. Enjoy a special presentation on rewilding in the area by the Team Leader of Rewilding Apennines, Mario Cipollone. His passion for wildlife and expertise on the local nature (and particularly the Marsican brown bear) make him the ideal person to kickstart our trip. We are also introduced to our Nature Guide for the adventure, Valeria Roselli or Andrea De Angelis, and go on a short hike in the area to get to know each other and the region a little better. Your tour leader then ensures a big welcome over a group dinner. Want more time in Italy? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

Today is dedicated to an icon of the Abruzzo mountains: the critically endangered Marsican brown bear. It’s thought there are only around 60 left in the wild, and today we learn about the vital work Rewilding Apennines is doing here to protect their numbers. Our adventure takes us to one of the Bear-Smart Corridors, part of a network of ‘coexistance corridors’ in which the local communities, businesses and individuals are educated on reducing human-bear conflict. We get a chance to visit one of these communities, where we see some of the excellent work that was already been done, including the installation of about 100 electric fences, along with the deployment of bear-proof waste bins. We also see how and why these corridors are vital to the protection of the local community as much as the bears themselves.

Before sunrise (and after a coffee), we head onto the mountain slopes with our Nature Guide to search for wolves and other wildlife. This particularly scenic part of the Apennines is also home to wild boar, red deer and chamois, plus there are plenty of opportunities to learn more about human-wildlife conflict, before returning to the hotel around mid-morning for a hearty breakfast. (Three-hour walk; 3mi/5km; ascent: 985ft/300m; descent: 985ft/300m) Refreshed, we head back into the wilderness, walking to the Terraegna Mountain Refuge, where we stay tonight. Our journey takes us through a forest of beautiful beech trees, with mosses and lichens, and along a wild valley where we can spot the wild fauna. We get to the shelter in the evening, arriving under a starry night sky and hopefully seeing dancing fireflies in the woods. Dinner is a showcase of regional cuisine. Local dishes include: maccheroni alla chitarra, which is made with a tool that resembles a stringed musical instrument; orapi (wild spinach) and bean soup; gnocchetti with wild spinaches; barbecued meat; and local cheeses, such as pecorino, sheep's milk ricotta, cow's milk caciocavallo, and a rare goat's milk cheese called marzolina. (Two-hour walk; 5mi/8km; ascent: 1,310ft/400m)

Wake up surrounded by the rugged peaks of the Apennines and enjoy an early morning mountain experience: hiking and wildlife tracking. We have breakfast back at the refuge before we leave for a midday hike and remote picnic lunch. There are always beautiful views and if there are good weather conditions you can see the peaks of Gran Sasso d’Italia, Monte Velino and the Majella Massif. During the walk, we hear tales from local history going back 1,000 years. Arriving back in Pescasseroli, enjoy a late afternoon coffee and time to explore. In the evening, it’s normally possible to enjoy a short wildlife-watching session near the village.

After breakfast, we go on a hike that offers sensational national park landscapes, with rocky walls, deep glacial valleys and beech forests. Walking silently and respectfully, we are likely to see one of the most important populations of Apennine chamois grazing between pastures and rocky walls. After a packed lunch, we return to the hotel for time to relax. In the evening, we have our last wildlife-watching session, heading to a panoramic terrace at sunset when the bears and wolves are most active. After, we have a delicious dinner at a local restaurant, an excellent chance to relive our adventures together.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel, and perhaps one last Italian coffee at the village square in Pescasseroli, before we transfer back to Rome. We have two drop-off points today, leaving Pescasseroli around 11am. If you have time before your flight, hop out at Roma Termini rail station – we should arrive around 1.30pm. Here, you can store your baggage (additional cost) and explore the Eternal City a little more. Alternatively, we reach Rome Fiumicino Airport around 2.30pm, where you can catch your onward flight home. If you’d like more time to explore Rome, speak to your sales representative about extending your stay.