3] Upper valley spring and rock walk (6 km to do the round trip)

2 hours 45

from the Lapedina sutana hamlet

Difference in height: 450 meters uphill and the same downhill.

It surely is the most difficult walk of the water trail, but it is the most original. One discovers a lost world (the 19th century rural and self-sufficient society), which appears through a few hints. The stately side of the place (something harsh, primitive, simply grand), the feeling that one rises up between sky and bush land, that one dominates space, are here to reveal something. In the early dawn or when the sun goes down, it can really be a magical moment.

Next, backtrack to the road. Once you have crossed the little bridge in front of the gates, take the path which leads up on the right. After five minutes walk, turn left and follow the barbed wire fence. Walk for another three minutes or so until you reach a large, smooth, green shale rock. Go around the bottom of the rock and continue the trail.

Starting from the Lapedina sutana hamlet, in front of the "villa of the 3 Maries", go up the steps to old hamlet. Walk beneath the centuries-old oak tree and turn left towards the fountain. Then, go up to Lapedina suprana and go past the San Pancraziu chapel. Slow hill to the Chiuselinu spring. On your right, you will see the crow rock -petra curbaghja-, which the village was named after, and then the u frate rock, which looks like a hooded monk rising over the valley. Keep walking until you reach a galina, two rocks that look like a hen (seen from the plain). It is an outstanding viewpoint on the Pietracorbara , Cagnano and Luri valleys, and beyond, the Tuscan archipelago (Capraia, Elba, Monte Cristo and Pianosa). Go back following the same path. There are markers either way.

  
  

A booklet (sold for 5 euros, benefits go to Petra Viva) with a detailed and commented presentation of 3 trails will be available from July 1st 2007 - at Josette Giuliani's (+ 33 4 95 35 22 52). She lives 50m up from the walk start, on the right.

The upper valley spring and rock walk project was made possible thanks to the Leader+ programme and the European Union.