Travelling through Abruzzo, today we went to the Gole di San Martino. The starting point is the village of Fara San Martino, which is actually more famous for pasta production than for the gorges. It is a very charming village, clean and well kept. There is even a dispenser in the main square with mineral water coming from a spring recently discovered under the mountain (which tourists can also get by purchasing the bottle at the bar). We left our car at the entrance of the village; the gorges are exactly on the opposite side, so we had the chance to see the whole surrounding area.
At the end of the village a descent begins, leading to the entrance of the gorges.
The first stretch, about fifty metres long, is truly impressive. The rock walls are so close that by stretching out your arms you can touch both sides, and they are tall and imposing; there is light, but the sun does not reach this part of the trail, which for me was truly exciting. Immediately afterwards the walls widen and we find ourselves in front of the convent of San Martino, that is, the remains of an ancient monastery that is only now being restored and brought to light.
As always, we are more interested in the naturalistic route than in archaeological notes, so after a look and a few photos, we continue our walk. The path is fairly easy, alternating steeper sections with long flat stretches; what does not change is the majesty of the place. The rock walls surrounding us are wonderful and imposing, the nature is wild but welcoming. Beautiful! After a few minutes of walking we reach the first fountain. There is a small table with benches in a recess in the rock, almost a little cave where you can sit to rest and eat something. We do not stop, as we have just started and a break is not planned (except for letting our four‑legged companion, already suffering a bit from the heat, take a dip).
We continue on our way. It is actually quite hot, and being inside a gorge is noticeable because there is no breeze at all, and now that we are in the sun the temperature rises. But no worries… once you reach the shade everything changes and it feels great! The landscape is quite varied, alternating rocky and exposed stretches with dense, cool woodland. After a bit more walking we reach the second fountain. Here too there are benches and tables, this time in the cool of the forest. Many people have chosen this point as the destination of their walk. The beauty of this place is that you can choose how long your walk will be thanks to these “intermediate goals”. You can stop at the first fountain, the second, or continue to Bocca dei Valloni (where we went) or even further.
You can even reach Monte Amaro, but you must be properly equipped. The ascent takes nine hours, so it is necessary to stay overnight before returning. In any case, we pass the second fountain as well (after enjoying a good drink) and continue deeper into the forest. We often stop to photograph everything around us. Not only the landscapes (beautiful, by the way) but also the many flowers found here and the hundreds (yes, really hundreds) of butterflies of all colours flying around us, not shy at all. After a bit more walking we reach Bocca dei Valloni, where we find yet another table, at which we finally sit for a well‑deserved rest (and above all because it is sandwich time at last!). It is strange to find a table here.
It is truly in the middle of nowhere, deep in the woods. But our picnic here, far from the world, was wonderful!
After a bit of rest we shoulder our backpacks again and retrace our steps, already thinking about organising ourselves next time to go a little further. The return is as splendid as the outward journey, allowing us to discover things we had missed at first and admire views that had previously remained behind us. We arrive back in the village tired but happy. Today we walked for about five and a half hours. Not bad!
