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Hiking

 

To know a territory you must live it. What a great opportunity to discover it by hiking along the pathways leading to the lake or skirting around it, and enjoy its spledid views, both at dawn and sunset. To walk within the Reserve, to know its history, its nature, its beauty spots, through the enthralling experience of a hike. The pathways are intended to help you discover and understand the territory and its infinite aspects; the animals, the plants, the rocks, the human traces, all represent the small pieces of a big puzzle able to reveal a period of the hisotry of the Reserve's natural patrimony and cultural inheritance.

Some pathways are signposted with wooden boards, others can be easily followed walking along the beaten track.

Many of the following pathways can be covered riding on either a bike or a horse; sometimes, they intersect with each other and some of them can be covered backwards.

It is possible to go along these pathways all year round, being able to enjoy a different sight with the succession of the seasons.

We advise you to choose routes on the basis of your technical and physical skills, to get the appropriate outfit for the season in case of rain or bad weather. The equipment should be in keeping with the hardness and length of the hike, and don't forget to put a water-flask and an emergency kit in your rucksack.

It is advisable not to hike on one's own; in any case, you should always inform somebody about the route you intend to follow, and give him/her notice of your return.

Always bring back your rubbish and take with you only the most beautiful memories and images. Respect the flora and the fauna of the area. Avoid leaving the beaten track and taking shortcuts. Respect the local traditions and cultures.

Enjoy your hike!

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Pathway # 1 - Pozzo del Diavolo (The Devil's Well)

Pathwai # 2 - Fondo delle Tavole

Pathway # 3 - Le Pantanacce

Pathway # 4 - Strada di Mezzo (The Middle Path)

Pathway # 5 - Svasso Maggiore (Great Crested Grebe)

Pathway # 6 - Sentiero delle Prove (The Trials Path)

Patway # 7 - Sentiero panoramico (The Scenic Path)

 

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a

A taxing route that, starting from the Fontanile (trough) in the "Canale" district, runs through the beechwood to reach the top of Mount Venere. Start the hike facing the mount, pass by the water trough and keep walking uphill. During the walk, you will meet a dried-up tree on the left side of the pathway - keep walking uphill. The track is bordered by the splendid and cenutry-old beech-trees of Mount Venere and the boards marking different stops. Each stop is associated with a particular animal or plant of the area.

Once you reach the top of the mountain, the track gets rougher and steeper.

Following the boards and descending along the southern slope of M. Venere, on the left side of the track, you will find a rather large cave called Pozzo del Diavolo (The Devil's Well), in which nocturnal predators find shelter. Round there you will notice the excavation works that exposed findings dating back to the neolithic period, and now exhibited in the Museo Pigorini, in Rome.

From this point it is possibile to notice how the vegetation varies according to the exposure of the mount to the sun: on the sun-baked southern slope, the most common species are turkey oak and the maple, while the shady northern slope is completely covered with beech trees.

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a

 

The track starts on the right of the water trough and curls parallel to the road, running through the beechwood at the base of Mount Venere. Along the route it is possibile to look at some magnificent and centuries-old specimen of beech trees, 40 metres high, with trunks covered in lichen and roots covered in moss. After 20 minutes of walk, you will meet a service road that interrupts the track. Take it and turn left: walk through the beechwood of Fondo delle Tavole, with a lush undergrowth where butcher's brooms and hollies stick out. According to the season, the brushwood colours with different flowers: snowdrops, squills, anemones, cyclamens, buttercups and orchids. Walk a few hundred meters and then, when you meet the following junction, keep walking straight ahead. After a level tract of land, covered with ferns, tre track begins to descend into the valley. Before leaving the wood, it is interesting to notice how the pure beechwood is gradually replaced by a mixed forest consisting maily of turkey oaks and maple trees. Following the track you descend into a valley and then, turning right, you walk out the wood. The path runs through the hazel groves and comes to an end near the Pozzo Nocicchiola (Nocicchiola Well). Turn left and walk carefully along the surfaced road to reach the parking lot of the "Cerretto" district (on the right).

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a

It is an easy route that runs through one of the most beautiful environments of the Reserve, the marsh. It is about 1,5 km long, and its starting point is near the parking lot of the "Cerretto" district, along the provincial road of Lake Vico running around the lake.

Cross a barrier and walk along the beaten track running through the entire marsh. It is the best route for bird-watching lovers, since it allows to watch many passerine birds, such as the fiscal shrike that in summertime nests inside the bushes of the area.

The plants of the area are typical to the marsh, such as the rush, the common reed, the lesser reed-mace growing in the ditches along the roadsides, and the mullein that in summertime colours the track yellow.

The hawthorn, which in this area has a treelike form, stands out for its beauty. These are centuries-old trees that should be observed at close range.

You may bump into flocks of sheep grazing peacefully - it is a sign that sheep-farming is still alive in the valley of Vico, even if it has been notably reduced over the years.

Cross another barrier and keep walking straight ahead as far as you meet a water trough called "Riacci", from the homonymous district. The trough has been used over the years by the shepherds to water the cattle.

At this point it is possibile either to go back over the surfaced road, walking carefully from the right side of the trough to the parking lot of the Cerreto district, or walk back over the same track.

This route is used a lot also by those who love to go for a ride on the bike.

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a

 

This is a rather taxing route, especially because of its length, 8 km.

It runs through the entire wood of turkey oaks, halfway up the hill. Every now and then, the trees open up and it is possibile to admire wonderful sceneries over the lake. There are several entrances to this route: parking lot of the "Canale" district, Croce di San Martino, S.P. Cassia Cimina km 12.

Driving along the provincial road Cassia Cimina towards Viterbo, turn right towards S. Martino. Before the junction to S. Martino, on the right side of the Cross there is a barrier; the track starts from that point.

It is advisable to leave your car in the parking lot behind the Cross. Across the barrier, the track passes through the wood of turkey oaks with downward and upward slopes of a moderate degree of difficulty and gentle gradient.

Keep walking straight ahead, after a few kilometers you will meet a junction (altitude: 750 m a.s.l.); take the right sloping path that runs along the wood of turkey oaks and maple trees, to lead into an open stretch of land where it is possible to catch sight of hazel goves and some country houses belonging to the local farmers. The track comes to an end in the parking lot of the "Canale" district, in front of Mount Venere.

If at the junction you decide to take the left rising path, you will pass through the wood of turkey oaks to reach a small beechwood, quite unique considering the southern exposure of the area, which is indicated on the vegetational map of the Reserve. The track ends where you meet another barrier. It is advisable to walk back over the same path because the beaten track crosses the provincial road Cassia Cimina at km 12 (too busy to be walked).

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a

It is an easy route that runs along the lake and has a variable length (1-3 km).

It starts from the parking lot near the Agriturismo "La Vita", along the road that skirts the lake towards Ronciglione - S. Martino on the left.

It is marked by an initial stop coloured with a yellow line. Along the track you will find thematic boards reporting the animal and vegetal species typical of the area.

Across the paling fence, the pathway starts with a first stop dedicated to the turkey oak, just opposite an imposing oak tree. The track runs slightly to the right and downhill, leading to a small wooden bridge that crosses a stream.

Across the footbridge, the track leads into the marsh with its typical vegetation, in the "Pratone" district.

Once you have cut through the field skirting the reed-bed and the lake shores, walk uphill to the right, towards the parking lot of the picnic area in the "Spinaceto" district, where the track comes to an end.

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a

This is an easy and short route, curling along the lake shores, which begins from the parking lot of the "Scardenato" district, near the Bella Venere.

Just like Pathway # 3 (Le Pantanacce), this route is perfect for those who love bird-watching in wintertime amidst the reed-beds of the lake.

Numerous species of grebes and almost all the anatidae winter in this area; you can easily watch these animals by rigorously keeping to the track.

In this area the vegetation is characterized by willow trees growing with their roots underwater.

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a

This is a taxing route, approx. 15 km long, which starts from the parking lot of the Canale district. Take the white track on the right walk uphill towards the old Cassia Antica; at the first junction, keep walking straight ahead and enter the wood.

Go along the Middle Path and at the second junction keep walking straight ahead. The mixed wood you pass through is rich with turkey oaks, maple trees and hawthorns. In some areas where the vegetation is less dense, it is possible to enjoy fascinating views of the lake.

At the end of the Middle Path you will reach a third junction, take the downhill track on the left and follow it as far as the shepherds' area.

At this point, after having crossed the surfaced road curling around the lake, keep the "Riacci" water trough on your left and keep walking straight ahead the un-surfaced road. Cross the barrier and go along the track running through the marsh.

At this point, after having crossed the second barrier, you reach the parking lot of the "Cerretto" district. Turn left and walk along the surfaced road for a short distance. Then, take the pathway Fondo delle Tavole on the right, marked by a board, near the "Nocicchiola" water trough.

This stretch of track is quite bumpy and slopes uphill very slowly: turn left at the first junction.

Walk through the mixed wood along the southern side of Mount Venere. During the hike it is interesting to notice the gradual change of vegetation from the mixed wood to the pure beechwood. Cut across an area covered with ferns and then, as if by magic, enter the low-lying beechwood.

Keep walking straight ahead. The narrow path starts going down towards the base of the mountain. At the barrier, turn right, take a surfaced road and walk as far as the parking lot of the "Canale" district, where the track comes to an end. Alternatively, to avoid the last surfaced stretch of road, you can follow the mule track that runs parallel to the road.

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