“A trip steeped in history”
7 Day Tratturi Trail Altomolise Horse Riding Tour in Italy
Altavia, Contrada Collarso 1, Carovilli, Province of Isernia, Molise, Italy
Italy Horse Riding Tour
Tratturo and Molise are two words that belong together like horse and rider, cheese and wine, and nature and culture. Altavia Horses wants to experience all of this with you on this new trail ride in the heart of Italy.
Key information
- Rider Weight Limit: 90 kilograms / 198 pounds
- Tack Type: Western tack
Meet the instructors
Carmine
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Highlights
- 5 days of horse riding
- Approximate daily riding time: 3 - 6 hours
- Trace the tratturo and ride through forests
- Enjoy a picnic while admiring the nature
- 6 nights accommodation
- Daily meals
- Guide(s) or staff and luggage transport by car
Skill level
- Intermediate
Styles
5 days with instruction in English
The organizer also speaks: German, Italian
Group size: 5-8 participants
Accommodation
Check-in Time:
20:00
Check-out Time:
09:04
You will stay at Altavia farmhouse and three hotels along the route.
Altavia
The house, dating from 1885, is situated at almost 3,000 feet a.s.l. It is the only inhabited farmhouse in this little nature conservation area. The nearest neighbors live in Carovilli, a little village four miles away. The front of the house faces a large oak forest whereas the rear offers a splendid view of the mountains and a valley. The house is not very big, but quite comfortable. It was completely renovated in 2003.
The living room has a nice fireplace, a piano, and a modest library. There are three guestrooms (two double and one accommodating six) and two bathrooms with all modern conveniences. Meals are served on the terrace or in the kitchen diner. The Altavia house and many hotels in this region have Wi-Fi.
Program
Daily itinerary
Saturday
You are expected on Saturday evening. After a welcome drink, there will be a dinner with your hosts or riding guides. Three courses of typical Italian cuisine are served every evening with local wine.
Sunday
With a leisurely breakfast in front of the stone house from the 19th century, enjoy the quiet location in the forest and the view over the horse pastures to the Colle dell'Orso, 30 kilometers away. Then you get to know the horses and, if necessary, familiarize yourself with western riding. Your first ride begins with a crossing of a rocky river. During the subsequent steep ascent to the TratturoCelano-Foggia, the horses give you the first taste of their sure-footedness. You cross a horse meadow where you let the horses take a breather. Continue up to the ridge of the mountain whose forest gives you shade.
You pass mud pits, the "bathtubs of the wild boar" and catch a glimpse of the frogs living there before you enjoy a short but brisk gallop on an open meadow. Another short steep climb and you reach your picnic spot, Monte Caraceno. This small mountain presents you with a 360° panorama and over 2000 years of Samnite history. After the break, you lead the horses a bit until you reach the 200 kilometers long tratturo that brings you back to the ranch. In the evening, you visit the nearby equestrian center of your host and are served dinner there in their own bistro.
Monday
It starts at 10:00 a.m. A long ride through an oak forest leads you to many beautiful meadows near the Tratturo. Here, you can gallop wonderfully. You leave the Tratturo and ride to a picnic area where your host once hosted endurance races. Saturated and rested, your path now leads for kilometers through beech forests until it finally leads you to your first hotel directly at the Tratturo. Here you refresh yourself with drinks in the garden, next door the horses, and relax with a great panorama. Around 8:30 p.m., dinner will also take place there.
Tuesday
Today is the shortest ride of the week. In about three hours, you follow the Tratturo until you reach the town of San PietraAvellana. You ride through high oak and beech forests and stop at a bar on the edge of the forest to enjoy a picnic with fresh cheese and salami from the region. On the road next door, you find warning signs that warn drivers about deer crossing by bears, but at the same time show you how intact nature is here.
Take care of the horses outside of town at the Tratturo. After unsaddling, you watch them roll around, give them the food in the feed bags, and listen to their satisfied snorting. In the evening, you walk from the hotel through the old streets of the 10th-century-founded place to a restaurant. Here, there are fresh truffles from the forests that you cross during the day.
Wednesday
Italy's tratturi travel from the fresh mountain pastures of Abruzzo to Puglia in the south. With a length of up to 250 kilometers, the six main ones cross Molise. Today, you will switch to the Tratturo Castel di Sangro-Lucera and ride past the ruins of an almost deserted small town. While nature reclaims this place, the old walls tell stories of the hard life in the mountains. With a bit of luck, you will meet the resident shepherd with his herd. Here at the latest, the Tratturo comes alive again and you feel transported back to the time when the shepherds covered this route with their flocks twice a year.
During your rest, you enjoy not only regional delicacies, but also the wide view, the scent of fresh herbs, and stories about the country and its people. In the afternoon, your destination for the day appears on the horizon in front of you. A small place called Roccasicura (safe rock), tucked away somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Your luggage is already waiting for you in a beautiful hotel at the highest point of the village. You have enough time for a typical Italian round with drinks and snacks and a refreshing shower before making your way to the restaurant.
Thursday
After breakfast, you ride south along the Tratturo, and, depending on the season, you can enjoy the colorful blossoms or nibble on delicious blackberries while you watch the butterflies dance. After a short but strenuous ascent, the horses get a little break before you ride over a stone road to a small plateau over which you can enjoy a wonderfully refreshing gallop. You continue past goats, cows, and sheep with their guards, the herding dogs.
You reach a junction, the Traturelli San Domenico, which leads you to a picnic area. Here the horses are allowed to graze extensively while you take your time for a picnic in the shade of large trees. Shortly afterward, you visit the Tratturo's church and enjoy the last hours in the saddle. Around 5:00 p.m. you are back at the riding stables, unsaddle the horses one last time, and enjoy the farewell dinner.
Friday
Departure after breakfast.
About the tour
The new Tratturi Trail Altomolise is five days riding and goes on from Saturday evening to Friday morning. Tratturo and Molise are two words that belong together like horse and rider, cheese and wine, and nature and culture. Altavia Horses wants to experience all of this with you on this new trail ride in the heart of Italy.
Here in Altomolise, one of the most authentic regions of Italy, you repeatedly follow the trail of the “green highways” of the Tratturi on which shepherds and cowherds of past centuries traveled. These paths are over 200 kilometers long and run through the country, sometimes enchanted and dreamy, narrow and overgrown, almost unrecognizable, and then again open and visible from afar.
On the edge of these paths, you experience history and stories on sure-footed, good-natured four-legged partners, discover old villages, churches, and ruins, enjoy the wide views and heavenly peace, and enjoy the traditional cuisine and the good feeling of timelessness. Time to unwind, ground yourself, slow down, and then discover the little things along the way. Where could that be better than in this region, where time seems to have stood still?
The horses
The horses have been selected for their character looks, and intelligence. They were all born in the mountains, so they are very reliable in this mountainous area. All year long, they live in a herd which makes them a close group. Besides, most of them are related in some way or the other. The horses are willing and easy-going. The tack is Western.
Other information
Due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, the program may have to be adapted. Arrival is at 8:00 p.m. Due to the small-scale setup, it is unfortunately not possible to welcome you before this hour. Riding is your own responsibility. For your own safety, you are strongly advised to bring your hard hat or helmet and wear it during the rides.
For the treks, you need to be in good shape and in control of all the gaits. There are two weight limits, 90 kilograms and a BMI (body mass index) of 28.50. In case your personal data are inaccurate, Altavia Horses has the right to adjust the program or exclude your participation without reimbursing your payment.
Instructors
Carmine Di Perna
1 Certificate
Show
Carmine is a native of Molise. In his early years, he ran his own highly successful bar / restaurant in Isernia. Besides being an excellent cook, he became a horseman at heart. Carmine organizes four different treks plus a home-based ride at Altavia Horses. He speaks English and Italian and he is a certified guide of FISE (Federazione Italiana Sport Equestre).
Location
Molise is ideal for a holiday on horseback. You can ride for hours without coming across fences or roads, let alone another human being. Nature is still so unspoiled that UNESCO protects two primeval forests. Wildflowers abound, some species of which are very rare or even becoming extinct. The landscape is sloping to mountainous and varied. Vast fields alternate with large forests of beech and oak. Sometimes you have to cross a little river.
Food
You will have meals on a full board basis with wine, beer, and soft drinks at lunches and dinners, starting with dinner on the first day up to breakfast on the day of departure included in the price.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Soda
- Alcoholic beverages
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
What's included
- 5 days of riding (3 - 6 hours a day)
- 6 nights accommodation
- Full board meals
- Wine, beer, and soft drinks at lunches and dinners
- English- and German-speaking guide(s) or staff
- Luggage transport by car during the treks
- Transfers to and from Isernia railway station
What's not included
- Single supplement fee for hotels or agriturismos (35 EUR per night, paid in cash)
- Mutual funds (for drinks or snacks other than at meals, like at bars and the happy hour, 35 - 45 EUR)
- Insurance
- Airfare
- Airport transfers
How to get there
Recommended Airports
FCO
Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport
172 km
Transfer not provided
Driving directions from Rome
- Follow the motorway (A1) in the direction of Naples as far as the exit S. Vittore.
- Drive towards Isernia.
- Past Isernia and drive onto the SS 650 (keep to the right) direction of San Salvo.
- Take the exit to Pescolanciano / Capracotta, having driven through three tunnels.
- Follow SS 651 and drive past Pescolanciano (on your left).
- Drive past both exits for Carovilli.
- After the second exit, the road bends to the right.
- Slow down after this bend. There is a road sign indicating a crossroads.
- You turn off the road to the right onto a B-road just after the sign. There is a yellow sign saying “C.da Castiglione - ColleArso”.
- Follow this narrow forest road for about 1 mile and there is Carmine and Astrid’s house at your right.
Driving directions from Naples
- Follow the motorway (A1) in the direction of Rome as far as the exit Caianello.
- Drive towards Isernia (SS 85).
- Past Isernia and drive onto the SS 650 (keep to the right) direction of San Salvo.
- Take the exit to Pescolanciano / Capracotta, having driven through three tunnels.
- Follow SS 651 and drive past Pescolanciano (on your left).
- Drive past both exits for Carovilli.
- After the second exit, the road bends to the right.
- Slow down after this bend. There is a road sign indicating a crossroads.
- You turn off the road to the right onto a B-road just after the sign.
- There is a yellow sign saying “C.da Castiglione - ColleArso”.
- Follow this narrow forest road for about 1 mile and there is Carmine and Astrid’s house at your right.
Driving directions along the Adriatic coast
- Follow the motorway (A4), Bologna, to Bari as far as the exit of Montenero di Bisaccia / Vasto Sud.
- Drive towards Isernia.
- Take the exit Pescolanciano, which is immediately after a short tunnel.
- Drive past Pescolanciano and Carovilli.
- After the second exit, the road bends to the right.
- Slow down after this bend. There is a road sign indicating a crossroads.
- You turn off the road to the right onto a B-road just after the sign. There is a yellow sign saying “C.da Castiglione - ColleArso”.
- Follow this narrow forest road for about 1 mile and there is Carmine and Astrid’s house at your right.
Arrival by bus
There are busses to the Central Station. You can buy a ticket with the driver. A one-way ticket costs approximately 3 EUR. The journey lasts about half an hour. A one-way train ticket to Isernia costs approximately 6 EUR. The train's destination is Campobasso. Please note that in Italy, train tickets are only valid when stamped in one of the machines which you find on the platforms.
Arrival by train
The transfers from and to the railway station in Isernia are included in the price. On the day of arrival, the transfer is at 7:45 p.m., and on departure day is at 8:50 a.m. Individual transfers are possible at the rider's charge.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 16.94% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 3 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through BookHorseRidingHolidays.com. All major credit cards supported.
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