There are many ways to travel and discover a country like Italy, but few offer unforgettable experiences and emotions likeecotourism: walking on ancient trails or panoramic routes, allowing you to fully enjoy Italy’s scenic and historical beauty, staying close to nature and always with the utmost respect for it. If you decide to join group hikes, you have the chance to share this travel experience with others who share your passion for nature and the most authentic places of beautiful Italy.
Strolling Through Tuscany
Italy offers countless hiking routes, some truly spectacular and worth doing at least once in a lifetime: there are also organizations like Meeters that allow you to join these trekking itineraries with others by signing up for the event through their website.
When it comes to routes, the mind immediately goes to the historic Via Francigena which has been traveled for over 1000 years by pilgrims, the faithful, or simple hikers: it connects Canterbury to Rome, and the stretch crossing Tuscany is certainly among the most spectacular. You will find yourself walking through the heart of the Val d’Elsa and Val d’Orcia, among typical Tuscan hills lined with cypress trees and dotted with farmhouses. This Tuscan section of the Via Francigena starts from the picturesque medieval village of San Miniato and reaches Siena, passing through the Gambassi Thermal Baths, the marvelous San Gimignano with its ancient towers, Monteriggioni with the Abbey of Isola, and the Chiocciola Castle.
Staying in Tuscany, between Florence and Bologna runs the Via degli Dei, whose name refers to the presence along the route of Mount Jupiter and Mount Venus. Along these 130 km, you encounter historical treasures of immense value, such as the Roman Flaminia Road dating back to 187 BC, immersed in a conifer forest, and the Badia del Buonsollazzo in the heart of Mugello, where a short stop is recommended to enjoy typical potato tortelli. The Via degli Dei also allows you to visit the Medici Fortress of San Martino before reaching the Futa Pass, where a cemetery for fallen German soldiers is located.
The more trained can instead challenge themselves along the Sentiero degli Abati, born in the heart of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines between the 7th and 9th centuries to allow monks from the Abbey of San Colombano to reach Rome. The elevation gain on this route is significant, nearly 6000 meters, but the effort of you and your hiking companions will be well rewarded by landscapes alternating forests, lakes, ridges, and villages like Bobbio, Castana, and Pontremoli, where the Sentiero degli Abati also connects with the Via Francigena.
From the Sea to the Dolomites
If you love the sea, you can organize a beautiful group hike along the Amalfi Coast on the Sentiero dei Limoni: the very name evokes a unique sensory experience, winding with constant ups and downs through fragrant lemon groves, as well as olive groves and vineyards, with the Gulf of Salerno always in the background. You will pass through the villages of Maiori, iconic for the majolica dome of the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria a Mare, then Torre with the scenic Mortella viewpoint, and finally Ravello and Minori. If you plan the hike between June and August, you may encounter mules and workers carrying heavy loads along the trail, continuing the ancient tradition of lemon cultivation.
Particularly challenging is the Blue Trekking which, over about 40 km, crosses the wildest and most unspoiled Sardinia, starting from Pedra Longa and reaching the spectacular deserted beach of Cala Sisine. There is no better place to rest after this hike that takes you through canyons, woods, mule tracks once used by charcoal burners, ridges, sections with ropes and climbs, and juniper ladders: the Blue Trekking offers unforgettable views of Cala Goritzé, Cala Luna, and from Porto Cuau, the entire Gulf of Orosei. Sardinia wilder and more unspoiled, starting from Pedra Longa and reaching the spectacular deserted beach of Cala Sisine. There is no better place to refresh yourself after this hike, which will take you through canyons, woods, old charcoal burners' mule tracks, ridges, sections with ropes and climbs, and juniper ladders: the Blue Trek offers unforgettable views of Cala Goritzé, Cala Luna, and, from Porto Cuau, the entire Gulf of Orosei.
Among the most beautiful group hikes in the Dolomites is the one from Val di Gares to the Comelle Waterfalls: starting from Canale d’Agordo, the village that gave birth to Pope Luciani, you will walk in the shadow of the Pale di San Martino towards the village of Gares, spotting here and there the characteristic haylofts called tabià. Once you reach the Capanna Cima Comelle Refuge, you stroll through the cool forest of the Piana delle Giare until you reach, via CAI trail no. 704, the Comelle Waterfalls that flow in a dramatic Dolomite gorge.
Much shorter but equally spectacular is the hike from Lake Braies, in the heart of the Fanes-Senes-Braies Nature Park, which allows you to walk along the lake’s edge where the Croda del Becco is reflected, then reach the Malga Foresta, located at 1590 meters altitude. It is a fairly easy route, suitable also for families, and if you wish, you can also reach the Cima dei Colli Alti, from which the view over Lake Braies is nothing short of spectacular.