Vertical trekking 0-1000-0 meters

0-1000-0: Elba Island - sea to mountain summit then back to the sea

An exacting hike involving a rapid-changing ascent from the sea to Elba’s highest peak (1019 m.a.s.l.), where you can admire a view over Elba and the Tuscan Archipelago, then descend again back to the sea.

As this excursion’s title suggests, we will take on a 1 Km elevation gain. Elba is a unique setting to brave such figure, as you start off right by the sea, then go all the way up to the top of Mount Capanne, 1019 meters above sea level. Let’s be clear, it is not about the time you take, it is about the actual enjoyment of doing it. Our itineraries cover places of unmatchable beauty; we run on land where traces of people from very old times are still visible, people who hid on these hills to escape pirates and laboriously set up an agriculture that was able to produce very little. The path we walk, at times surrounded by scrubland, often opens up suddenly over breathtaking views. We visit places where few ‘caprili’ (small domes made out of granite slivers) that shepherds used as shelters while minding goats, can still be found intact today.

Price: €40 on person

Itinerary: Pomnote – La terra – M.te di Cote – M.te Capanne – M.te Cenno – M.te Orlano – Pomonte

Distance: 12 KM

Duration: from 3 to 6 hour. depends on the pace and the level of training of the people

Difficulty: hard

Interests: historical naturalistic panoramic

Start: Pomonte beach

 

We leave from Pomonte beach, then after a few hundred meters take a trail that leads steeply up the valley, while crossing the local ditch several times.

This track once used by peasants every day to get to work, climbs upon granite rocks. Reached Terra, we take path n. 10 also known as “la scorcia” (the shortcut) , as, with an extra 3 Km it takes us to the second highest peak of Elba, Monte di Cote, 950 meters above sea level. From there we continue on its ridge all the way up to Mount Capanne, found at 1019 meters. A brief stop to admire the view then down another path that leads us fairly quick to the Mal Passo crossroads, from which we descend to Mount Cenno, 625 meters above sea level, Le Mure (‘the walls’, an upland so called due to its fortifications remains of old high-altitude villages) and Mount Orlano. Here we get to another crossroads and take path no. 31 which, deep among abandoned vineyards, takes us back to Pomonte.