Horseback Trail Ride in ITALY: CROSSING OF SICILY ON HORSEBACK

HORSE RIDING IN SICILY
INDICATIVE ITINERARY *

Day 1: Arrival at the equestrian center or free transfer from Palermo airport. Welcome, dinner and overnight in a beautiful panoramic residence in front of the Tyrrhenian Sea equipped with swimming pool.

Day 2: Cefalù - Piano Battaglia. About 7-8 hours riding. Breakfast. Attribution of the horses and departure at about 8 am. You will start with a beautiful ride in the middle of a dense Mediterranean vegetation with a breathtaking views of the Tyrrhenian coast and the Cefalù Gulf. After a few hours, you will arrive at the famous shrine of Gibilmanna, a former worship place where the Virgin is venerated. Short stop and visit of the sanctuary. You will leave in the direction of Isnello, a small medieval mountain village that you will cross before starting the climb on the northern slope of the Massif Carbonara, second highest mountain in Sicily (1979 m). Picnic in the woods. You will cross lush green oak and beech forests to Piano Battaglia, a mountain resort in the heart of the Madonie Park where you can enjoy a dinner with typical products and spend the night at the Rifugio Marini.

Day 3: Piano Battaglia - Feudo San Giorgio. About 6-7 hours riding. Breakfast and departure around 8:30 am. High mountain tour in the heart of Madonie where you can have to dismount for a few hundred meters, when the terrain becomes rocky and steep. You pass through Portella Mele and, on a clear day, you can discover a view of more than half of Sicily. Picnic near Nociazzi. Then you will continue in the afternoon by the trazzere to the South Imera River that you cross. Then you ride up to Feudo San Giorgio, an old 19th century farmstead which has been renovated and is equipped with a swimming pool. You will enjoy a dinner made with local produces and spend the night here.

Day 4: Feudo San Giorgio - Mappa. Between 5 and 7 am on horseback. Breakfast and departure from the farm around 8:30 am. You will enter the granary that has been since the beginning of time Sicily, crossed by the "regie trazzere" (royal routes) established by the Bourbon government in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to ensure the free movement of herds and people to cross the island. Break at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bilici, the geographical center of the island. You will leave for pasder near the station of Marianopoli by a forest of eucalyptus, today a private game reserve. Arrival at Mappa, former residence of Prince Spadadora, with swimming pool. Sumptuous dinner and night.

Day 5: Mappa - Aragona. Between 7 and 8 am on horseback. Breakfast and departure from Mappa around 8 am. Walk through the fields to the picturesque and ancient village of Sutera, considered as one of the oldest in the history of mankind, with several prehistoric testimonies. Crossing the village and continuing to the valley of the river Platani: one of the main rivers of Western Sicily, after crossing the natural reserve of Monte Conca. Picnic. Afternoon across the valley to your next stop: Principe di Aragona farmhouse, also an old restored masseria with swimming pool. Dinner and night.

Day 6: Aragona - Agrigento. About 6-7 hours riding. Breakfast and departure at about 8:30 am towards Agrigento, the ancient Akragas of the Greeks, founded in 580 BC. J.C. by the Rodiens and Cretois. After crossing an agricultural area near Aragona, you arrive at Macalube, emergence of methane gas from the depths of the earth, carrying a mud of cold clay and creating small craters. You will continue towards Agrigento. Small stop in the typical village of Monte Aperto, and picnic below in the shade of a grove. In the afternoon, you will head towards the temples: guided tour of the most important monuments (temples of Hera, Concordia, Hercules, Zeus, Castor). Then you will continue to the farm Passo dei Briganti, where dinner with local products awaits you.

Day 7: Agrigento - Torre Salsa. About 6-7 hours riding. Breakfast and departure around 8:30 am. Very impressive route through the countryside of Agrigento with breathtaking views of the Mediterranean coast before arriving in the coastal reserve of Torre Salsa: one of the most beautiful and best preserved coast of Sicily, where your adventure ends. Dinner and overnight at Agriturismo Torre Salsa, inside the reserve.

Day 8: Breakfast and free transfer to Palermo airport.

* Indicative itinerary that can be modified if necessary. Reverse direction (South - North) at some dates.