MADONIERITTEN (Med reservation för ändringar) “The DOLOMITES of SICILY, a real high mountain trekking for all”. Madonie Natural Park trip it is a High Mountain Trek with 5, maximum 6 hours a day of riding. It is cheaper then TranSiciliana to Etna because logistically more easy and cheap to run. It is a technical itinerary with some little bit difficult passages (difficult not for our horses, for them are just normal passages of everyday life). It reaches 1.979 meters of altitude of Mount Carbonara if good weather conditions permits. There are anyway lots of trots and canters. It is a very scenic real high mountain trek, challenging for horses and riders, with astonishing views and a mixture between nature and culture visiting on horseback Castelbuono and Gratteri villages, the Ventimiglia Castle and knowing and seeing a lot about history and culture along the way. Day 6 and 7 itineraries depend always by the weather forecasts and the effective day conditions of the weather. The itinerary can change depending situations along trails or Park new regulations that can be issued at any time or by the weather conditions of that specific day. The trip makes a complete 360° tour of the Madonie Natural Park. It is an experience that put together top mountain riding, unexpected nature, food, history, traditions, monuments, villages. It is a technical and even challenging ride for horses and riders in a very special mountain natural environment dominated by the white limestone of these mountains and the woods that cover the soil in a lot of areas and the so many different species of the most bio-diverse mountains of Italy. Madonie are like a sponge that captures the rain and the snow melting water to give it during summer in very many springs all over. At the lower altitudes there is the typical country side with lots of cultivations of olives, almonds, manna. Wildlife to be seen is reach and various with lots of endemic or very interesting species. Men used these mountains from prehistory and still nowadays there are many shepherds with their cows, goats, and sheep making local traditional cheeses in designated areas of the Park. Sicily has 4 Natural Park and 77 Nature Reserves. 12% of the island is protected. Soon will be established the 5 th Park: Sicani natural Park (will be the biggest Park of Sicily) and almost 18 % of Sicilian territory will be under protection. The 95% of the trip is on trails, the 5% on asphalt. The short pieces on asphalt normally are to leave a location or in the vicinities to reach a new location. Madonie Park Customer Riding Experience: Riders must be able to go at walk, trot, canters and short gallops without problems also with curves, sometimes sharp. Riders must be able to ride for 6 hours a day. It is NOT a trip for people with vertigos problems due high mountains trails for 2 days. It is only for intermediate and advanced riders with a good degree of fitness on the saddle. No beginners. Program Day by Day. Program can vary depending weather conditions, trail situations, Park / Reserves decisions, hotels occupancy Day 1. Saturday: From Airport to Cefalù. (***) Arrival at Palermo airport and transfer to Cefalù. If time available, depending different arrivals, will be done a short tour in PALERMO’s HISTORICAL CENTRE. Lunch with Sicilian Fast Food (NOT included in price). Dinner at Restaurant VIA VECCHIA ROMA (TERRACE ON THE SEA COAST) with FISH MENU. Briefing about the trip with maps, information and Day by Day program Night at B&B or Hotel 3 Stars in Cefalù. Day 2. Sunday. From OUR RANCH to CASALE DRINZI Country House. ( www.casaledrinzi.it ) Our Ranch will be reached with a short minibus run. The tour starts crossing the typical countryside of northern MADONIE with fields of olive trees, almonds, manna trees. Then the wood of oaks of Gibilmanna till reaching the picnic spot of “Piano delle Fate”, with his ancient oak trees and grass. After siesta will be followed for 1, 5 km the asphalt of the road to Gratteri medieval village that is impossible to avoid. After the village will be used a very old trail tracked by the Normans that connect Gratteri with Collesano, both very important towns in the middle age with their castles. Today the trail is widest then the past but crosses same kind of mixed oaks woods. CASALE DRINZI country house is very close to the village. Dinner and night at CASALE DRINZI. Horses hosted in the arena/paddock of the country house. Hours of riding: 6 Asphalt: 2 km Day 3. Monday. From CASALE DRINZI to MARINI REFUGE. ( www.rifugiomarini.org ) Heading up to the Monte Cervi mountain complex, will be cross a variety of ancient woods of oaks overwhelmed by the great masses of Monte Cervi, Pizzo Carbonara and Pizzo di Pilo. Lunch on the shoreline of the Lake of Piano Zucchi or vicinities. After some canter in the plains of Piano Cervi, again up on the Carbonara complex to reach Piano Battaglia (the plain of the Battle for a important battle between Normans and Arabians) at 1600 meters of altitude where is placed MARINI REFUGE. This structure, owned by the Sicilian Alpine Club, was totally restored in 2012. Dinner and night at MARINI REFUGE. Horses hosted in an electric fence made by us in the wood in front of the refuge. Hours of riding: 6 Asphalt: 1 km. Day 4. Tuesday. From MARINI REFUGE to HOTEL POMIERI. ( www.hotelpomieri.it ) If the weather conditions will allow will be reach the top of Pizzo Carbonara at 1979 meters to look at landscapes on all Sicily with Etna volcano, Eolien islands, Palermo and the Sicani Mountains. Going down on the same narrow and winding difficult trail, will be then follow an ancient trail (the old medieval route used to go from West Sicily to the high Madonie mountains) to reach the wood of cork oaks of Pomieri where is nested, on a dominating hill, the HOTEL POMIERI. This nice, pretty big, Alpine chalet is surrounded by pristine nature without other buildings around in the entire valley. Picnic lunch will be on top of Carbonara with sandwiches or at bottom of head trail depending weather conditions. Dinner and night at HOTEL POMIERI. Horses are hosted in the wide paddock/pasture on the side of hotel. Hours of ride: 6 Asphalt: 0, 5 km Day 5. Wednesday. From HOTEL POMIERI to MASSERIA ROCCA di GONATO country house. www.masseriaroccadigonato.it There are two different ways to reach next sleeping place and we will choose at each trip depending the visibility and terrain conditions. We can go up to a narrow canyon to reach Madonna dell’Alto Mount at 1800 meters, then going down along the valley between the Mount and Petralia Sottana to reach MASSERIA ROCCA di GONATO from South. Or we can follow the trail that goes on the side of Mount FERRO and then up to Piano Pomo (with the oldest Holy tree forest of Europe) to reach then the country house from North. Both itineraries are astonishing and it is a pity that cannot be done both! Dinner and night at MASSERIA ROCCA di GONATO. Horses will be hosted in the pasture in front of the country house. Hours of ride: 6 Asphalt: 1 km Day 6. Thursday. From MASSERIA ROCCA di GONATO to CASTELBUONO’S B&B. A winding trail in the woods will allow reaching the ancient cobblestone road that connects from more than 1.000 years San Guglielmo, site of the Arabian village existing there before the conquest of the Normans, and the valley with Castelbuono. Will be visited by horseback the historical centre and then will be done a guided visit of interior of the Castle. The picnic will be done behind the Castle. In the afternoon the ride will be short, till the riding centre not far from Castelbuono where we will leave the horses for the night. A transfer with minibus will take riders to the B&B in town. We use different B&B in town due their availability and the number of riders. They are all 3 stars. Night in B&B 3 stars Dinner at Restaurant in town close to B&B Hours of ride: 5 Asphalt: 1 km Day 7. Friday. From CASTELBUONO to OUR RANCH. The ride will cross the beautiful valley where it lays Castelbuono to go up in the surrounding hills to reach our ranch. Picnic is done in a very nice overlooking location. Night in Cefalù B&B 3 stars. Dinner at Restaurant VIA VECCHIA ROMA with pizza. Then homemade ice cream in the most well known ice cream maker of Cefalù. Hours of ride: 5 hours Asphalt: 1 km Day 8. Saturday. From Cefalù to Airport. After breakfast, depending first airplane departure, transfer to Palermo airport. End of services Airports for Arrival / Depart. The best airport to arrive / depart is PALERMO. TRAPANI or CATANIA airports are easily and well connected with PALERMO RAILWAY/BUS STATION so they can also be used. For riders want to use these airports we will give detailed instructions on request. Transfer policy: Transfer in Palermo airport is included in the price of the trip only for arrival of planes no later than 14, 00 (2.p.m.). If flight arrival is later then 14,00 and need to do a second transfer later, it will cost 80 € flat (cost will be divided by the number of customers arriving after 14,00: if there is only one customer he will pay the entire fee, if more customers will be divided between them).