ASPROMONTE NATIONAL PARK
Calabria
CHOOSE ACCOMMODATION SHOPPING SUGGESTIONS EXCURSIONS
The long trip between the Calabrian mountains can only finish at sea and as a matter of fact from the mountainous pyramid of the Aspromonte, you can get an incredible and unlimited view of the sea, that embraces the furthest point of Calabria, the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian sea, in an unforgettable 360 degrees panorama covered by the profiles of the Eolian Islands and by the dignified summit of the Etna.
The extreme beauty of these mountains compete only with their fame and contradictions, beginning with the name that even recalling severity and fatigue, should mean "bitter, harsh mount", name given by the Greek populations form the Ionian coast when admiring the spotless rocky formations of the eastern mountainside.
The variety of the landscape, the pure wilderness of the deep valleys, the slope of the rocky ridges, the width of the sunny rivers make the Aspromonte one of the principal distinctions of the rural and excursionist tourism of the South of Italy, appreciated and recognized as the last bit of the wild and unpolluted nature of the Mediterranean.
From Gambarie, principal turistic centre of the area equipped with numerous accommodation facilities and a lift-chair that connects the village with the summit of Mount Basilico, you can easily reach the Montalto, highest summit with its 1955 meters and geographic centre of the massif, from here it will possible to admire the numberless fluvial furrows, where you can hardly imagine the bottom, waters that after passing through rocky gorges overcome spectacular waterfalls and pass through marvellous gorges and wells plunge unexpectedly under the stony river bed.
You can get a view of the Aspromonte from the "Menta Stream" where, between rocky leaps, the well-known "Maesano Waterfalls" take shape. The Ferraina Stream takes to the Episcopio stream that features the Forgiarelle Waterfalls. These waters fall in the deep gorges of the "La Verde River" flowing to the "Buonamico River", that reaching what used to be an immense landscape until 1973, form the "Constantino lake".
There is very little population on the mounts of the Aspromonte and this has helped to preserve the ecological balance, however the mount becomes very visited and offers a great variety of paths to allow the exploration of it's heights. Following them it will be possible to go by the "Sanctuary of Polsi" up to the "Valley of Monuments", a thick forest that features monumental rocks and the "Capa Stone" around 100 metres in height. The landscapes and the sceneries of this area change continuously in a succession of strident contrasts so various and fascinating.
