Map
Explore routes and points of interest
Adults: € 10.00 - Reduced: € 5.00 (children from 6 years to 14 years, groups min. 20 people*, students up to 25 years of age) The itinerary ticket can also be purchased online in autumn and winter, while in spring and summer only at the Alberese visitor center (via del bersagliere 7/9)
The path
The departure of the itinerary at the Casetta dei Pinottolai can be reached by car or by shuttle bus when active. Once the ticket has been purchased, the visitor center provides an authorization to be affixed on the dashboard in order to leave the car in the loc. Pinottolai.
In the case of online purchases, it is mandatory to make two copies of the voucher, one of which must be affixed to the dashboard, while the other must be carried with you.
From the Casetta Pinottolai car park, the itinerary continues along the existing road in the Granducale pine forest, for a length of about 1600 meters, until it reaches and passes the "turtle bridge, and follow the signs indicating path A3.
Walking along the path bordered by Mediterranean scrub which climbs quite gradually up the cliff, it is possible to appreciate the foliage of the stone pines of the grand ducal pine forest from above, a large green expanse that extends for about 600 hectares as far as the sea. Continuing along the route you reach the "laghetto del" Precoriale", a small pond of particular naturalistic importance which interrupts the dense bush for a short distance. Continuing on the flat path (direction A1 – A3) you arrive at the Strada degli Olivi. From here the route continues slightly downhill and allows you to admire a spectacular panorama until you reach the historic "Oliveto di Collelungo" one of the most evocative areas of the Park. Along the return path that runs alongside an old reclamation canal it is possible to appreciate the wooded pastures and the caves that open into the cliffs and which tell millennia of history from the first human frequentations dating back to the Paleolithic to the shelters of transhumant shepherds and their flocks. The Uccellina district has a fair number of small caves and caverns, both in the innermost part of the limestone relief and along the rocky sea coast. Not all of these caves are of karstic origin, most of them, and especially those on the coast or near the sea, are attributable to the phenomenon of the incessant action of the waves on the rocky walls.
Curiosity
Grotta La Fabbrica: located on a vertical wall, about 9 meters above sea level, it is made up of two main chambers with a steeply sloping floor and a low ceiling; it represents the remains of a large cavity whose mouth collapsed in ancient times. Its formation is due to the enlargement and fusion of various fissures, which connect the superficial karst system with a series of underlying cavities located at lowland level.
The excavations conducted by the Department of Archaeological Sciences of the University of Pisa made it possible to ascertain that the lowest layer of the filling contained the remains of meals and flint tools from the Middle Paleolithic abandoned by Neanderthals about 50,000 - 40,000 years ago.
Booking and guide are compulsory for groups from 40 people.
