Dalla Fontana dei Caciocavalli al Monte Cervati

From the Fountain of Caciocavalli to Monte Cervati
Incline: from Piaggine 1309 m; from the Fountain of Caciocavalli 641 m.
Difficulty: medium/high
Time:  4.45 hours from Piaggine,  2.45 hours from the Fountain of Caciocavalli

From the lower area of Piaggine (called Ponte) at an altitude of 590 m, after crossing the bridge over the Calore River,  take the Provincial Road (SP) Cervati and pass near the Fountain dell’Acqua dei Cavalli (805 m above sea level); then cross the Roti plan (954 m above sea level).

Go left at the junction to Rofrano, 955 m altitude, along a dirt road which goes towards Mount Cervati through grasslands and karst basins, along the route of the aqueduct of the Calore, and then in the beech forest, crossed by various streams.
After 500 m please leave the concrete road and continue climbing the dirt road on the right.

After about 6 Km you will reach the Fountain of Caciocavalli (left) at an altitude of 1258 m (40.18.37 LN-15.27.83 LE).

Here there is an equipped area where you can rest near a fireplace and make barbecued meat or other foods. Just in front of the fountain a karst plain is covered by snow in winter: when it melts it forms a little pond of crystal clear waters.

From here you can go along the dirt road until you reach a junction (at 1,369 m above sea level, 40.18.25 LN-15.28.66 LE); please take the dirt road -at your right- that goes up for around 3 Km, until a clearing in the Woods. From here a smaller track climbs for a few hundred meters and then turns left and reaches a plateau in the beech grove that you will cross going up left for a few hundred meters into the Woods, until you reach a wide clearing with a shelter.

Near the shelter, on the left, there is the trunk of an old tree felled by lightning now inhabited by many animals that dig their own burrows, including the Woodpecker.
From here you can see on the left the ridge of Mount Cervati, and the path that will lead you on top of the mountain. The trail starts at the limit between the Woods and the clearing; it has a width of about a meter and a half and follows the ridge of the mountain through steep sharp bends up to the top, from where you can reach the Chapel of Madonna della Neve, on the edge of the cliffs of the Massif.