La Camosciara

For Nature Lovers Only

There are positive signs that our proposed trek in La Camosciara nature reserve will be, as the guidebook suggests, a ‘passeggiata’.  The word for walk is frequently used in a figurative sense to underline that something is easy, a mere walk in the park. As we drive into the immense carpark we spot numerous families with small children preparing for the endeavour. How hard can it be?

The long unwinding road

It is, though, quite a hot day and the first part of the walk in La Camosciara is through open, sunburnt countryside.  The white dusty road stretches towards the Marsicani mountain range, a hazy blue in the distance. The scenery is beautiful – and that, after all, is what we are here for – but I soon begin to notice that our fellow travellers are either hardy Scouts or professional-looking hikers with proper gear, including walking poles. What happened to the families with young children?

We plough on.  I concentrate on a mental image of the waterfalls at the end of our walk and the possibility of glimpsing the chamois that give the reserve its name.

A small train chugs past us, full of waving children looking smug.  So that’s where they went.  And why didn’t we think of that?

A bit further on we are overtaken by a group of tourists on horseback   Shame we didn’t think of that either.

Cool water

Eventually, small mercy, the road takes us through wooded countryside.  The leaves are dusty and crackle-dry.  It hasn’t rained for weeks. I go to investigate a trickling sound. Hallelujah! A river, or at least a brook.  And a babbling one at that. We tear off our shoes and plunge our feet into the deliciously cold water.  We can’t be far from the waterfalls.

What seems like ages later we cross a piazzale, i.e. an open space, where there are a couple of bars and a souvenir shop and lots of walkers milling around, looking so cool and rested they might have been teleported there.

We don’t stop. We want to get to the waterfalls before the snows come, or at least before the carpark closes.  

The waterfalls

We are now deep in the cool, green forest and we climb with renewed energy.  We are completely alone and trudge on in silence, the forest whispering and gurgling around us. 

Soon we hear the splashing of water and the first of the fountains, the Cascata delle Tre Cannelle, the Waterfall of the Three Spouts, comes into view.  As waterfalls go, it is perhaps not the most impressive but considering the recent drought it is surprisingly healthy and full.  Higher up still is the Cascata della Ninfa, the Nymph Waterfall.  We linger here, enjoying the spray, breathing in the scents of moss and bark.

In all, the walk has taken just under two hours, which included rather a long rest beside the river. Though they are heralded as a ‘large presence’ we have seen no sign of chamois or, for that matter, the deer, wolves and bears that supposedly roam these parts.

Back again at the piazzale we join the other walkers at the bar. Someone idly reading a signpost turns to tell us there are five other walking routes in the Camosciara starting from here. We give him a look: have you lost your mind?  We still have to go all the way back.

Just as we are setting off the train arrives and does a U-turn. What luck. We buy tickets and jump in at the back for a relaxing, scenic ride back to the carpark.

It’s all very pleasant and easy: a passeggiata in fact.

Travel Notes

In the nineteenth century this area, first used for hunting by the powerful Sipari family, became the royal hunting reserve, later being developed into the Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise. It is in the province of L’Aquila.

From Villetta Barrea or Civitella Alfedena, take the turn-off to La Camosciara.  Parking costs 5 euro. The ‘trenino’ leaves from the entrance and takes you to the piazzale at the foot of the forest walk. The cost is three euro, and an extra two for the return journey. Horse-riding is also available and on occasion also horse-drawn carriages, On foot, allow at least one hour each way. There are five alternative trekking routes within La Camosciara itself.