Grande Traversata Elbana

STAGE 01: Cavo – Porto Azzurro

Length: about 18 km
Height difference: +950 m approx.

You get to Cavo (hamlet of Rio) from Piombino by hydrofoil or rarer ferries. From the seafront, one climbs inland; after a few hundred meters one meets a very short detour to visit the Tonietti Mausoleum. The route then climbs to Monte Grosso (344 mslm), once the site of a military observation post, from where there is a stunning panorama. It then descends until it laps the Parata road, flanking the Vignolo ditch in a pleasant shady up and down; it crosses the Valle delle Fiche and reaches the rest area at Aia di Cacio, where several paths cross the paved road. From here with a detour of a few minutes on path 203 you can reach the Orto dei Semplici at the hermitage of Santa Caterina. After crossing the road, the trail resumes: a steep scree slope leads to La Croce (396 m), above the village of Rio nell’Elba, then to Monte Capannello (407 m), another beautiful vantage point from which the eastern and western sides of the island can be admired simultaneously. A few meters further down the trail enters a pine forest and almost immediately crosses the Volterraio road, whose castle majestically dominates the gulf of Portoferraio. The route then climbs to Cima del Monte, the highest peak in the eastern half (502 m). Continue on the GTE to the junction with path No. 210 on the left, which, gliding through the vineyards, allows you to descend to Porto Azzurro in about 30 minutes.

STAGE 02: Porto Azzurro – Procchio

Length: about 21 km
Height difference: +400 m approx.

The second STAGE takes place largely on an old military carriage road and has a wide footing with little elevation gain. After a little more than 3 km from the junction with Trail 210 and a short stretch of asphalt, it crosses Provincial Road No. 26 to climb up near Monte Orello (376 m), a viewpoint reached by a short detour, with some 1930s bunkers at the summit.

Next, the route passes by Fonte Schiumoli, the only water point along the GTE, and skirts the Colle Reciso quarry, after which you will have to turn left and walk about 200 meters of asphalt and then turn right again on the wide dirt road through the scrub. Just before the junction with path 221, you can make a detour to the left to visit the ruins of an old windmill on the ridge and admire the view of Lacona. After passing the entrance to path 244, which we find on our left, we descend with some difficulty on a dirt road heavily eroded by water to the damp valley floor and the Literno locality; here we continue until we cross the provincial road that, traveled northward, descends to Procchio, less than a kilometer away.

STAGE 03: Procchio – Poggio

Length: 12 km approx.
Height difference: +950 m approx.

The third STAGE of the GTE leads from Procchio to Poggio. Having abandoned the paved road, the trail climbs Mount Castello (226 m) where it is interesting to do a brief exploration to discover, hidden by the scrub, the ruins of a large Etruscan fortress and a small military outpost used in World War II as an observation point. The route continues as a tunnel through the vegetation until it crosses the junction with path 180 to Poggio and path 121 to Sant’Ilario. It begins the steep ascent that leads in less than an hour to Mount Perone (630 m) and then to a large and convenient rest area along the road. From here the GTE travels through the “Butterfly Sanctuary,” an important breeding area, to the Malpasso locality where the GTE bifurcation is located in the woods.

From here, if you want to descend to Poggio, you can either take a section of the northern GTE and then the steep trail 105, or take a longer but less strenuous loop via trails 101 or 106. The detour from the main route is not too easy or quick, however, and this is the shortest STAGE of the common GTE section, so you may consider shortening it to the next one (descent to Patresi from GTE north or to Pomonte from GTE south) by making the crossing in three stages instead of four and saving the detour, descent and ascent.

STAGE 04 GTE North: Poggio – Patresi

Length: 16 km approx.
Height difference: +550 m approx.

From the junction with Trail 105, the trail heads west, keeping around an elevation of 600 to 700 m, to the junction with Trail 110, where it turns left steeply up the western ridges of Monte Capanne to the Table, at the maximum elevation of 921 m.

From here begins an almost uninterrupted descent, which takes a curious turn northward, skimming past the ruins of the small Romanesque church of San Frediano to the pastoral neighborhood of Serraventosa with its caprili, then down to the destination of Patresi – Mortaio with views of Capraia and northern Corsica. Peculiar are the granite-paved stretches of what was once the mule track linking Marciana and Pomonte, the almost surreal silence of the areas farthest from civilization, the spectacular flowering of different species of broom between spring and summer.

STAGE 04 GTE South: Poggio – Pomonte

Length: 10 km approx.
Height difference: +50 m approx.

From the bifurcation, follow the GTE south in a southwesterly direction, following the ridge that divides the broad Pomonte valley from the Vallebuia valley. Stones and boulders require attention but the view is worth it: the location was already exploited in prehistoric times, Bronze Age artifacts have in fact been found in the area, and the experienced eye spots near the ridge the remains of large boulder walls.

In the descent from 839 m to the sea, one will encounter Colle della Grottaccia (645 m), Le Mure (629 m) – where the experienced eye spots near the ridge the remains of large prehistoric boulder walls – Monte Cenno (589 m), Monte Orlano (549 m), and some caprili with “grottino,” stone structures built by shepherds in the early 20th century. Having passed the last caprile located a short distance from Monte Orlano, we take a narrow lane between magnificent terraces recaptured by wild vegetation and in a few dozen minutes of walking among a few surviving vineyards among those that once carpeted the entire valley, we reach Pomonte with its church, fountain, a couple of bars and, if we descend further, a beach of large pebbles.