The perched Village of Cipières (750 m) overlooking the
Loup River Valley is a crossroads of several hiking trails. Both the
GR4 and GR51 long distance trails run through the village.
We wanted to explore the GR51 south of the village to a hill named Collet des
Graus de Pons. This short out and back hike is included in the
Guide Randoxygène Moyen Pays, marked as easy.
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Starting from Cipières
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| Cipières |
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Meadow south of Cipières
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GR51 south of Cipières
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We started from the village square (Signpost #26) , and headed south along
the GR51 and GR4. We passed several properties and soon reached an
intersection (Signpost #160) where the two GR trails separated. We took the
left-hand GR51 path. We climbed gradually, mostly in an evergreen forest,
crossing three small valleys named Pesses, Estrugue and
Pourcelles, respectively.
We reached signpost #161 on Collet des Graus de Pons (1000 m). To
view an old 3 m high borie, a stone hut, we had to descend a bit (about 50
m, signposted).
On both sides of the trail there were signs of ancient agricultural and
pastoral activity here and there. It was an easy walk along beautiful and
good trails. However, the terrain is karstic and sturdy hiking shoes
are recommended.
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GR51 in forest near Cipières
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Nearing Collet des Graus de Pons
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Cheiron massif seen from GR51
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Collet des Graus de Pons
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| Large stone hut |
Climb: 300 m
Duration: 3 h
Distance: 7,7 km
Map: 3642 ET Vallée de l’Estéron
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Signpost#26 Cipières
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Tarocco oranges are the famous blood oranges from Sicily. Their soft flesh is almost seedless, juicy, and sweet and the colour varies from orange with some light pink to deep ruby red. Their sea on is fairly short; from winter to spring.
In a French guidebook about Sicily, I happened to notice a local dish: risotto with tarocco and saffron. Because some sweet fruit goes very well with duck breast I got the inspiration for the following recipe. The combination was so delicious that this recipe is to be repeated whenever tarocco oranges are in season.
2 servings
1 duck breast, magret de canard
120 ml risotto rice
1 tarocco blood orange
Olive oil
1-2 shallots
1 clove garlic
150 ml white wine
1 dose saffron, in filaments
About 500 ml chicken stock
2 handfuls of grated Parmesan
Peel and chop the tarocco blood orange into fairly small chunks. Set aside, these will be added to the risotto when it is cooked at about the same time as the Parmesan.
Cook the risotto the classic way. Add the saffron to the risotto early when you start adding wine and stock to the risotto. Saffron filaments need time to develop their distinctive flavour in warm liquid and to give a nice colour to the dish. Cooking risotto takes about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the criss-crossed duck breast over medium heat 10 and 8 minutes per side starting with the skin side. Place the duck on carving board and slice.
Divide the duck and risotto on the plates. Serve with some greens, for example fried courgette slices or steamed broccoli.
Pizzo Carbonara (1979 m), the second highest summit in Sicily
after Etna, can easily be reached along marked trails from
Piano Battaglia in the Madonie Regional Nature Park.
We bought the 3 € hiking map in Cefalù, but it gave a more general
information about hikes in the Madonie, not detailed info about specific
itineraries. We did some research beforehand and concluded that it is best to
do the hike counterclockwise. The trail number was 551, and clearly marked
white/red.
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Meadow in Piano Battaglia
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Trail551 leaving Piano Battaglia
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Good markings to Carbonara
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At Piano Battaglia parking there was a map showing the trail passing
underneath the summit with a short un-marked path to the top of Piano
Battaglia. We soon found out that this was incorrect because the marked
trail 551 took us directly to the summit.
From the parking, we crossed a flat grassy meadow, heading northeast, first
along a dirt track then a good trail. It soon turned to northwest
alternating in the woods or in open terrain. We walked past a signpost
saying “Pizzo Carbonara” 1 h, trail 551, then dove into another
verdant wood. Higher up, there were more and more open areas. The trail was
little frequented on the day of our hike. We saw more deer than humans! The
relatively easy climb continued a bit more, and we turned north before the
summit became visible in front of us.
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| Pizzo Carbonara 1h |
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Trail551 to Pizzo Carbonara
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Approaching Pizzo Carbonara
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The 551 trail went straight to the mountain top. We had a 360° panorama in
spite of some haze. In addition, the nearby summits were almost as high as
Carbonara.
We descended first heading west, then south where the 551 trail again ran
through both some picturesque woods and rocky limestone terrain.
At about 1900 m elevation, we suddenly came to an intersection. A red and
white marked trail forked sharply to the right, again no signpost, but we
knew to ignore this and continued south.
At about 1730 m elevation, we came to another intersection (no signposts)
where white and red marked trails separated (7 on the terrain map). We
correctly thought that the right-hand trail descended to the lower parking
by the S113 road. We forked left (east) and headed towards Piano Battaglia.
The trail merged with the S113 road 500 m before our starting point. This
trail was not shown on the map at the parking.
All in all, it turned out to be a great hike in pristine nature. We were
even able to take some photos of a herd of deer .
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Pizzo Carbonara summit
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Pizzo Carbonara view southwest
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551 trail leaving Pizzo Carbonara
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Deer near Pizzo Carbonara
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Coast seen from Carbonara trail
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Climb: 400 m
Distance: 7,7 km
Duration: 3h 15
This is a rich dish best served with some beef, like a nice fillet steak, on a dark evening. A glass of good red wine and a green side salad will complete the meal.
2 servings
1 aubergine
Olive oil
About 300 g tasty organic tomato sauce
A handful of basil leaves
1-2 cloves of garlic
2 handfuls of freshly grated parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper
About 100 g full fat goat cheese cut into small pieces
Wash the aubergine and cut into thin slices. Fry them in olive oil over medium high heat on both sides until golden. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 210° C roast.
Oil an oven-proof dish with some olive oil. Place half of the aubergine slices in the bottom. Top with half of the basil leaves, some pressed garlic, black pepper, and half of the tomato sauce. Top with half of the goat cheese and parmesan. Follow with a second layer the same way.
Sprinkle with some olive oil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
When visiting the Madonie Park in Sicily, we had decided to do the
Vallone Degli Angeli loop hike as it was considered one of the most
popular walks in the region. A description in English can be read here. On the other hand, good topographic updated hiking maps are not
available in Italy, signposts can be old and explanations unclear.
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Start of hike SP119 road
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Soon after leaving trailhead
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Shortcut path from trailhead
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The trailhead (“Punto informazione sentiero” on Google maps at 1240 m
elev.) in the forest was by the SP119 road, and was easy enough to
find when driving south from the northern coast. We were advised to
use the road via Collesano (SP9) then SP54 to Portella Colla from where the
SP119 descended to our starting point. There was a gate for official
vehicles, and some information.
We were alone, but two forest fire fighters appeared, opened the gate for
their 4X4 and drove to the park. They were the only humans we met during the
hike! We took a shortcut, climbing southeast and merged with the longer dirt
track. After a while, we reached a crossroads (1390 m elev.) where the
right-hand trail dove down to Vallone Degli Angeli. However, the text
in Italian on the signpost indicated that the trail was closed due to
maintenance.
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Polizzi Generosa viewed from trail
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Madonna degli Angeli trail closed
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Crossroads after forest hut
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Trail forks to Quacella
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We did not want to take any risks and decided to continue the ascent along the
less interesting dirt track. Heading east, we passed a forest hut then came to
a crossroads where we continued straight, and after a few bends saw the trail
to Quacella painted on the rock (red arrow and a white/red marking).
Markings were first well visible in red and white. After another crossroads we
followed a narrower trail marked by some red spots. We temporarily lost the
trail about mid-way to the escarpment. Etna, 90 km away in the east became
visible. We ascended to the ridge (about 1800 m elev.) with super views. We
did not climb to the summit (1869 m).
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On trail to Quacella
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Portella Colla seen from Quacella
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Quacella southwest view
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Madonna degli Angeli Valley
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| Nebrodi fir |
We descended to the beforementioned junction on the dirt track. We then made
another detour along a wide trail heading southwest. We tried to locate the
rare Nebrodi Firs, and maybe we saw some specimens!
We returned using the same itinerary but took the longer dirt track loop
before reaching the starting point.
Climb: 690 m
Distance: 12 km
Duration: 4h 30
Red rice has a nutty flavour and a high nutritional value due to its antioxidants, anthocyanins, which give the red colour. Red rice is now cultivated also in Camargue, in the South of France, so you can choose a local product. Most of the brown rice comes from Asia.
Kale is one of the healthiest greens. And organic local kale is an even better choice for your dishes.
The following recipe makes a nice, super healthy lunch in autumn and winter. By topping each bowl with a soft-cooked egg you can complete the vegetable proteins from lentils with some animal protein.
2 servings
4- 5 sprigs of organic kale
3 tbsp. olive oil
About 2 handfuls of cooked red rice
About 200 ml cooked green lentils
1 shallot, chopped
1 tsp. dried Provençal herbs
Freshly ground black pepper
2 soft-cooked eggs
2 tsp. capers
Cook the red rice and green lentils according to the advice on the packages. Red rice needs about 40 minutes cooking time and green lentils normally about 25 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile wash the kale leaves. Warm the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and cook the kale leaves for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the shallot, herbs, and some black pepper to the pan and continue cooking for about 5- 10 minutes. Stir now and again. Add the rice and lentils to the pan and stir.
Divide the mixture into two bowls and top with a soft-cooked egg. Sprinkle the eggs with the capers and serve.
The famous cliff ( 268 m), La Rocca, overlooking Cefalù,
Sicily certainly is one of the major attractions of the
historical town located on the northern coast of the island.
We decided to hike up to the summit together with numerous other visitors on
the first day of our visit. Undoubtedly most hikers go there because of
the magnificent views even though several medieval ruins can be explored by
the trail and on the mountaintop.
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Corso Ruggero Cefalu
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| Cefalu Cathedral |
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| Stairs in Cefalu |
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Near viewing point above Cefalu
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View east from La Rocca Cefalu
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View west from La Rocca Cefalu
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We walked past the cathedral in the old town and soon forked left along the
narrow streets. We reached the entrance area and paid the admission fee (5 €
pp). After a few bends, we took a detour to a viewing point with a large
cross facing the old town.
We then climbed to the summit along the left-hand trail where good hiking
boots were a good idea as many stretches were rocky and a bit steep. The
skies were clear and we could admire tens of km of the coastline in both
directions as well as the Aeolian Islands in the northeastern horizon.
On the way back, we took the other less steep trail to the crossroads before
descending back to the busy Corso Ruggero.
Climb: About 250 m
Distance: 4 km
Duration: 2 h
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