Beech of the King-Abate Pass

Itinerary immersed in the heart of the Serre Mountains that will not fail to satisfy nature lovers.
To reach Faggio del Re, from the A2 SA/RC highway, take the exit for Vazzano and head toward Serra San Bruno and Mongiana. Once we reach the mountain we continue to the Marchesale Biogenetic Reserve (we will find signs along the way). After passing the Monte Crocco pass, we are on SP 9 to Laureana di Borrello, we will find, just up the road, on the left, a fence enclosing a picnic area and a forestry barracks along with the ruins of another on the right. We leave the car. We begin the walk by following SP 9 toward Laureana di Borrello; after about 20 minutes, a dirt road comes off on the right, just before the “castano” reservoir run by the municipality of Fabrizia; let’s take it. It begins a downhill stretch that, in a few minutes, will take us to a depression characterized by the presence of a reservoir on the right. A short uphill section follows. We reach a small clearing, there are the remains of a shack on the left, stay on the road and face the hairpin bend to the right. We continue keeping to the right. The road alternates short uphill stretches with flat ones. After about 10 minutes we will come across two more reservoirs always on the right. We will now find ourselves at a trivium. We will omit the small road on the left going downhill and take the central one going uphill, which in a few minutes will take us to a new fork characterized by the presence of a small granite on the right. We turn left and then, at the next fork, right again.

From this point, in about 10 minutes, we will reach the “acqua fridda” crossroads where we can quench our thirst at a fountain that runs below, in a dip from the road. From the trivium we continue left and, in a few minutes, we will meet another crossroads: we are on the summit of Monte Crocco. The place is marked by the presence of appropriate signs. We turn left and at the next crossroads turn right, following the road downhill. A small clearing will open in front of us with a large beech tree and a road closed by a bar on the left; we take this road and continue downhill until we reach a new fork where we will leave the main road to follow a small road on the right that will take us to the crossroads of Croce dell’Abate, recognizable precisely by the presence of a cross and the signs of the place and the beginning of “route 1.” From here on we follow the yellow signs that will take us in about an hour to admire the nature oasis of Passo dell’Abate. For the return journey, it will be enough to take the yellow signs again, again “route 1,” which starting from the entrance to the oasis (first crossroads on the right) and skirting the Castano stream lead to the crossroads of the same name. We turn right and follow, now, the CAI signs that will take us back to SP 9 and Faggio del Re.