Top 7 Gorges around Zugliano

*Update February 2025: the main path has been cleared and widened, and the valley is no longer so difficult and adventurous; only the final part remains wild, with numerous fallen trees.

The Sant'Andrea Valley in Grumolo di Pedemonte is a wild, chaotic, intricate, humid, and gloomy environment. The adventurous trail is often interrupted by a stream that must be forded and large fallen trees that must be climbed over or circumnavigated; you'll need to be resourceful to continue. Furthermore, some sections and variants may be interrupted by a wall of brambles and nettles. Nature reigns supreme: the deep green moss contrasts with the black, shiny basalt—a sign of the Bregonze's volcanic origins—that emerges from the ground and characterizes the riverbed. The Valley is named after Sant'Andrea because in centuries past there stood a small rustic church dedicated to the saint, accessible by a path descending from the "Bosco del Prete" (Priest's Woods). A cross has been placed on the site of the former church, a small clearing surrounded by dense forest. https://www.altovicentinonline.it/rubriche/itinerari/da-grumolo-alla-valle-di-santandrea-e-al-rivon/

Path that connects the Lorenza cave to the fire road, a gully full of stones recommended for people with a little practice and not recommended when wet as it is really slippery, once on the fire road you can continue straight to almost get to the top of the mountain

Very small rock labyrinth, but nice to do, be careful in winter that between fallen trees that do not allow passage and the frozen snow you risk getting hurt.

Eyes slipping guys, hold tight to the rope!

The Gorgo Nero is the last and most spectacular 'bojo' of the five along the Anguane Valley, right at the upper end of the valley itself. To reach it, you climb a rocky slide (aided by a rubber garden hose fixed in place to prevent it from being worn down by the water) and reach the dark natural pool at the foot of another slide. 'Bojo', in Venetian dialect, refers to a pool of water or a whirlpool, even a deep one, at the base of a waterfall: hence the expression 'de bojo', meaning boiling, likely referring to the effect of the bubbles that form when the water cascades into the pool.

The Valle dei Gorghi Scuri is a fascinating and narrow impluvium full of waterfalls, natural pools, whirlpools and lively waterways formed by the Valletta stream, which originates right here. As a frame, a florid and lush vegetation of ferns and moss. The path starts from the hamlet of Capo di Sopra, along a dirt road that runs along the rising gorge carved out by the stream from above, where the first water features can be glimpsed; from here you reach the upper part, the most evocative and fairy-tale-like, where you can venture off-track, as far as the water and rocks allow depending on the season. I recommend the route after the rains, even if the path can be slippery (EE), and in spring/summer, when very green and lush vegetation frames the water.

A small but evocative geological labyrinth: nature has carved deep furrows into the hard Rosso Ammonitico limestone, forming corridors that pass through square blocks of rock. Rosso Ammonitico is a pinkish rock from the Jurassic period, generally characterized by a notable abundance of ammonite fossils, hence its name. Within the labyrinth, you'll also find the Cima del Monte Corno (1,383 m): the highest point is here, not where the Monument to the Unknown Soldier overlooks the plain. Along the perimeter of the rocky agglomeration are two Italian artillery emplacements from the First World War, dug directly into rock turrets to defend the Piana di Granezza below, which was an important logistics base. The trail is enjoyable, but not clean: some secondary branches are blocked by fallen trees; in winter, there is ice; in summer, nettles infest some passages.