Hiking trails

Take the road along the southern edge of the wood. It is a straight, grassy path that can also be cycled and coincides with a stretch of the Romea Strata, an ancient pilgrimage route. The path leads to the bridge over the Turgnano river and then continues in the municipality of Palazzolo dello Stella.

Along the way you can observe, depending on the season, the blossoming of many herbaceous plants, including orchids, flax, valerian and hemerocallis. In May you can find small, sweet wild strawberries, and in autumn apples and prunes.

On the right, the wood displays a wide range of tree species. Besides the main genera (oaks, elms, ash and hornbeams), there are others on the peripheries of the wood that need more light and water: willows, alders, hawthorns, apple trees and poplars.

The two ditches bordering the road are rich in animal life. If you are careful and quiet observers, with a little luck you will be able to spot the grass snake, the Aesculapian snake, the green whip snake and the common viper warming up in the sun. Amphibians are also very abundant, with the presence of the common water frog, the yellow-bellied toad, the newt, and the tree frog with its characteristic croaking.The abundance of flowers attracts a great number of insects, such as butterflies, beetles and various hymenopterans.

To the left of the road are cultivated fields, but after about 400 metres you will find a small portion of woodland on this side as well. It is the “Toronde seconde” wood, which was spared from the deforestation of the 1970s.

Here you can access the wood in two points for a closer encounter with nature. The clearings let you stop, observe, touch the barks, locate mushrooms and acknowledge the richness of the undergrowth. From here, it is possible to return to the starting point or go on to the next itineraries.

Starting from “Turunduze” and following the itinerary 1 continue on for about 1100 metres and on the right you will find the “Stradon di Miez” (middle road), which cuts the wood in half in a north-south direction.
Even small children and old people can easily walk on this forest road, which is normally closed for vehicles. Even if this is a carriage road, here you have a chance to immerse yourself in the richness of the woods, admiring the crowns of the tall trees, as well as the luxuriant undergrowth.
After about 1500 metres you reach the end of the wood, from which it is possible to either go back on the same road or, if you wish to go further, choose to continue with any of the following itineraries.
The width and regularity of the road calls back to the golden age of the “Bosc di cumun”, when the wood, subject to civic uses, represented a notable economic resource for the community. The woods and the meadows nearby were managed and used for timber and fodder. The “Stradon di Miez” was the main artery connecting both the parcels into which the wood was divided and the roads leading to the village.

Starting from “Turunduze” and following itinerary 1, continue for about 740 metres and on the right you will find a small bridge made of railway sleepers, which crosses the big ditch that you have been walking along. Here begins the “Arzarin”, a path that winds its way through the woods and that goes along an ancient embankment, giving its name to the path itself. Walking for 380 metres after the small bridge you come across another path, called “strade Capasse” (2), which is included in the next itinerary, so continue straight ahead.
Along the way, paying attention not to trip on the tree roots pushing towards you as if to tell: “this here is our home!”, you can admire, depending on the season, many flowers such as primroses, lungworts and autumn crocuses along the edges of the path. Where the undergrowth is thicker you can see many specimens of butcher’s broom and some ferns

Starting from “Turunduze” and following itinerary 2, take the “Stradon di Miez” and follow it for about 250 metres. At this point you will find a wide path on the left with the sign “Cès da le Bancijdiele” (itinerary 5), continue for a few more metres and then on the right take a narrow path that goes deep into the woods. This is the “Strade Carpasse” path, which crosses the entire part of the wood known as “Toronde prime” in an east-west direction. It is more of a hiking path than a tourist trail in places and requires a minimum of effort, as you may find some muddy parts, a few fallen trees and brambles blocking your way.

The strikingly beautiful environment will compensate for these minor difficulties. Along the way you can admire some particularly large and old hornbeam and oak trees. At the time of writing, we found some old dead trees covered in mushrooms or pierced by woodpeckers; the wood is also this. In late winter, snowdrops bloom, followed by primroses, white violets and spring snowflakes.

You will notice a number of holes dug alongside the path to find the material needed to consolidate it. During certain periods they fill up with water and give us the opportunity to observe the many amphibians living there and laying their eggs.

About halfway along our itinerary you will come across the “Arzarin” path (itinerary 3) and a few dozen metres after the crossroad on your right there is a depressed area, called “Poze dal Scuaiat”, where, apart from dry periods, there is always stagnating water. Alongside the usual amphibians, here you can observe some willows and alders. These trees, which need moist soil, are not normally found within the wood, but only along the edges and near ditches. Close to the water you will notice insects flying, especially butterflies and dragonflies, and an abundance of sedges and irises.

Follow itinerary 4, where we mentioned the road sign “Ces de la Bancjidiele” and, after about 200 metres along the “Stradon di Miez”, you will find on the left a forest road and a sign with our destination.
This is a route that since the times of the Republic of Venice led to the Turgnano river, where a dock used to be. Here timber from the woods was loaded onto boats which, using the waterways created by the river first and the lagoon afterwards, transported it to various destinations. Now the road stops before reaching the river, the construction of a ditch around the perimeter of the woods and of an embankment having precluded the access to the water.

The end of the road coincides with an area where trees have not been cut down in decades and where the woods retain a natural appearance, with singularly tall ash, oak and hornbeam trees. Here the shady tree canopy prevents a thick undergrowth, but it does not stop lilies of the valley and martagon lilies from blooming. Along the way you will also find large quantities of very poisonous autumn crocuses, which flower at the end of the summer, as well as gorgeous windflowers in the spring.

Currently the path is well maintained for about half its length, but beyond that vegetation makes it more difficult to walk. The downloadable KML file is for the more easily accessible part of the itinerary.

This the longest of our proposed itineraries but it is certainly the most exciting. It allows you to cross the woods from north to south and then from east to west.

Take itinerary 3 and at the end of the “Arzarin” path you will see the “Soreli jevât” road sign. Take this path, which first crosses the “Stradon di Miez” and then, following the “Soreli a mont” path, reaches the western edge of the woods, really close to the Turgnano river.

In the first part of the “Soreli jevât”, the path is slightly elevated, allowing for an unusual view of the woods. Here at the end of winter you will notice a lot of crocuses. In the last stretch, along the “Soreli a mont”, alongside the blossoming of daphnes and orchids, you will see some big wild apple trees, bearing a lot of small, beautiful but inedible fruits. In the ditch alongside the road you can often distinguish the tracks of wild boars that have been wallowing in the mud.

The route follows fairly sparse areas that reveal nevertheless the multiplicity of the woodland: the sun filters through the tree tops but it is possible to glimpse some denser, sometimes impenetrable areas that are constantly kept in the shade by a tangle of trees, bushes, brambles and creepers (ivy and clematis).