8.00 am: private transfer to the Scuderie del Lupo stables in San Vittorino, L’Aquila.

Preparing the horses, saddling

8.30 am: departure for Assergi. Entry into the Gran Sasso National Park

Moving through an uninhabited and very wild landscape where we’ll come across vast pastures, herds of cows and horses roaming free.

Lunch at a typical restaurant called Parkkeller, with Abruzzese cuisine, platters, and arrosticini. .

Arrival in Assergi; settling in for the horses and riders

Dinner at a restaurant, followed by an overnight stay at a 3-star hotel.

Hotel breakfast

07.30: Preparing the horses, saddling them.

8.30 am: Departure for Santo Stefano.

A very beautiful route, with breathtaking scenery beneath the Gran Sasso, wide valleys planted with lentils, a packed lunch provided by us, and a little time for the horses and riders to rest.

The journey continues to Santo Stefano di Sessanio.

Arrival in Santo Stefano; settling in for the horses and riders. Dinner at a restaurant

Overnight stay in a hotel – small establishments dotted around the fully restored village, a gem nestled beneath the Gran Sasso massif.

07.30 Breakfast at the hotel, preparing the horses, saddling up.

8.30 am: departure for Campo Imperatore. A very scenic route towards the Campo Imperatore plateau. In these areas and on other treks, wolves, roe deer, eagles and griffon vultures are usually spotted… with a bit of luck. Once on the plain, a spectacular view unfolds before us: the plateau, formed by glacial and alluvial processes, stretches along the slopes of the peaks that make up the Gran Sasso d’Italia range, covering a length of approximately 18 km and a width of approximately 8 km. The Gran Sasso massif is home to the highest peak in the Apennines, the Corno Grande, standing at 2,912 metres above sea level. Furthermore, this extraordinary plateau – unique in Italy in terms of its formation and also known as ’Little Tibet“ – is an endless expanse of grass at an altitude of 1,600 metres. We will cross the Scoppaturo Canyon, a famous location for Western films set here, and head towards the Racollo's Lake hut for lunch, often passing through herds of cows and horses grazing in the wild.

After a frugal lunch, we are in the middle of the Campo Imperatore plain, returning with a private minivan transfer to L'Aquila.