If you want to experience a unique experience of outdoor sport, one of the best places is certainly the Canavese, where almost untouched nature gives life to an ideal location between hills, mountains and lakes
The Canavese Valleys are a unique natural playground to practice a multitude of sports in contact with nature: hiking, mountain climbing, rock climbing, cycling and mountain biking, equestrian tourism, Nordic and alpine skiing, walking with snowshoes, and for the more daring : climbing on frozen waterfalls, free flight, canyoning. You just have to choose what you like….
All of the Canavese Valleys offer trails for hiking (including the famous Royal hunting roads in the Gran Paradiso National Park, once used by the Savoy to hunt ibex) with a plurality of options: from the simple relaxing walk up to challenging trek of several days.
Le Valli del Canavese sono una magnifica palestra naturale per praticare una moltitudine di sport a contatto con la natura: escursionismo, alpinismo, arrampicata, cicloturismo e mountain bike, equiturismo, sci nordico e alpino, passeggiate con le racchette da neve e per i più audaci: arrampicata sulle cascate di ghiaccio, volo libero, torrentismo. Non c’è che l’imbarazzo della scelta….
Tutte le Valli del Canavese offrono sentieri per praticare l’escursionismo (tra i quali le famose strade reali di caccia nel Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso, un tempo utilizzate dai Savoia per la caccia allo stambecco) con una pluralità di opzioni: dalla semplice passeggiata sino ai trekking impegnativi di più giorni.
HIKING
All of the Canavese Valleys offer trails for hiking (including the famous Royal hunting roads in the Gran Paradiso National Park, once used by the Savoy to hunt ibex) with a plurality of options: from the simple relaxing walk up to challenging trek of several days.
MOUNTAINEERING
In the Gran Paradiso you can find the only mountain 4000m high entirely in Italy and some classic climbing routes. This area is a real mountaineering school that allows ascents of levels and different difficulties, some suitable for beginners to learn the basic techniques, other fascinating and challenging even for experienced mountaineers. In Orco valley you can climb to the Gran Paradiso (4,061 m), the Punta Fourà (3,411 m), the Ciarforon (3,642 m), the Tresenta (3,609 m), the Punta Basei (3,338 m), the Levanne (all higher than 3,500 m) and the Great Auguille Rousse (3,438 m). The valley of Piantonetto is a good starting point for ascents to Torre del Gran San Pietro (3,692 m), to the Beak of the Tribulation (3,360 m), and Punta d’Ondezana (3,492 m). In Soana valley you can reach the Rosa dei Banchi (3,614 m) and Lavina Tower (3,308 m).
CLIMBING
The free climbing recounted important pages of history on the walls called Caporal and Sergent in Orco Valley, where he was born the “New Morning“, a style of climbing that favors the aesthetic gesture, deepens the philosophical aspect of sporting event and opens to new technical solutions. In these valleys you can attend extraordinary climbing walls in Ceresole, Locana, Noasca, Pont, Ronco and Valprato or more simple walls like the ones of Sparone. Very busy walls equipped for climbing with the possibility to engage in introductory courses to the sport can also be found in Settimo Vittone and in Traversella.
CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
The paradise for cross-country skiing in Canavese is in Ceresole Reale with trails of varying difficulty reaching a total length of about 17 km. Particularly striking development of the track around the artificial lake with the passage on the dam on skis. A small path for cross country skiing is also present in Piamprato in Soana Valley.
ALPINE SKIING
Our small ski stations are well suited for families and for young skiers. You can ski in Ceresole Reale, Locana, Piamprato and a small ski lift is also in St. Elizabeth of Colleretto Castelnuovo. Alpe Cialma of Locana hosts also a small snow park for lovers of snowboard.
Paths for alpine skiers are countless and often challeging, while excursions with snowshoes are relaxing and suitable for everyone.
AIR AND WATER
There are several possibilities for free flight activities (hang gliding or paragliding) with take-off points in St. Elizabeth of Colleretto Castelnuovo and Brossso.
The alpine streams of Orco Valley and Valchiusella are a paradise for canyoning and river jumpers, on Soana river you can go kayaking, while short sections on the Dora Baltea and on the Orco are suitable for rafting. On Ceresole Lake at 1,600 meters above sea level you can go windsurfing and has recently opened a yacht club for navigation rowing.
Arcansel, the rainbow flight is a spectacular outdoor recreational facility in Frassinetto. The structure allows you to experience the thrill of flying hanging from a metal cable with a special pulley and harness. The flight carried out in a horizontal position with the head facing down, thanks to the use of special slings, very similar to those used for paragliding, has a total length of 1800 m of free flight (the longest in Italy). The flight takes an average of 70 seconds with a top speed of 140 km / h. Time and speed will vary according to the weight and wind.
ON ICE
Ceresole Reale and also the Soana Valley (in Piamprato and Val di Forzo) are home to numerous ice falls adapted to climbing with ice axes. A Ceresole, Piamprato and Locana in the winter season you can go ice skating.
ON TWO WHEELS
Road cyclists are spoiled for choice, all the valleys offer magnificent routes for two wheels … a challenging and well-known classic is the one that leads, from June to September, up to the 2600 meters of altitude of the Nivolet hill above Ceresole Reale, in the heart of the Park. There are also many paths for mountain biking that wind through woods and paths, particularly popular between the Sacred Valley and Chiusella, where some downhill trails have also been equipped.
HORSEBACK
The Sacred Valley area is particularly suitable for equestrian tourism. Here is our partner Equin’Ozio who has made equestrian activity and in particular teaching children his main activity, offering targeted courses and hospitality proposals.
SPORT FISHING
The streams of the Canavese valleys and in particular the Orco, the Soana and the Chiusella, with the presence of numerous reserves and no-kill areas, are a small paradise for fishermen who particularly appreciate the crystal clear waters rich in fish: the native brown trout and rainbow trout, grayling and pike.
