ITINERARY: PERTI ALTO – “ARMA DELLA MATTA” – PERTI ALTO
By car (from Finale Ligure’s train station FF SS): you take the first way out to the right in the roundabout, and you drive on the national road Aurelia (Strada Statale SS1), direction Ventimiglia, for about 350 m. Then, you turn right to the SP490 until the roundabout in Finalborgo. You take the first way out and then you turn left joining the SP17. After 1,7 km of driving, you will have to turn right following the signal “Perti Alto” into a narrow and uphill road. This road leads to the square of Perti Alto, where you can park your car.
Duration: 1 hour Length: 3 Km Elevation gain: 23 m
The trail is not signaled. The first part is easily walkable while the second may result a bit more challenging.
Initially, you have to follow the paved road for about 800 meters until you reach the Church of San Benedetto (be careful to not confuse it with the church “dei cinque campanili”. The right Church is the second you are going to meet). Just a bit beyond the church, on the right side of the road, starts our real trail.
In the first part, the trail is all downhill and it will lead you to a very small river (it is usually dry). During this stretch you will encounter just one fork which you have to ignore keeping the left.
Crossing the dry creek, after 100 meters, you will arrive into an open space. Here starts the second part of our itinerary.
Pay attention finding the hidden and very narrow trail that starts on your left between the plants and the dry-stone walls. This stretch of the trail might result confusing as it pass through an abandoned olive grove. All you have to do is to cross it in all its size (100 meters) until you reach a little rocky slope which you have to climb. The top of the slope is an open space and you can enjoy a nice view over the Aquila’s Valley hence you cannot miss the spot. The last part of the trail goes deep into the woods, across ancient and once cultivated terraces (you have to stay in the upper zone of the area, near the mountain side). You will finally encounter a very big boulder that creates a spectacular natural stone arch that you have to cross. After that you will reach a first cavity on your left, sided by a narrow trail that will lead you to the “Arma della Matta” cave. This last part is fitted with a fixed rope that will help you climbing. Afterwards, you will finally arrive to the cave. The entrance is wide but the passage that will lead you to the inner part of the cave is really narrow and you are going to have to crawl for about 6 meters in order to cross it.
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