The route is fairly simple and suitable for everyone (you can decide to extend it by following the numerous paths on the plateau).
“These boundless forests were also highly valued in the past, when the Republic of Venice had exclusive use of them to build the oars for its fleet."
Head to the Bus de la Lum picnic area, which has a car park. A forest track leads about 200 metres into a spruce forest, with some beech trees and dense undergrowth rich in plant species. The route continues along the Sentiero degli Slipari trail. As you climb, the forest changes and you will find yourself immersed in a pure beech forest. It is in autumn that the magic happens: before losing their leaves, the beech trees light up with warmer colours and it is a wonder to behold.
The route continues through sinkholes and hills until it reaches Sperlonga de le do boche, a karst sinkhole of great scientific interest. Keep your eyes peeled during the walk: Cansiglio is the ideal environment for deer and, in autumn, you may hear their evocative bellowing (the call of the males during the mating season).
You can return to the starting point by retracing your steps or continuing left (for over a kilometre and a half) along the Crosetta-Candaglia forest road until you reach the signpost marked “O” for a nature trail, which you should follow to return to Bus de la lum.
- Before starting the trail, you can take a ten-minute detour to visit Bus de la Lum. This place is steeped in history: a Palaeolithic site was discovered near the karst cave, proving that humans lived in Cansiglio around 12,000 years ago. A cross commemorates the victims who died here during the tragic events of the Second World War.
- The Slipari trail seems to take its name from the workers who transported the sleepers made here from beech wood, which were then used for the tracks of the first Italian railway lines (from the English word “sleeper”, i.e. the crossbar supporting the rails).
- Foliage and the bellowing of the stags are two spectacles of nature that should be approached with the utmost respect!
