All year long, although spring and fall are the best seasons as colors are really special.
Time: around 2.5 hrs including stops.
Depart from the small hillside village with panoramic views over the hills of Perugia and mounts Martani. This is a smooth and suggestive walk immersed in the typical pre-mountain landscape of our region. Amazing views can be enjoyed along the way in a full-day immersion in a beautiful natural setting. Park your car in the village and walk 100m on the main road to Coccorano, along a dense forest of Pinus nigra (black pine). At the first junction, take a road slightly downhill on the left, keeping the main road on your right. After a cottage on the left, about 60m from the junction above, continue along the road which, after a right turn, runs slightly uphill to the “Monte delle Cerque” (Mount of the Cerque). After 1,5km you can see another cottage on the left until you come to a crossroads: here ignore the dirt roads on the left and on the right; instead, always on the right, you can see there is another dirt road that seems to go back, but actually this is the way to reach the clear of “Mount of the Cerque”. Once you take this dirt road, the village of Fratticola Selvatica is behind you; on the left below, the valley of the Chiascio river opens up and extends to the Apennine on the horizon, with the well-visible river basin; on the right, you can admire the hills of Perugia and mounts Martani. This is a particular suggestive spot on the route, both in fall and wintertime. At sunset, the silhouette of the hills and the buildings of Perugia clearly stand out against the sun. Here you can see the typical Vegetation of the cold Lauretum swept by cold winds, with peculiar species of tree and shrubs, such as Quercus cerris (Turkey oak), Quercus pubescens (downy oak), Juniperus comunis ed oxicedrus (juniper), where trees do not exceed 10m in height and shrubs 1m.
After 200m slightly uphill across an oak grove, you end up at a panoramic clear of exceptional beauty. It is not a case that this place is used to spot fires during the warm months. On the horizon, from north to south west, you can see the whole Apennine range of the regions Umbria and Marche, with Mt. Cucco well visible to north east and Mt. Vettore to south east. Always to south east but closer, you can admire the summit of Mt. Subasio. During the warm season, from here you can take several trails of the Monte delle Cerque; if you are lucky and have a pair of binoculars, you can see several types of birds of prey: buzzards, kestrels, kites and red kites. Back to the panoramic clear and leaving the trail behind, now take the pebbled mule track downhill in front of you. After about 150m you end up on the main road (Valfabbrica-Monteverde) near the village of C. Spinella. From here, proceed to the right and you will be back to Monteverde after about 2.5km.

Recommended equipment:
Trekking boots, water bottle, binoculars, camera, wind jacket.