The best walks and hikes around Castelluccio Superiore

Castelluccio Superiore, nestled in the picturesque Mercure Valley, welcomes you with a historic center brimming with medieval charm, cobbled alleys, and panoramic views of the Pollino National Park. Strolling among ancient stone houses and intimate squares, you'll discover a true "terrace" overlooking the valley below, where history and nature intertwine. The village is home to the Ethnobotanical Conservatory, a research and documentation center dedicated to applied botany and ethnobotany, a hub for scholars and visitors interested in local herbal traditions and the promotion of biodiversity.

At this point, if you come in spring, you can see many blossoming flowers.

Superb waterfall immersed in a fairytale setting, in the Pollino National Park.

A nice, quiet trail next to a wonderful waterfall.

A wonderful "panoramic balcony" on the Pollino National Park. this peak can be reached with a medium-difficulty trek starting from the Favino refuge.

View from Pizzo Falcone peak

Rotonda is located at an altitude of 580 m a.s.l. at the southern end of the province of Potenza, on the border with Calabria. It borders to the north and east with the municipality of Viggianello, to the south with Morano Calabro (CS) and Mormanno (CS), and to the west with Laino Castello (CS) and Laino Borgo (CS). It is located in the heart of the Pollino National Park, in the Mercure valley, and includes mountains in its territory that reach a maximum altitude of 1919 m a.s.l. It is part of the Lagonegrese mountain community. The valley in which Rotonda is located belongs to the Mesozoic and Neozoic era. Before these epochs in the Quaternary era the valley was an ancient Pleistocene lake and when the waters began to retreat, flowing towards the sea, the current Mercure valley was formed. The historic center of Rotonda stands on a limestone rock that was part of the ancient lake, which was created following erosion. Other areas of the town also originate from a limestone rock such as the current Acqua Nocella hamlet to the south. Although now due to hunting and deforestation, the fauna has decreased, this is composed of hedgehogs, stone martens, foxes, squirrels and hares. There are wolves and wild boars, even if more in extreme areas of the country, which in rare cases have entered the inhabited centers. The rest of the fauna is made up of commonly farmed animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses. Although deforestation has decreased the number, beech trees constitute the largest forest formation in Rotonda, which joins other plants such as oaks, càrpini, chestnut trees, and Turkey oaks.