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The pathway
The Monte Grande trail starts close to the Sella delle Fiorine: the departure point is at the rear of the restaurant “Baita delle Fiorine” and, at the beginning, it follows a forest path that goes across the northern side of the hill, which is characterized by chestnut trees and sporadic sessile oaks, sycamore maples, common and hop hornbeams. This part of the trail is absolutely easy: with its gentle ups and downs, it does not exceed 325 meters of altitude.
After about 1,5 km the trail crosses another path that goes uphill with hairpin bends up to the top of Monte Grande, from Bettone street on the eastern side of the hill.
Turn right following the street that goes upward.
From here the trail goes uphill and, after a stretch of 0,8 km distributed in 6 hairpin bends, you reach the top of the hill at an altitude of 476 meters. Actually the top is almost a flat ridge of about 500 meters, where the big white sphere of the ARPAV weather radar stands towering above the panorama; it is the main radar of the region, which covers a range of up to 250 km.
Then, the street goes quickly downhill (1 km) through the southern side of the hill, that is characterized by thermophilic plants with manna ash, downy oaks, strawberry tree and, in the brushwood, cistus and tree heath.
Finally, there are the last hairpin bends before coming out in the piana delle Fiorine, in a chestnut and sessile oak wood: in this natural space an adventure-obstacle-course has recently been created, with ropes, rope ladders, trees joined together with rope bridges creating many pathways with various degrees of difficulty and heights from the ground.
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