{"id":14397,"date":"2017-11-30T13:49:05","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T13:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.adrianwood.ch\/?page_id=14397"},"modified":"2017-12-04T09:01:53","modified_gmt":"2017-12-04T09:01:53","slug":"2006-08-valle-maira","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.adrianwood.ch\/?page_id=14397","title":{"rendered":"2006-08 Valle Maira"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Saretto, vorletzte Dorf im Valle Maira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

21<\/span>st<\/span>.-28<\/span>th<\/span>.August 2006, Valle <\/span>Maira<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

The <\/span>Maira<\/span> Valley is a paradise for hikers <\/span>and a u<\/span>nique cultural landscape<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On the French border, in the southwest of Piedmont, in the province of Cuneo, <\/span>exists<\/span> a forgotten area of the west Alps despite the fact that it is only 100 km away from the capitol Turin. <\/span>In the<\/span> remote and rugged Valle <\/span>Maira<\/span>, which occupies an enchanting fold of the Cottian Alps, the Occitan language still lives on \u2013 often in song \u2013 and formerly deserted mountain villages are being born again, thanks to the renovation of a network of ancient paths <\/span>known as the \u2018<\/span>Percorsi<\/span>Occitani<\/span>\u2019<\/span>which circumnavigate the valley<\/span>.<\/span>The abandoned hamlets, sunlit forests and expansive pastures make up a picture that remains in the memory of every hiker <\/span>who visits the valley<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On <\/span>the<\/span>routes<\/span>one<\/span> see<\/span>, again and again, overgrown paths and tracks, the remainders of old stone walls, chapels and churches <\/span>even <\/span>with astonishingly beautiful frescoes in the most secluded areas. <\/span>It is clear<\/span> that these areas must have once been a <\/span>well <\/span>populated<\/span> and i<\/span>n old accounts, one can read how the citizens of this valley worked hard to wrest their meagre existence from the <\/span>land<\/span>. As a result, the young people have nearly always moved away, especially in the <\/span>mid 20th<\/span> century, post-industrialization. In the community of Marmora, there are only 25 residents, spread among the 17 hamlets. In 1900, there were still over 1000. As the land was farmed less and less, acres of it reverted to pasture lands and lay fallow. This cultural landscape, which has been reclaimed by nature, emanates a fascination that affects <\/span>every<\/span> hiker. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Linking <\/span>once <\/span>picturesque hamlets and villages, many of the paths criss-crossing this extraordinarily beautiful high valley are paved in stone at lower levels \u2013 where mixed forest is interspersed with Mediterranean vegetation \u2013 and are often bordered by crumbling dry stone walls, while the rocky alpine landscape of the higher slopes is dotted with plentiful springs and lakes. <\/span>L<\/span>ong ago glaciers shrouded the highest of the north faces, and the summits, though mostly free of snow in high summer, are impressive.<\/span> The available accommodation mostly<\/span> converted from old mountain dwellings allow<\/span>one<\/span> to enjoy this wonderful area and its magnificent views to the full, savouring <\/span>the <\/span>warm hospitality and delicious Occitan cuisine each evening.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My brother and I followed the <\/span>\u2018<\/span>Percorsi<\/span>Occitani<\/span>\u2019<\/span> taking the route and stages described in the guide \u2018Antipasti und Alte <\/span>Wege<\/span>, Valle <\/span>Maira<\/span> \u2013 <\/span>Wandern<\/span>im<\/span>andern<\/span>Piemont<\/span>\u2019, Ursula Bauer und J\u00fcrg <\/span>Frischknecht<\/span>. The stages were:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

22.August<\/span>, <\/span>Dronero<\/span> \u2013 <\/span>Roccabruna<\/span>Sant\u2019Anna<\/span>, up 850m down 200m 5h.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

23.August, Sant\u2019 Anna \u2013 <\/span>Pagliero<\/span> \u2013 <\/span>Camoglieres<\/span>\/<\/span>Macra<\/span>, up 700m down 1150m 7.5h. (2 S<\/span>tages)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

24.August, <\/span>Camogligieres<\/span>\/<\/span>Macra<\/span> \u2013 San Martino \u2013 Elva<\/span>, up 1450<\/span>m do<\/span>wn 650m 8h. (2 Stages)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

25.August, Elva \u2013 <\/span>Ussolo<\/span>, up<\/span> 900m down 1200m 6.5h.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

26.August, <\/span>Ussolo<\/span> \u2013 Ponte <\/span>Maira<\/span> (instead of Campo Base)<\/span>, <\/span>up<\/span>700m <\/span>down <\/span>650m <\/span>5h.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

27.August<\/span>, Ponte Maira \u2013 <\/span>Chialvetta<\/span> (via Colle d\u2019<\/span>Enchiausa<\/span>)<\/span>, up 1<\/span>4<\/span>00m down 10<\/span>0<\/span>0m 7h.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Valle Maira 2007<\/a><\/h3>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n

\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

21st.-28th.August 2006, Valle Maira The Maira Valley is a paradise for hikers and a unique cultural landscape. On the French border, in the southwest of Piedmont, in the province of Cuneo, exists a forgotten area of the west Alps despite the fact that it is only 100 km away from the capitol Turin. In the … Continue reading 2006-08 Valle Maira<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4761,"menu_order":346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-14397","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianwood.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianwood.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianwood.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianwood.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianwood.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14397"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianwood.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14595,"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianwood.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14397\/revisions\/14595"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianwood.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adrianwood.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}