- 21/04/2020
- Riccardo
- Outdoor activities
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Outdoor Sport in Umbria
Outdoor sports include all the activities or sports that take place surrounded by nature, whether it is land, water or air.
Outdoor sports were born in the 80s/90s at the same time as the "extreme sports", which thanks to their spectacularity enjoy more and more great visibility. The outdoor activities over the years have had a strong development and can be carried out by people of all ages: from young people to families with children, up to grandparents. Tourism in km0, able to satisfy the desire for movement and contact with nature, becomes an attractive and practicable alternative to the usual trips.
This new way of "healthy living" and "physical activity" has become a necessity in the world and the idea of being able to experience exciting experiences without necessarily having to make exotic trips or in distant countries has been re-evaluated.
The success is due in particular to the fact that to start, as for example in trekking, it takes very little: a pair of suitable shoes and a backpack. Other sports, however, require more equipment, although to make the first experiences you can rely on guides or authorized centers that rent or provide the material needed to carry out the outdoor activity of your choice.
Many are the sports that are practicable both in summer and in winter, here is a short list:
Bike & E-Bike
Canyoning & Water Trekking
Rafting
Trekking & Nordic Walking
Umbria has always been known as "the green heart of Italy". This name is born from the particularity of its territory, from the panoramas and the naturalistic wonders that it has the fortune to possess and that they make it a unique region for the variety of flora and fauna, from the enormous tourist potential.
Starting from the Valnerina to the upper Tiber Valley, Umbria is a succession of picturesque places of interest, first of all the Marmore Waterfall, without forgetting Lake Trasimeno, the cliff of Orvieto or the mountains of the Umbrian Apennines.
The outdoor activity in Umbria is favored by the many areas of enormous beauty and the particular morphology of the territory, which allows you to have a great wealth of natural oases, rivers, lakes, mountains, parks and reserves.
Rafting
The most famous of the sports to be practiced in the freshwater is probably rafting, a dynamic and adventurous discipline that consists in traveling along stretches of river aboard special inflatables, called raft.
There are many itineraries to choose from, from the most adrenaline-filled one that takes place along the Nera River under the Marmore Waterfall, to the quieter ones, but still exciting, suitable for families and children:
- Rafting Soft a Scheggino sul Nera
- Rafting Soft ad Arrone sul Nera
- Rafting Soft Fiume Corno
Canyoning
Another popular and practiced outdoor sport is canyoning, the descent of gorges, ravines or more generally of beds of streams. This activity is particularly fun and allows you to discover hidden and evocative corners otherwise inaccessible, as well as to cross waterfalls, slides and natural pools to overcome with jumps, ropes and some swimming.
The possible routes are many and of different difficulty, suitable for principals and children, but also for the most demanding and experienced. Here are some of them:
- Roccagelli Gorge
- Casco Gorge
- Prodo Gorge
- Parrano Gorge
- Feiole Gorge
- Marchetto Gorge
- River Walking ar Marmore Falls
Trekking
The whole territory of Umbria is an ideal setting for those who love to live a "slow" outdoor experience. From the Monti Sibillini National Park to the Marmore Waterfall, from Lake Trasimeno to Monte Cucco, each path leads to a village, a viewpoint, a monument or a sacred place. Trekking in Umbria means discovering ancient streets and hidden corners, it is the ideal land for relaxing walks.
The most famous natural attraction of the region is the Marmore Waterfall, which with its water jump of 165 meters is the highest in Europe. For lovers of trekking, the Parco della Cascata offers numerous routes suitable for everyone, but the whole Valnerina and the Sibillini Natural Park are wonderful for unforgettable escursions. - Piediluco and the ancient Mines of Buonacquisto
- Valnerina and Marmore Falls
- Monte La Pelosa
- Castelluccio di Norcia
- Pilato Lake
- Il Castello della Valnerina
- Rocca di Albornoz
- Valnerina Castle
Speleological experiences and Vie ferrate
Halfway between trekking, canyoning, climbing and speleology in the strict sense, there are some "disciplines" that give way to try, albeit amateur and at a basic level, experiences that can be very challenging when practiced in particular environments and in extreme conditions. In this sense, the caving experiencess are not as risky as the actual explorations, considering that they are tested and accessible to most people, caves that do not present risks to any of the participants but that retain all the charm of such a special experience. The same goes for the vie ferrate, a route between canyoning and climbing. By definition, a via ferrata is a set of structures and equipment made artificially on a rocky wall to facilitate the safe climb in a hiking/ mountaineering route. Without the presence and use of these artificial structures, the progression would require the knowledge and the use of climbing techniques in ropes with individual mountaineering equipment or free body. So even an "extreme" discipline like climbing can become accessible to everyone, always within the limits of the participant's abilities and in compliance with safety requirements.
Marmore Falls speleological excursion
Formina Roman aqueduct
Pozzo della Piana Cave
Bike and Mountain Bike
An outdoor discipline that in recent years has had a strong development is related to the bike. Umbria also in this case offers opportunities for both road bike enthusiasts and mountain bike lovers.
Of particular interest is the project Rando Umbria, aimed at discovering the entire region through 5 rings on the road. Of these, greater relief is covered by the South route, which winds along secondary roads making discover the wonders widely described and immortalized in famous paintings by travelers of the Grand Tour.
For mountain bikers, the Nera Valley offers a path of inestimable beauty: the Greenway of the Nera River, that runs through an area in which contrasts landscape and culture still keep alive the tradition and accompany bikers in an itinerary with a thousand faces.
- Bevagna Bike & Wine Tour
- Bike tour from Bevagna to Assisi
- Sibillini Bike Tour
- Piediluco Lake Tour
- Marmore Falls Tour
- Umbria by Bike - Rando Centre: The Hills
- Umbria by Bike - Rando East: The Mountains
- Umbria by Bike - Rando North: The Valleys
- Umbria by Bike - Rando West: The Lake
- Umbria by Bike - Rando South: The Waters
- Greenway of Nera river
