Monte Soro, Maulazzo and Biviere: the high Nebrodi
An hour and a half of hairpins above Capo d'Orlando and you're at fifteen hundred metres, where Sicily stops looking like Sicily: beech forest, two lakes, free-roaming herds and fifteen degrees less than on the coast.
Where you're going, and why
The Nebrodi Park begins behind the hills of Capo d'Orlando, and an hour and a half of hairpins takes you from sea level to fifteen hundred metres. Up there, along the ridge, are some of the southernmost beech forests in Europe, herds grazing free, and two lakes nobody expects to find in Sicily. It's the half of this place holidaymakers never see, and in summer it's the half that saves the day: at that altitude it's some fifteen degrees cooler than on the beach. The park →
Monte Soro, and a warning about the summit
Monte Soro is the highest peak in the Nebrodi: 1,847 metres. The name is in every guidebook and the urge to climb it is natural. Here's what you should know first, though: the summit is not an open one. There are antennas, a multi-storey building and a fence, and those who have been up report that the view is closed off — partly by the installations, partly by the beech forest that covers the mountain almost to the top. Anyone climbing in expectation of a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree panorama over Etna and the Aeolians comes away disappointed. The real view comes earlier: along the ridge, from the open plateaus and the edges of the wood, where the eye clears the crests and reaches the volcano on one side and the Tyrrhenian on the other. On this circuit, the mountain is better looked at than climbed.
Lake Maulazzo, inside the beech forest
The Maulazzo is an artificial lake and makes no secret of it: it was built in the 1980s by the Sicilian regional forestry service for water management, and it lies on the north-eastern slopes of Monte Soro, in the territory of Alcara Li Fusi. Five hectares of water set inside the Sollazzo Verde beech forest, and the reason it's worth the drive is precisely the incongruity: still water with beech trees running down to the shore, which looks nothing like Sicily. When the level drops, the trunks of the trees that stood there before resurface on the bed. Sources disagree on the altitude: between 1,400 and 1,450 metres depending on who's reporting it. We'd rather say so than pick one.
The Biviere di Cesarò, Sicily's most important high-altitude wetland
A hundred and fifty metres lower, at 1,278 metres and in the territory of Cesarò, lies the Biviere: eighteen hectares of basin and a role that goes well beyond the view. It is considered the most important high-altitude wetland in Sicily: migratory birds stop over here, herons, mallards and coots live here, and the vegetation around it arranges itself in six horizontal bands drawn by the rise and fall of the water through the year. In the surrounding woods stand beech, holly, wild apple, hawthorn and a five-hundred-year-old yew. And on the horizon, when the air is clean, Etna. Sources diverge on the lake's origin: many call it a natural lake, others an artificial basin that has by now completely renaturalised. It's a conflict we don't feel able to settle.
The animals are free, and they're not an attraction
In the Nebrodi, free-range grazing is still the normal way to raise livestock. Along the ridge you meet Sanfratellano horses, Nebrodi black pigs and herds of cattle spending the hottest hours lying in the shade of the beeches, all together, in a picture that doesn't look Sicilian. They belong to someone and they are loose: photograph them, don't touch them, don't feed them. And there's a practical consequence nobody mentions: the herds stand in the middle of the road too, around a bend, with nobody watching them. Drive slowly and wait for them to pass.
The two lakes on foot, with the real numbers
The classic route starts at Portella Femmina Morta on the SS 289, continues along the high road, and it's best to leave the car at the Portella Calacudera junction, a little over a kilometre and a half after turning off the main road, at around 1,560 metres. From there you walk down to the Maulazzo and on to the Biviere. That's roughly fifteen kilometres there and back, four and a half hours' walking and four hundred metres of cumulative ascent: hiking grade, not a stroll. The surface is almost all unmade track, with sections of broken cobble and stretches of beaten earth that turn to real mud from October to May. If you only want to see one lake and sit down, you can shorten things considerably by driving closer along the forest tracks — but check their condition locally, not on a satnav: these are white roads that come out of every winter changed.
When to go
May to October for the full circuit. In summer it's the escape from the heat, and it matters most to people staying by the sea: drive up in the morning, have lunch at a mountain farm and be back for the late-afternoon swim. In autumn come the beech colours and the mushroom season (picking is regulated: you need a permit). In winter snow is frequent and the landscape is another thing entirely — people come with snowshoes — but the high roads can be closed or impassable and should be checked before setting off. In spring, flowers and full streams, with mud on the paths as the trade-off.
Getting there from Capo d'Orlando
You climb inland and pick up the SS 289 di Cesarò, the road that crosses at Portella Femmina Morta: from Capo d'Orlando it's about an hour and a half of mountain roads, tight hairpins but surfaced. This isn't a half-hour outing and it doesn't reward hurrying: leave early and write off the whole day. On the other side of the range, not far away, rise the Rocche del Crasto, the limestone wall where the griffon vulture has begun nesting again after disappearing from Sicily. The Nebrodi in a day → · The Biviere loop →
Frequently asked questions
How high is Monte Soro?
1,847 metres: it is the highest peak in the Nebrodi range. It should be said, though, that the summit is not a viewpoint: there are antennas, a multi-storey building and a fence, and the view is largely closed off by the installations and the beech forest. The best panorama is along the ridge, before the top.
Is Lake Maulazzo natural or artificial?
It is artificial: it was built in the 1980s by the Sicilian regional forestry service for water management. It covers about five hectares and lies in the municipality of Alcara Li Fusi, on the north-eastern slopes of Monte Soro, inside the Sollazzo Verde beech forest. Sources disagree on its altitude: between 1,400 and 1,450 metres.
How long does the Maulazzo and Biviere loop take?
About fifteen kilometres there and back and four and a half hours' walking, with four hundred metres of cumulative ascent, starting from the Portella Calacudera junction. It is hiking grade and the surface is almost all unmade track, muddy from October to May. If you want to see just one lake you can shorten it by driving closer along the forest tracks, checking their condition first.
Why does the Biviere di Cesarò turn red in summer?
Because of the bloom of Euglena sanguinea, a microalga that colours the water deep red in the hot months. It is not a sign of pollution: it is a documented natural phenomenon of this lake.
How far is Lake Biviere from Capo d'Orlando?
About an hour and a half by car: you climb inland and take the SS 289 di Cesarò, which crosses at Portella Femmina Morta at 1,524 metres. These are mountain roads with tight but surfaced hairpins: leave early and allow the whole day.
Will you see free-roaming animals in the Nebrodi?
Yes: Sanfratellano horses, Nebrodi black pigs and herds of cattle graze free along the ridge, and in summer they spend the middle of the day lying in the shade of the beech woods. They are owned animals left to roam: photograph them, but don't touch or feed them. They are often in the middle of the road, so drive slowly.
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Stay in Capo d'Orlando
A base in the centre — and everything else becomes a day trip.
The port for the Aeolians is 45 minutes away, the Nebrodi right behind. Breakfast served early for dawn departures.
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