Summary
- Starting point: Paciano
- Duration: 2:35 h
- Length: 10.19 km
- Difficulty level: medium
29. Paciano - Pausillo
We set out from Paciano, which is one of the loveliest villages in Umbria, to climb towards Monte Petrarvella and Monte Pausillo along a narrow road that we take as soon as we enter the road for Panicale. At Casa Bigiarello we enter a wooded area that is fascinating due to its size and the variety of its trees: chestnuts predominate, along with maples, hornbeams, turkey oaks and holm oaks.
The trail, which is shady and quite pleasant, meets up with the ridge road that connects Monte Petrarvella and Monte Pausillo. From this vantage point, we can see the hills surrounding Piegaro. We head right towards Monte Pausillo, and in the distance we can glimpse this summit, covered with conifers, that can be reached along a picturesque avenue lined with pine trees. We then come to a charming picnic area where we can stop to rest.
As we leave the pine forest, we are presented with a sweeping and rewarding view of the territories around Lake Trasimeno and extending towards Tuscany, with Monte Amiata and Monte Cetona in the background, the Nestore river valley with Monte Arale to the left, and the hills surrounding Città della Pieve straight ahead, with the Torre Geremia in the foreground. A wide unpaved road circles around Monte Pausillo and then starts to descend towards Paciano. Further ahead we leave this road so that we can extend our route to include the small rural settlements of Pietreto and Varacca on our itinerary, affording us sweeping vistas of Valdichiana and Lake Trasimeno. After crossing these areas we head down to the valley to take a lovely trail, one of the old roads used by wayfarers, and this will rapidly take us back to Paciano.
The total length of the itinerary is 10.190 km.