A day after climbing Corno Grande we drove from Prati di Tivo to check out some hikes around Teramo.
Not feeling up for a long trails we decided to take a short, 3 km path to Cascate Cantagalli in Cortino. It takes (in theory) one hour, which sounded just fine. How every hiking in Abruzzo has to be long. This one was short and easy– that’s what we wanted that day.
Parking Your Car
GPS this time behaved more or less OK – it led us a bit above the town to the small parking lot, which is opposite the trail.
Parking is a big word – it’s just a larger piece of the roadside, but you can leave the car there without paying for it. There’s also a large information board with the sign Comune of Cortino.
Into the Woods: The Path and the Bear Paranoia
We wore hiking shoes and crossed the road. The small wooden sign there shows the way – ie a narrow, a bit rocky path going up.
After several metres we got to the forest, and the path became just a beaten trail. I usually pay attention to the marking of the trails, but this time, I focused on keeping an eye out for a bear that might potentially want to eat me.
As usual during hiking in Abruzzo, my ‘for sure there are bears’-mode switched on. Yet in the car I had read these lovely animals live around Cortino. Yes, they do. Anyway, whether the path was marked or not, it’s the only trail there, so it would be hard to miss it.
We started hiking after midday- the weather in Abruzzo tends to change in the afternoon. We were walking for maybe 15 min when it started drizzling. I was pretty happy with it; Mauro doesn’t like rain, and I was hoping it would really start coming down. Somehow I didn’t feel like hiking that day.
We started going back when it stopped raining. After some doubt, we decided to keep on hiking to the waterfall.
The forest wasn’t very dense, so visibility was pretty good – I we were the only people there. It was very quiet – just some not very energetic birds were trying to make some sounds.
The path, as usual in the mountains, goes up and down, but not really up – the elevation change is between 100- 150 m. It means that you don’t need to climb any crazy heights, and the path is easy. There are maybe 2 or 3 a bit steep sections, but noting extreme – in my opinion, of course.
We were progressing and the forest became weirder and weirder – dark, as if sun didn’t get through the tall trees, tone of dry leaves on the ground and not much greenery. It looked more like the beginning of winter than the late summer (it was August). I had seen similar, i.e weird forest hiking to the Eremo San Giovanni. Maybe Abruzzo specializes in such places.
The Wet Section and the Wooden Bridge
At some point, the dry path became wet, or rather boggy. We were at the bed of a dried river or a stream. It wasn’t completely dry – the area around was saturated with water, so the path was covered with wooden planks. I think no chance to do the path after rain or in early spring, when snow melts.
We crossed the stream and continued up, and then down and flat again.
Maybe after 30 min (with the stop when it started raining) we got to the wooden bridge. Under it the stream flows, and on the left there’s a nice waterfall. At this point, I was sure that there were gangs of bears hiding behind the bushes, even though there were hardly any shrubs actually.
And this place is called Orsini Valley – orsini means bear cubs. Lovely.
The Final Descent to Cascate di Cantagalli
After the bridge, there’s a kind of crossword: one paths goes to the waterfall, and the other – somewhere up, as there are many hiking trails in Monti della Laga.
Getting to the Cascate Cantagalli takes another 5 min – the path is narrower. At the end of it there are rocky stairs – a bit slip, but there’s also a rope to hold to get down and up later on.
As soon as you get down, you’ll see the Cascate Cantagalli.
Hiking in Abruzzo – Is the Cascate Cantagalli Worth Seeing?
Honestly, I didn’t like the trail – not because it’s bad, just because of my bear obsession and, in general, not the best mood that day- but seeing the waterfall, I actually forget about it.
The Cascate Cantagalli is beautiful – not in my photo though; you have to see it in person. For sure, because of the season, it wasn’t at its best. I can imagine how nice it must be full of water in spring. But this time, it might be hard to get to it.
Many rivers with waterfalls are full of people in the summer, but I’m not sure whether the Cascate Cantagalili is one of these wild swimming spots in Abruzzo. It doesn’t look so, but who knows, maybe some crazy people enjoy bathing also there.
We spend some time enjoying nature and then the weather started being moody again, so we quickly walked back to the car.
Cascate di Cantagalli: Practical Info
- Distance: ~3 km total
- Time: 1–1.5 hours
- Starting point: Roadside pull-off on the SP47, near Casanova di Cortino
- Wear hiking shoes
- The trail is easy, in my opinion it’s family-friendly
- The path is in the forest, so there’s no sun
- No drinkable water there
- And no bears, at least the visible ones
If this post made you laugh, annoyed you, or just reminded you of your own trip, tell me in the comments or drop me an email. I actually want to hear about your experiences—the good and the frustrating.
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