Monte Forato – a hole in the mountain

Today we got up early to head off into the Apuan Alps and do some hiking up to Monte Forato, an extraordinary natural arch formed at the top of a mountain that makes it seem like a hole was made at its peak. On clear days, the hole in the mountain can be seen from the Serchio valley, especially when the sun is setting behind the mountain range 🙂 .

We started off from Fornovolasco, a small medieval village at the foot of the mountain. The day was sunny and a bit warm, it was a good climb up to the peak… and then all of a sudden, as we were starting off from Monte Forato along the crest, a summer thunderstorm rolled out of the north! With lightning and thunder over our heads, we headed back down very carefully but could not avoid getting a good soak – it was quite an adventure! We’ll write more about our hike as soon as we can, letting you know what paths we took and posting some pictures in case you’re interested in trying it yourself.

That’s all for now, we are quite tired and are sure to rest well tonight :).

About Lourdes Flores

An American living in Florence for over 10 years, Lourdes continues to explore and discover new places in Tuscany with the eyes of a tourist but with the experience of living in Italy. She shares her experiences on this blog and website, particularly offering lots of travel planning help on the Forum!