The best hiking routes in Monte Catria - Monte Acuto

Monte Catria and Monte Acuto are two limestone peaks in the northern Apennines of the Marche region. The landscape changes sharply with elevation. The lower slopes are covered in dense hornbeam and beech forests, particularly the ancient beech woods of Fonte Avellana. Higher up, the trees give way to vast, wind-swept subalpine pastures and bare limestone pavements. This transition from deep forest cover to exposed, grassy ridges is the defining feature of the area, offering walkers a choice between shaded woodland tracks and open, stony ridge paths.

Underfoot, the terrain is dominated by loose limestone scree, gravel tracks, and clay-heavy soil in the forested valleys. The paths on the upper ridges are often rugged and uneven, requiring careful placement of feet on rocky steps. In May, the high meadows are filled with wild orchids and narcissi, contrasting with the grey rock. Unlike softer, rolling hills nearby, these peaks have steep, craggy profiles with dramatic sinkholes and karst depressions that show how water has dissolved the limestone over centuries.

While Monte Catria is the higher and more visited peak, accessible by several dirt roads, Monte Acuto offers a sharper, more pyramidal profile with narrower, quieter footpaths. Walkers should expect steep climbs on almost all routes, as there are very few flat valley walks here. The area is a working pastoral landscape, so you will regularly encounter grazing cattle and horses on the high meadows, alongside stone shelters used by shepherds.