Precious Puglia – a Southern Italian Adventure

SUMMARY

Dates:Friday October 13th to Friday October 20th  7 nights/6 days walking

We walk from Lecce to Matera a distance of 72 km going from south to north up the heel of Italy. There are minimal ascents and descents but you need to be able to walk up to 19km per day. There will be lots of stops and visits along the way as you discover Puglia and this unique area of Trulli houses.

Guide:Local English speaking Italian guide

Walking Grade: 2 Goats – prepare for long days out and you will need to be fit for walking up to 19km on one day.

Base: We stay in four very special traditional hotels of the area as we walk to different locations to give you the best experience of this region. All our hotels are 3 or 4 stars.

• Lecce : Grand Hotel di Lecce
• Ostuni: Relais Sant’Eligio
• Alberobello: Trullidea Resort
• Matera: Sassi Hotel

Arrival: Bari Airport for the group transfer meeting a London flight at 20.00.

There is a RyanAir flight departing London Stansted 16.20 arriving Bari at 20.00 which some people are travelling on.

Departure: Bari Airport for the 20.25 Ryan Air flight to London Stansted.

Price:£1625 per person per holiday for this unique trip ( this price is for solo occupancy )

If you bring a friend and share a room there is a discount of £200 per person. Total price £1425 per person.

Our holidays are small group holidays and this is limited to 12 women.

What’s included:

• 7 nights in ensuite solo occupancy room
• Breakfasts
• Dinners day 1 and 7 (drinks not included)
• Tasting of farm products day 3
• Group Transfer IN and Transfer OUT from Bari Airport
• All local travel required for our walks
• Luggage transportation hotel to hotel so you only need day packs
• Local experienced guide during the holiday and with the group at dinners

What’s not included:

• Lunches and dinners on 5 nights – there are reasonably priced restaurants and shops around and your guide will advise you
• Drinks
• Entrance fees and tips and any Hotel tourist taxes

Not included is travel to Italy where the nearest airport is Bari. You can fly to Bríndisi where pick ups can be arranged at an additional cost. It is possible to travel from the UK by train going via Paris to Rome and on to Naples and onwards to Bari. If you have time.  We can advise.

This is the holiday for those wishing for an adventure discovering the most southern region of Italy. Experiencing the area with a local guide is not to be missed!

DETAILS

Our local partner Claudia tells us that walking is the best way to experience this region. To slowly meander along country paths to see beautiful views , marvel at hidden places and experience the authentic Puglia.

We stay in Unesco towns, walk beside the beautiful Adriatic Sea , visit Trulli houses, taste local produce and learn about the history of this wonderful area. All whilst we walk on country paths between these four towns of Puglia.

ITINERARY

IMPORTANT: Due to organisational reasons, weather conditions or local conditions  the itinerary may change. Our guide will brief you each day on the following days activities and inform if anything has to change.

Day 1 – Arrival at our starting point in Lecce 
Land at the airport in Bari, you will arrive in Lecce with a private transfer (about 2hrs). Welcome briefing(time permitting) and discover a little of Lecce, a city that will surprise with its peculiar Baroque style and the whiteness of its stones.
Overnight and dinner in Lecce.

Day 2 – Lecce – Otranto – Lecce (9km, +100m -100m)
After breakfast, together with the guide, you will transfer to Otranto (about 40min): you spend the day in and around the most eastern city of Italy, which has always been a link between East and West.
Down the coast there will be unexpected discoveries and unspoiled landscapes until you see the most eastern tip of Italy: the fascinating Cape of Otranto. Here the currents of the two seas, Adriatic and Ionian, separate and come together in an incredible scenery. Head back to Otranto not before an impressive detour to its, now famous, abandoned bauxite quarry or Blue Lake for a breathtaking picture.
Returning to Lecce by private transfer (about 40min).

Day 3 Ostuni and the Natural Park Dune Costiere (12km, +230m -110m)
After breakfast, transfer (about 1hr) to an old farmhouse in the Natural Park Dune Costiere, the starting point of today’s walk.
You will hike through fields: here the soil is rich and fertile, and each season is able to produce an incredible variety of fruits and crops. After a short tasting break in a small family-run farm surrounded by all this nature, you will continue up the hills, through the forest, climbing slowly towards the white Ostuni and its hilltop old town.
The area is very important for the findings that prove human presence in the area since the Paleolithic.
Overnight in Ostuni, the “White City”.

Day 4 – 16 Oct. Ostuni – Locorotondo – Alberobello (13km, +110m -140m)
After breakfast, private transfer (about 40min) to the Itria Valley, a territory that tries to maintainthe ancient balance between humanity and nature, by focusing on a local development that emphasizes its architectural and craft peculiarities.
Today the path will take us to the village of Locorotondo via a walk onto the Greenway of Puglia Aqueduct, the longest aqueduct in Europe. The historic centre is made of concentric lanes and unusual low-roof houses, the “cummerse”.
From Locorotondo a short train ride (15min) back to Alberobello to sleep among the typical ‘Trullo’ houses.

Day 5 – 17 Oct. Alberobello – Martina Franca (19km, +210m -230m)
Today’s walk will start from Alberobello to proceed southwards along country roads and short stretches of gently sloping paths.
One of the most beautiful views will be the Bosco Selva, the “green heart” of the area and a rare example of the vast oak forest that once covered the entire surrounding area. Continuing towards Martina Franca, among the high dry stone walls typical of this area and the wide pastures that preserve ancient Trulli, you will climb to Monte San Martino to reach the elegant old town, a splendid example of Puglia Baroque art.

Return to Alberobello for overnight by public transports (train or bus-about 20min).

Day 6 – 18 Oct. The Park of Rock Churches (11km, +320m -320m)
After breakfast  you will transfer (about 1hr10min) to the surroundings of Matera. Hiking down and up the ravine and coming up to Murgia Timone, inside the Natural Park Chiese Rupestri (Rock Churches) of Matera. Today’s route will take us along an enchanting panoramic trail, where we will havestunning views over the Sassi, and see frescoes and cave churches.
Overnight in the beautiful Matera.

Day 7 – 19 Oct. Matera – Gravina – Matera (8km, +320m -320m)
After breakfast we travel by public transport (about 40min) to Gravina in Puglia, defined by Frederick II of Swabia as a “garden of delights”. From the Duomo, we will see  the beautirful view of the canyon (the “gravina”)  with the aqueduct bridge and the rocky villages, and the sound of the water flowing in the background.
Return to Matera by train (about 50min) for the last overnight and a typical dinner.

 Day 8 – 20 Oct. Matera
After breakfast, you will be free to explore Matera until your private transfer from Matera to Bari airport.

Matera is a Unesco site since 1991 and the European Capital of Culture 2019: It is a unique destination and you will find plenty to see as you saunter its incredible ‘streets’

Matera is also where several well known films were filmed:

Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” (2004) Catherine Hardwicke’s “The Nativity Story” (2006)Timur Bekmambetov’s “Ben-Hur” (2016) And Cary Fukunaga’s “James Bond: No Time to Die” (2021)