Sunday 20th September 2026
Cravanzana to Benevello
Wow what a win woke at 400am and dozed till 500am, I must be slowly beating the Sleep God.
Readied ourself for a day where we would go down 600 metres and then up again 800 metres to our mountain top destination of Benevello.
Breakfast was pretty scant and no offer of a packed lunch so a quick visit to the Market had our supplies to sustain us for the 15.7km journey. With hotter weather predicted the pack was a tad heavier with extra water.
Amazing feeling to start the day with a downhill walk, initially on tarmac and then paths through hazelnut plantations. This area of the Langhe concentrates mainly on nuts with a smattering of wine. Like in the wine areas every piece of useable land as far as the eye could see was under cultivation. They value the crop with most planting protected by electric fences and catching nets along the outside to make sure none fall out for the scavengers.
They sure look after the plantations with most of the ground covered in hay to prevent weeds and retain moisture.
We did have a first today when a pungent smell led us to a barn full of very healthy cows who must live a barn only life and feed on grain,
It was a typical Sunday in Italy with the air full of the roar of motorcycles and echo of gunshots. Seems everyone wants to be Moto GP rider or a candidate to join the DJT Assasination Squad. The bikers like nothing better than to come as close as possible when passing you on the road.
With a fair bit of the last downward stretch on windy roads they had plenty of opportunities. Looking at some of the permanent and temporary railings protecting them from 200 metre falls some may have cheated death on a few occasions.
The funniest budding racer was a guy laying his Lambretta down as he challenged the corners- at his speed he was lucky to stay upright.
At the bottom of the hill was a cafe/bar heaving with motor cyclists off all ages fitted out in team leathers, along with the Lycra clad cyclists and the pole clinking hikers.
It was situated adjacent to a 300 metre long bridge that forded a river that would make the Torrens in Adelaide look like the Nile. Ironically it was named Belbo Torrento . As we crossed a cavalcade of vintage sports cars paraded by with all the drivers looking cool as you would expect in Italy.
Crossing the bridge was the beginning of a couple of hours plugging our way uphill on different surfaces often weaving in and out of mountain side plantations and forested areas. Halfway up was an ideal stopping point to rehydrate and watch our Swedish hate mates pass by after them taking a shortcut.
The track was nowhere near as tough as yesterday ,surface wise, but it was steeper and longer. The lungs sure got a workout as did the eyes as the higher elevation opened up more amazing views.
Amazing was the right word when you looked across some of the tallest mountains in Piedmont including Monte Viso at 3800 metres sitting amongst a huge backdrop of mountains in the Alps. The locals say it was the mountain used in the Paramount Pictures logo- who were we to challenge.
The long and winding downward trip had us in Benevello where the hares were enjoying a drink so we decided a wine and a 660ml bottle of beer would be enough to see us through the 500 metres or so to our accommodation.
Ahan the accommodation was splendid with large rooms, a pool and plenty of room to sit in the sun and take in the majestic views.
We managed a swim,sun bake and a couple of aperitivo’s watching a magnificent sunset before enjoying another lovely meal and bottle of local white wine.
Tomorrow promises another wnderful days walking with only 250 metres of elevation to conquer in a 17 km walk – ot might even have a 2 km short cut which we could consider.
Apologies for lack of photos – trying to resolve a dispute between Google and WordPress regarding photo sharing
