This stage crosses the eastern part of the Lucretili Mountains, with the two villages of Percile and Orvinio, and encounters one of the most evocative natural features of the park itself: the Percile Lakes. It then overlooks one of the left banks of the Licenza River and skirts the walls of another spectacular karst sinkhole: the Pozzo dei Casali.
Leaving the sunny village of Cineto Romano with its charming castle, after an initial stretch of dirt road, the trail becomes a beautiful path and, walking through alternating oak woods and clearings with picturesque views, you will also cross three streams. The view of Fraturno, the largest lake, invites you to stop for a break on its shores. Continuing on to the village of Percile, about halfway along the route, it is a wide and fairly easy walk.
From the square, descend the small road below, cross the provincial road and, after a turn, leave the dirt road heading north. After a while, the path takes on the appearance of an old mule track used to serve the land that was cultivated when the community of these villages worked and lived mainly off the produce of their land. It is a rural archaeology that can be perceived and recovered in the mind as you walk and observe the ancient dry stone walls, collapsed, interrupted, and transformed in their dimensions and geometry.
Continuing to climb, almost as a surprise and where the oak forest thins out, just below the path of the cliffs and rock walls, the edges of the wide circumference of the Pozzo dei Casali sinkhole are revealed. Stunning! The trail continues with wide curves, long traverses, and gentle slopes until it meets the ridge trail, trail marker 320, and a variant of the other multi-stage trek, the Via dei Lupi. Beyond, and still heading north, in half an hour you reach Orvinio, a picturesque village and the end of the stage.
This stage takes you to three delightful villages, almost equidistant from each other, at the beginning, middle, and end. Three villages that, from autumn to spring, experience more of the silence of the nature in which they are set than of words. Almost intact, two with wide panoramic views, they are corners to be rediscovered with respect. Reaching them on foot after so much healthy effort is one of the magical ingredients for rediscovering that balance that is often lost in large urban centers.
