Airy Block Scrambling over Le Calanche

The island of Elba offers an appealing mountain tour with short sections of easy scrambling, via the route over Le Calanche to Monte Capanne. The path is secured with ropes in a few places and is marked as a Via Ferrata in the Kompass hiking map, which doesn’t quite match the nature of the tour. Nevertheless, only experienced hikers should attempt it. The picnic area on Monte Perone, which is crossed by the scenic road from Campo nell’ Elba to Poggio, makes an ideal starting point for a half-day tour. The tour can also be included as a variation of the entire island crossing GTE, as a traverse of the entire massif, or as a round trip with longer ascents from Poggio. Emerging from the dense mountain forest of Monte Perone, I soon reach the more open ridge of Monte Maolo, where the path becomes increasingly rocky. Soon, the path branches off to the left, leading to the most challenging section with easy scrambling over boulders, slabs, and ledges up the ridge, through several gaps, all the way to the summit cross of Le Calanche (905 m). The view is magnificent; to the south, the bay of Marina di Campo opens up, and to the east, I can survey the entire island of Elba. Only to the west does Monte Capanne obstruct the view towards Corsica.

Over further rock steps and ledges, I descend to the saddle between Le Calanche and Monte Capanne, before reaching the more bustling summit of Monte Capanne via block fields, and steeply sloping rock slabs and ledges. From there, I can retrace the entire ascent route (image left).

After a long break, I take path No. 2 past the cable car and the bar, descending a few metres in altitude towards Poggio, before turning right onto path No. 5. I then traverse the eastern flank of Monte Capanne and the northern flank of Le Calanche through mountain forest and scree, to then ascend via stone steps to Monte Maolo and return to the car park on the way back. Overall, it’s a highly recommended tour that highlights the island’s diverse outdoor activities.

Read more pictures and reports about Elba or take a look at the Elba gallery.