Buca del Bandito – Laghetto delle Conche
Description
The Reka holiday village in Ortano is an ideal starting point for the tour, though the loop can just as easily begin in nearby Rio Marina. In both cases, you first climb the road up to Rio nell'Elba and continue on to the La Planche Pass, where the road would normally ride toward the north coast. Instead, keep right and continue climbing on a gravel path up to the secondary summit of Monte Capannello. The view from this vantage point of the north coast and the entire eastern part of Elba is simply outstanding. From the summit, the route then descends on a somewhat slippery S2 trail to Passo del Croce and from there continues downhill on a smooth supertrail to the eastern side of Elba’s northern tip. This trail has truly epic qualities in its upper section, but becomes quite a bit rougher further down. It finally ends at an asphalt road, which you follow down to Nisporto.
In Nisporto, the long asphalt climb to Aia di Cacio begins, where the next downhill trail is already waiting. This leads down as a fast S2 trail to the asphalt road, which you then follow uphill for a bit until a path branches off to the left. This quickly turns out to be a challenging uphill trail. Experienced e-mountain bikers tackle the 70-meter climb in the saddle; everyone else pushes their bike for this short stretch. But the effort is definitely worth it! Ahead lies the Dragut Trail, a varied and fun ride at the best S2 level that guarantees pure riding enjoyment. The trail leads down to the coastal road, where you can roll back to Rio Marina at a leisurely pace. One final trail remains: the home stretch to Ortano. To reach it, follow the narrow road high above the coast, which soon turns into a gravel road and later into a trail. After a short climb, the path hugs the steep mountainside in spectacular fashion, while the turquoise-blue Mediterranean shimmers far below. The trail finally ends right on the beach of the resort.
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
29 km
1040 m
1040 m
4 above sea level
488 above sea level
1 day
Rio Marina
Rio Marina
3725
well suited
More information
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User comments (1)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
An absolutely fantastic ride that includes three top-notch trails: Buca del Bandito, Vignola, and Dragut—if you choose that option. In my opinion, it’s a must-ride if you’re on Elba. At the 15.9 km mark, you can ride the Mezza Strega Trail by making a U-turn and following the sign. When you reach a dirt road, ride down it and do not continue following the trail. As soon as you reach the road, take a sharp left uphill, and after four switchbacks, you’ll return to the same spot on the original route where you turned off. Alternatively, you can also start the tour from Magazzini.