Fossils Trail

The Fossils Trail owes its name to the findings that emerge among the Rocche sandy walls: shells or fragments, phyllites (leaves or logs of fossilized trees) and, pretty rarely, fishes. The trail runs along Caudana, the area renowned as the richest fossil field: its fossils are exhibited at the local Museums of Natural History.

The trail starts from piazza Roma along a long comfortable shaded descent into the undergrowth. Along the path, some outstanding exemplars of chestnut trees show off, together with a flora that turns from mesophilic to increasingly hygrophytic, i.e., typical of humid environments: ferns and plenty of white poplars extensively grow in this area. The landscape gradually changes in the valley floor, thus unveiling hikers an agricultural area, with cultivated fields, orchards and some houses scattered faraway. After having left hazel tree groves, strawberry greenhouses and apple tree groves, the trail gradually ascends along the hill slope offering an impressive stone ridge with some fossil shell outcrops.

Atop the hill, a large ancient ciabòt (a typical Roero tiny rural building) outstands, surrounded by vineyards, on the remains of the ancient Pulciano Castle, gone lost almost one thousand years ago. A gradual ascent across vineyards offers hikers a view of Monteu Roero village, where the ring trial ends.

TRAIL AUDIO GUIDE: to make use of the audio guide with integrated gpx track, you can download the free app Izi.Travel on your smartphone and activate the geolocation: in this way an automatic narration will be activated in the points of interest telling stories and curiosities.
Audio guide pre-viewable also on browser by clicking here.