Palermo is located near natural areas and plateaus that hide many trails for all levels. Just take a look at the departures from the port of Civitavecchia (one of the largest on the peninsula), board your bike and take note of the most popular routes to visit Palermo by bike.
The first site we want to tell you about is the Favorita Park, the second largest in Italy after the Parco Appia Antica Roma. It is an amazing park that reaches heights of up to six hundred meters and also includes the promontory of Monte Pellegrino.
It connects to Palermo from the northern coast, where the most popular beach in Palermo is located: Mondello. It is a green urban lung that once served as the private garden of King Ferdinand where he himself would get lost on horse trails or go hunting.
From a reserve, it has transformed into a very green forest that allows for long walks, trekking, hiking, and adventurous bike excursions for which you can start directly from the center of Palermo.
Il Monte Pecoraro towers over Cinisi and is one of the highest in the North West of Sicily with its nearly one thousand meters of height. From the summit, it is possible to see even the snow-capped peak of Etna when the sky is clear and blue… basically from that height you can see almost the entire island!
The mountain is a combination of rocks, wooded bands, and native vegetation of great value. Additionally, it is equipped with trekking and biking trails that, from time to time, will take you to wonderful and thrilling views.
If you are looking for an alternative and exciting path, you absolutely must try the Ruins of the Abbey of San Giorgio. We are talking about a route of almost two kilometers that stretches over an elevation difference of about thirty meters and is considered easy to walk.
From the highest part of the inhabited center of Gratteri, near the castle, there is a dirt road heading south that allows you to reach the iconic remains of the Abbey surrounded by oaks and shrubs. These ruins are a testimony to the reformed Augustinian settlements around 1100. The Abbey was founded by Duke Roger and is also an important testimony of the Norman and Byzantine past given the style that distinguishes it.
Continuing from the Abbey, it is possible to also continue towards the path that reaches Pizzo di Pilo and Rocca del Monaco on foot or by bike routes that will take you to the delightful village of Collesano. Here you can stop for a snack and enjoy the warm hospitality of the locals.
Finally, we suggest you stop by the Madonie, a mountainous area east of Palermo and just steps from the coast overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. Here rises one of the main massifs, the Carbonara, which reaches nearly two thousand meters in height and ranks second after Etna among the highest mountains on the island. With the establishment of the Madonie Park in 1989, the area has gained increasing interest from hikers, geology scholars, and nature lovers.
The Park is foremost for the incredible biodiversity it offers its visitors and extends over forty thousand hectares inhabited by more than 1400 different plant species. This richness is due to the rapid transition from high altitudes to the sea and, therefore, includes many micro-ecosystems coexisting with each other.
