First Stage of the GTE

The itinerary of the GTE begins from the village of Cavo, the northernmost and closest to the mainland. From the seafront of Cavo, take a signposted road that leads in a few minutes to the entrance of a trail.

After about 1.5 km, on reaching a crossroads, turn onto the path on the right: a very short detour allows you to admire the Tonietti Mausoleum, Elba’s only Art Nouveau monument. Returning to the crossroads, take the GTE trail again.

After passing Monte Lentisco and Serrone, the first demanding climb leads to the summit of Monte Grosso, 344 metres above sea level, where "Il Semaforo" once stood, an important military observation post, now transformed into a luxury residence.

From the summit there is a stunning panorama: to the east the village of Cavo, the three islets between Elba and the mainland, Topi, Palmaiola and Cerboli, and, beyond the Piombino Channel, the Italian coast; to the west, the entire northern side of the Elba coast.

The route then descends along a steep slope until it skirts the provincial road of Parata. It crosses the Valle delle Fiche along a pleasant series of ups and downs and then reaches Aia di Cacio, where the trail meets the road leading to Nisporto and Nisportino.

From here, in just a few minutes, you can reach the Orto dei Semplici and the hermitage of Santa Caterina.

After crossing the road, the trail resumes and you face the second climb of the day: a short but steep stony stretch leading to Monte Strega (427 m) and to a pleasant high-level traverse with spectacular views over Rio Elba. You then reach Passo della Croce (342 m) and climb again to Monte Capannello (408 m), another fine viewpoint from which you can admire the two sides (eastern and western) of the island at the same time.

A few metres lower down, the trail leads to the Panche pinewood, from where the route climbs again towards the highest peak on this side: Cima del Monte, 502 metres. Once at the summit, the panorama is majestic, dominating the whole of eastern Elba and in particular the Volterraio castle and the bay of Portoferraio.

After taking the descent with views over Porto Azzurro, shortly afterwards you come respectively to the junctions with trail no. 220 and trail no. 205 (for expert hikers), which leads to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Monserrato.

Continuing along the GTE, after about 15.5 km from the start, you reach the junction with trail no. 210, which descends through the vineyards and in about 30 minutes leads to Porto Azzurro.

GTE Map: Cavo - Porto Azzurro