Gorges of La Verde Torrent

From the town of Samo, about 12 km far from Ionian SS106, it’s possible to make hiking to get the majestic gorges of the La Verde Torrent, which extend for about 3,5 km, with their high walls adorned by maidenhair fern (Capillus Venus) and by rare specimens of ferns (Woodwardia radicans, Osmunda regalis and Pteris vittata).
Starting from the small town of Samo, walking few kilometers from the main square to the river bed of La Verde Torrent, we can enjoy the panorama that overlooks the ruins of the ancient village of Precacore, the original rural settlement dating back to the Byzantine age.
The stream is characterized by a large bed and is dominated by the historic town of Ferruzzano and by the dense forest with holm oak, called Bosco Rudina. From the bed of the stream we reach a bridge, going beyond which, on the right side, we’ll be in front of the high rocky walls, the Aspromonte canyons. The wide bed of the stream, after about 800 m, gradually shrinks and the cliffs that surround it come closer together, overlapping and closing off the stream into narrow meanders.

Along the way there’s a succession of olive groves, oak forest and areas with dense shrubs, as far as we’ll reach the first precipice of Mount Palecastro, which will be followed on the one hand by those of Giulia and Ladro, and on the other hand the bare walls of Serro Schiavone, Mount Schiavo and Arioso. At the end of the gorges, the stream resumes all its majestic wideness.
About 150 m after the end of the gorges, on the left there’s a trail that goes up towards Serro Schiavone. You can decide to continue the hiking along the ascent of this trail, that allows hikers to look down on the gullies of La Verde Torrent with large landscapes and comes back to the bridge (closing the loop trail, longer), or you can decide to retrace the route in reverse, passing by the gorges once more, until you reach the bridge that served as the starting point of our hike (there and back route, shorter).