DATASHEET:
Bicycle path 13%
Tarmac road 24%.
Paved/asphalted road 22%
White/steep road 12%
Mule track 1%
Trail 27%
Route style: FREE RIDE
Period of riding: ALL YEAR ROUTE
Coordinates Start/finish point: N45 47.295 E9 58.898
Maximum altitude: 1245 m Colletto Monte Sicolo
Positive height difference: 970 m
Distance covered: 19.4 km
Walking time: half a day
Technical difficulty: 4 out of 5
Physical effort: 3 out of 5
100% cyclable uphill
100% cyclable downhill
e-bike: YES
B&B and/or support points in villages along the route: refuges
water sources: Solto Collina, Fonteno, Forcella Nigoli.
ENDINE – FONTENO – MONTE SICOLO
A loop tour, with no faltering or half-ending; there are only two ways to go: up or down. After a decidedly tough climb that gives no respite, along the Torès mule track and then the Brugai path (in reality these are dirt roads, paved and paved), thanks to the sky between the two forks, from the Nigoli to Monte Sicolo, you relax on a wonderful singletrack that is almost all pedalable and with considerable panoramic views, both towards Lake Endine and Sebino. The descent is a long spectacular trail that will take you right back to the starting point.
ITINERARY DESCRIPTION
From the Endine cemetery (1), walk along the perimeter wall to the left of the entrance and follow the small road along the towpath of the Fossadone stream which soon becomes a dirt road. After fording the small (generally dry) valley, go up the stream, crossing a public green area characterised by the Civil Protection Volunteer Dog Exercise Area and a small lake. Continue along the towpath until you come to Via G. Paglia, where you turn left and take Via Campone to the right. When you reach the provincial road (via Gaiano) turn right and cycle to Solto Collina (2). Once in the village, turn right and follow the signs for Fonteno. The asphalt road begins to climb and, after about 700 metres, you will come to a shrine, located at the junction via Sales. A little further on, on the right, is a road that climbs steeply: take it and turn immediately to the left, following CAI path no. 567. Descend briefly along a path to a spring, cross the small valley, and pedal along a beautiful trench path that comes out on a dirt road. Follow the dirt track (CAI trail sign 567) and after a tear and some hairpin bend with a concrete-paved surface, begin a long diagonal that, with slight ascents and circumnavigating the Colle di Luen, will take you to the centre of the village of Fonteno (3). The views of Lake Iseo and the Fonteno Valley are endless.
The village, surrounded by greenery, is perched halfway up the mountain in a wonderful position. Go through the built-up area and, from the piazza, climb up via Campello to the little church of Divo Rocho, then continue to the right. The narrow asphalt road is nothing more than an aperitif of what awaits you: it leads you past the built-up area where the so-called “Mulattiera del Torès” begins, a completely paved road. Calmly and stubbornly climb up to Madonna del Santello (4), where a stop is a must. The mule track passes under the porch of the little church and continues. Fortunately, a few less steep sections allow you to catch your breath. At the first fork, climb to the right, following the sign “Sentiero dei Brugai” (5). This is a dirt road, with the steepest sections cemented in concrete, that climbs the slopes of Monte Boér, winding with 15 hairpin bends through the Brugai forest. At its end, you will come across a shrine and a small water fountain; just beyond it, turn right to reach the ridge, at the fork in the Nigoli locality (6), intercept the ridge path that joins Monte Boér to Monte Sicolo and Torrezzo: turn left towards the latter. The difference in altitude is all behind you now, and apart from two short sections to push, the rest is easy pedalling.
To the right of the gate that closes the road, your path climbs, CAI marker 568. After the short pushing section, along the northern slopes of the ridge, you ascend and descend by pedalling. Shortly afterward, you return to the ridge and cross a clearing with a hut (be careful during hunting periods). Along the southern slopes of Monte Sicolo (7), at “La Fopa del Còl” you will come across information panels about the immense underground karst system known as “Bueno Fonteno – Nueva Vida”, a paradise for cavers. The path continues and, after a second short push, you return to the saddle and descend to a dirt road; follow it to the right until reaching the hamlet of Casini near the saddle of Monte Sicolo, where the descent begins. (If you continue along the road, you will instead reach Monte Torrezzo, on whose slopes the tarmac road arrives from the Colli di San Fermo). The entire descent, marked CAI 620, is spectacular and offers a remarkable variety of terrain. It starts with a technical track with steep sections, both on rocky and uneven ground, and narrow hairpin bends where it is necessary to master technique and nosepress well.
When you reach the clearing of the Sicolo hut (8), which offers a remarkable view of the Valgandino mountains and towards Bossico, descend to the roccolo. From here begins an enjoyable and flowing section. You travel fast on a generally beaten earth surface: long diagonals alternate with narrow hairpin bends until you reach the wide meadows of Parete Alto (9). Here, the path becomes a steep trench with a loose surface and some technical passages that lead you to a beautiful track on the edge of the meadow. Follow it until you reach the dirt track that serves the Parete Alto farmsteads and descend, following the CAI signs and ignoring the deviations. Alternatively, you can walk along a stretch path from an altitude of 500 metres to the small bridge over the Valle del Ferro (10). When you come to a hairpin bend from which the dirt road branches off to the right, continue, and shortly afterward, on the edge of the forest, following a row of linden trees bordering the meadow, follow a track that becomes increasingly faint.
Approximately always on the border between meadow and forest, you descend near a farmstead into the hollow dominated by a high-tension pylon. A fence does not allow you to continue into the meadow, so descend to the lowest point of the hollow, to the right of the pylon, until you spot the trail that leads into the forest. This last short path, which meanders through a pine forest, leads back to the road you left before. When you reach the small bridge and the Ford over the Ferro valley, turn left and descend along a dirt track that runs alongside the valley, which is characterised by large pools of crystal-clear water. The dirt track ends on Via Paglia, from where you resume the towpath you took at the beginning, which will take you back to the start.
GPX TRACK – MTB ROUTE ON MONTE SICOLO
Credits: bibliography “MTB from Bergamo to the Endine and Iseo Lakes” Versante Sud Editions
