Monte Amaro
2,793 m
Italy
Also known as Majella, Maiella, +1Also known as
Majella · Maiella · Маелла
- Elevation
- 2,793 m
- Prominence
- 1,812 m
- Difficulty
- 3/10
- Mountain hike
- Best Season
- Jul–Sep
- Routes
- 2
WorksReported 1 Oct 2026
The new Bivacco Pelino on the summit of Monte Amaro was inaugurated on 1 October 2026 and the Park says it will be open all year. The old dome had been closed on 19 August 2025 and dismantled; installation resumed on 15 June 2026.
neveappennino.itRegulationReported 5 Oct 2026
After the bivouac inauguration the Park warned that dogs (banned in Zone A) and mountain bikes (only on designated routes) had been taken to the summit, and said images would be passed to the Carabinieri Forestali.
neveappennino.it
Routes
2Sources differ: EE (CAI) (VieNormali.it; Maiella National Park) · EEA (waterwind.it)
The usual route to the Maiella's highest summit, Monte Amaro (2,793 m): a long, waterless ridge walk of about 12 km each way from the road end at Rifugio Pomilio (about 1,890 m) over the Blockhaus, Monte Focalone and the three saddles of the Tre Portoni, with 1,200–1,450 m of net ascent and much up and down. 9½–11 hours return, or two days with a night in the summit bivouac.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 12.5 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +1,227 m
- −325 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 2,793 m
- Time Up
- 6h 18m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 5h 06m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From the road end at Rifugio Bruno Pomilio on the Maielletta (about 1,890 m), above Passo Lanciano, follow path 1 south to just below the top of the Blockhaus (about 2,140 m, 30 minutes) and over Monte Cavallo (2,171 m). A long, steepening ridge climbs past Bivacco Fusco (2,455 m), off the path to the left above the Anfiteatro delle Murelle, to Monte Focalone (2,676 m), about 2½ hours from the start, where Monte Amaro comes into view. The route then crosses the high, stony plateau of the massif: down to the first saddle (Primo Portone), up over Cima Pomilio (2,656 m), down through the second Portone, around Monte Rotondo and through the third (about 2,550 m), then onto a plateau at about 2,650 m and up a broad ridge to the summit and the red dome of Bivacco Pelino. Allow 5–5½ hours up. Short sections of grade I rock and lingering snowfields may be met; the terrain is otherwise rough path and scree, not always well marked. Return the same way (4–5 hours, with several re-ascents), or arrange a car and descend east to Fara San Martino through the very long Vallone di Santo Spirito. There is no reliable water after the start: the fountain before Bivacco Fusco is often broken by winter ice. The route is entirely exposed to sun and wind, and mist on the featureless plateau makes navigation difficult. Many parties split the trip with a night in the bivouac on the summit, rebuilt and reopened on 1 October 2026.
Start
Rifugio Pomilio1,891 m
- No practical public transport to Rifugio Pomilio; buses run from Pescara and Chieti to Pretoro and Lettomanoppello, far below. A car is needed.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rifugio Pomilio → Monte Amaro | 12.5 | 1,227 | 325 | 6h 18m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Rifugio Pomilio1,891 m
- Shoulder: Blockhaus2,073 m
Path passes just below the top
- Feature: Monte Cavallo2,154 m
- Bivouac: Bivacco Fusco2,452 m
Slightly off the main path
- Feature: Monte Focalone2,677 m
- Col: Tre Portoni2,651 m
Series of three saddles; coordinates are those of Monte Tre Portoni
- Summit: Monte Amaro2,793 m
Key Passages
- Steep ridge from Monte Cavallo to Monte Focalone
- Tre Portoni saddles (repeated descents and re-ascents)
- Final broad ridge to the summit
Equipment
0/9 packedDownloads
Route confidence 75%Overview
The Maiella is a vast limestone massif in Abruzzo whose highest point, Monte Amaro (2,793 m), is the second-highest summit of the Apennines. No technical difficulty, but every route is a long, waterless day of 20–28 km over a stony, lunar plateau.
The Maiella (Majella) rises between Sulmona, Chieti and the Adriatic coast and is the centre of the Maiella National Park, also a UNESCO Global Geopark. Locals call it the 'Montagna Madre'. Its top is a high, rolling karst plateau above 2,500 m, cut by deep gorges and scree gullies ('rave') on the west and long valleys on the east. The highest point, Monte Amaro (2,793 m), stands near the western edge, above Pacentro and the Passo San Leonardo; the summit carries the red dome of Bivacco Pelino and the ruins of earlier huts.
The ascent is a walk, but a serious one. The usual approach starts at the road end near Rifugio Pomilio on the Maielletta and follows the crest over the Blockhaus, Monte Focalone and the Tre Portoni saddles, about 12 km each way. From the south-west, a steeper route climbs from the woods near Campo di Giove to the Forchetta di Maiella and up the Valle di Femmina Morta. From the east, long valleys lead up from Fara San Martino and Taranta Peligna. There is almost no water on any route once the snow has gone, and no shade.
The reward is solitude, a strange high-altitude landscape with chamois and rare flora, and views that reach the Gran Sasso, the Morrone and the Adriatic. Many walkers split the trip with a night in the summit bivouac, which was rebuilt and reopened in October 2026.
Climbing Notes
Fitness is the main requirement: expect 1,200–1,600 m of net ascent (much more cumulatively on the Blockhaus route), 20–28 km and 9–11 hours on foot. Carry all your water, start at dawn, and have a map or GPS track: the plateau is featureless in mist, waymarks are sparse in places and summer thunderstorms leave no shelter except the bivouacs and Grotta Canosa. Snowfields can linger into early summer, and the road to Rifugio Pomilio may be blocked by snow until late spring.
A two-day trip with a night in Bivacco Pelino (unstaffed, always open; bring a sleeping bag, food and water) makes the ascent far more relaxed. The Maiella National Park runs guided ascents with mountain leaders in summer. In winter Monte Amaro is a ski-mountaineering objective via the western 'rave' and the Taranta valley, with significant avalanche risk.
History
A 13th-century papal bull of Honorius III calls the mountain 'mons Malus'. In 1890 the summit, then private pasture, was donated to CAI Rome, which built the Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele II there the same year; it passed to CAI Chieti in 1937. In spring 1944 German forces occupied the summit with an observation post and a cable car from Campo di Giove; partisans of the Brigata Maiella sabotaged the cable car and directed RAF Spitfire attacks that destroyed the hut. CAI Sulmona built Bivacco Falco Maiorano in 1964–1966; it was swept away by a storm in 1974. The red geodesic dome of Bivacco Cesare Mario Pelino was inaugurated on 18 July 1982, closed as unusable on 19 August 2025 and replaced by a new, larger dome inaugurated on 1 October 2026.
Season
Best Jul–Sep- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Possible
- May: Possible
- June: Good
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Best (best window)
- October: Good
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; ski-mountaineering only, avalanche risk
- Feb
- Winter; ski-mountaineering only
- Mar
- Ski-touring in the western rave and Taranta valley for experienced parties
- Apr
- Spring snow; road to Rifugio Pomilio may still be blocked
- May
- Large snowfields on the plateau; some springs running
- Jun
- Long days; snow patches, flowers
- Jul
- Best conditions; start early, no water or shade on the plateau
- Aug
- Hot at lower levels; afternoon thunderstorms
- Sep
- Stable weather, cooler
- Oct
- Good until the first snow; short days for a 10-hour walk
- Nov
- First snow and ice
- Dec
- Winter
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- No staffed hut on the routes. Bivacco Pelino on the summit and Bivacco Fusco on the Blockhaus route are unstaffed and cannot be booked.
- Rules
- Maiella National Park: pets are banned in Zone A (integral reserve); the Park reported dogs at the summit bivouac to the Carabinieri Forestali in October 2026
- Maiella National Park: mountain bikes only on routes designated by the Park
- National park rules apply; stay on marked paths
- Getting There
Pretoro and Caramanico Terme (Blockhaus side); Campo di Giove and Pacentro (south-west side); Sulmona
Abruzzo Airport, Pescara (PSR)
- Blockhaus route: A14 exit Pescara Sud-Francavilla or A25 exit Scafa, then via Pretoro or Lettomanoppello to Passo Lanciano and the road end at Rifugio Pomilio (Maielletta)
- Fonte Romana route: from Sulmona or Pacentro to Campo di Giove and the road towards Passo San Leonardo
- No practical public transport to either trailhead
Hazards
- Weather
- Remoteness
- Avalanche
Huts & Shelters
2- 2,455 m
Bivacco FuscoBivouacUnstaffed
- 2,793 m
Bivacco PelinoBivouacUnstaffed
Always open (new structure from 1 October 2026)