The mule track was, until modern times, the shortest and most direct road connecting Giglio Castello to Giglio Porto. Once traveled on or with donkeys, today it is one of the most traveled, interesting and engaging trekking routes from both physical and sensory perspectives. As we travel along the 1480 m of paved road, the landscape and environment changes every few meters, as if by magic we find ourselves enveloped by the bush and soon after poised on the steep rock. The steepness of the hill leading up to the Castle, going up you can feel it all. Crops of olive trees alternate with panoramic views ofArgentario and the whole part of the Italian coast just opposite the island from Piombino to Montalto di Castro to, at times, Civitavecchia when the sky is just clear and Mount Amiata soars deep into the Maremma hinterland. Then when we least expect it, here it is, raising our heads, the Castle pops up, in its barest side and right on the slope of the hill. A Castle that from here looks like an inaccessible fortress, leaving no footholds for those who would attack it. Farmers once traveled this road together with their donkeys, laden with the fruits of their labor in the countryside. They would go to the Port to sell or exchange, grapes for fish, cabbage torso for seafood. Or to embark grapes on ships leaving for the continent.

It is recommended to approach this trail starting from a good physical training.

We also recommend, especially in the summer months to choose the less hot times of the day, although the trail is the many parts shady, to bring sufficient waterandperhaps a fruit to refresh you along the way. Once you arrive in Giglio Castello you will find everything you need, bars, groceries and even the source of wild drinking water at which to fill your water bottles and prepare for the return trip.