BARATTI: BUCA DELLE FATE, TREKKING AND BATHING IN THE LEGEND
Along the trekking trails that lead to one of the most beautiful bays in Tuscany, surrounded by Mediterranean scrub, crags and bewitching songs.
As intimate as it is enchanting, the Buca delle Fate is a tiny inlet in the Maremma coast. The bay is a break in the splendid Etruscan Coast: its rocky walls overlook the sea, wedged between its crystalline waters, created by the salt and the wind and softened by the seductive song of the Sirens.
This tiny lost paradise, soaked in charm and history, can be found near the ancient village of in Piombino, a little less than an hour’s drive from Punta Ala.
Legend has it that these places were inhabited by strange creatures and sirens who, with their charm and melodious song, bewitched the fishermen who cut through the waters of the bay, to capture them and prevent their return to the mainland. Similar legends and other fantastic stories gave this enchanting land an equally enchanting name – Buca delle Fate (Fairy’s Grotto).
An inlet so fascinating as to appear difficult to reach. Nothing could be further from the truth, or so pleasing. Immersed in a beautiful holly oak wood and typical Mediterranean scrubland, which in the spring blossoms perfumes and colour, you can reach the Buca delle Fate with an easy 20 minute trek by foot.
TREKKING TO THE BUCA DELLE FATE
Following the road that leads to Populonia Alta and just under a kilometre from here, to your left you will find a dirt track car park where you can leave your car, in “Il Reciso”.
At the beginning to the dirt track next to the car park a signpost directs you to the various paths, including the one to the Buca delle Fate. Coasting the carpark, turn right at the first two junctions. You should follow track 301 CAI which leads unambiguously to the beautiful bay which is especially magical at sunset.
First, however, we cross a piece of history emblazoned with the Etruscan touch: along the way you will find the underground tombs of a necropolis built over the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 2nd centuries BC. Continuing, the wood opens up onto shrub land and immediately onto breath-taking views over the sea and the coast.
And here you are treated to the spectacle of the Buca delle Fate, where you can relax and enjoy sublime landscapes, accompanied by the whisper of the sea or even, perhaps, the sirens themselves.
The return journey may take up to around ten minutes more than the way out due to the easy climb. Alternatively, you can take a loop to return to the car park, extending the trek and also increasing the climb but only by a little; by doing so you will also pass the splendid adjacent bay of Cala San Quirico.
From the Buca delle Fate, you take track 302 that descends along the coastline and coincides for a stretch with the Via dei Cavalleggeri.
In just a few minutes you are at Cala San Quirico, where perhaps you can even enjoy a relaxing swim. To return, take the path at the beginning of the bay that winds through the vegetation: the path climbs, leading us back to our departure point. A typical local dinner is the perfect way to end the day before returning to sleep under the stars.
Return Itinerary Buca delle Fate
- Distance: 2.0 km
- Altitude: 108 metres above sea level
- Difficulty level: easy
Loop Itinerary Buca delle Fate – Cala San Quirico
- Distance: 2.4 km
- Altitude: 115 metres
- Difficulty level: easy
Recommended equipment: trekking or sports shoes, min. 1.5 lt. water bottle, min. 20 lt. rucksack, bathing costume.
il Reciso car park, trekking departure point
