Sakra
Long before this valley had a name on any map, someone had already chosen a god for it. A temple at the foot of a cliff, a spring, a line of footsteps that still bring here the people looking for something the big itineraries never reach. Sakra follows that line: an Italic temple, a Franciscan abbey, two hermitages cut into rock, and the villages of the Valle Subequana that still hold them.
OUR SIGNATURE PACKAGE
A package to visit a comunity and be part of it
Every village in the Valle Subequana has a long memory. This one starts long before the Romans arrived, when priestesses are said to have kept rites in tune with the seasons and the stars. A temple at the foot of a cliff, a hermitage cut into rock, a wood crossed by a river: traces that Abruzzo's inland, in the Valle Subequana, still holds.
The villages here didn't just preserve these places. They wove them into their own rites, their seasons, into murals that still tell the same stories on stone walls today. Sakra is not a history lecture. It's a week spent understanding why these places still look this way, why people eat what they eat, and why those who live here carry that past with a quiet pride.
You sleep in Castel di Ieri, the heart of the journey, and move out each day into a different landscape. Between a craft workshop, a local meal and a story told out loud, Sakra is also a journey inward: time, in places that have stayed untouched, to let the parts of ourselves that daily noise keeps asleep rise back to the surface.
Themes
History and places
A temple from the 4th century BC, an abbey from the 1200s, two hermitages set into the rock, a wood crossed by a river, murals that still tell those stories on the village walls. Not ruins to look at from a distance: places you walk into, often with the people who have kept them standing.
Community and Slow Days
These are the same people rebuilding and promoting the villages, and they are the ones telling their story. Seven days with room to breathe. A free afternoon in a historic centre, a pizza dinner cooked the way the village cooks it, a packed lunch out on the Prati del Sirente.
Inward journey
The hands-on moments, a craft workshop, a local meal, a story told out loud: they don't just fill the days. They're how you fall into step with places that have stayed untouched, where it's easier to let the parts of ourselves that daily noise keeps asleep rise back to the surface.
THE ITINERARY
A valley ready to be discovered
Long before this valley had a name on any map, someone had already chosen a god for it. A temple at the foot of a cliff, a spring, a line of footsteps that still bring here the people looking for something the big itineraries never reach. Sakra follows that line: an Italic temple, a Franciscan abbey, two hermitages cut into rock, and the villages of the Valle Subequana that still hold them.
Day 1 - Castel di Ieri and its tower
Castel di Ieri
You arrive in the early afternoon at Castel di Ieri, its houses gathered around the medieval tower that gives the local Pro Loco its name. A walk through the historic centre, past Porta Urbica and the churches of Santa Croce and Santa Maria Assunta, leads into the evening: a welcome aperitivo and, season permitting, a night at the Italic Temple, with stories and local tastings under a sky you can still see in full here.
Day 2 - The hermitage in the gorge
Castel di Ieri
After breakfast, a walk up through the woods to the Hermitage of the Madonna di Pietrabona, set into a gorge that mixes Christian devotion with older memory. You come down toward Goriano Sicoli for lunch, then return to Castel di Ieri at an easy pace, with time for the village shops and a closing aperitivo.
Day 3 - Confetti Flowers and Ovidio
Sulmona
A full day in Sulmona: a visit to the museum dedicated to the town's confetti craft, a trade built on patience and sugar for generations, followed by free time in the historic centre among its portals and piazzas before heading back into the valley.
Day 4 - The gorges of Raiano
Raiano
A transfer to Raiano to reach the Hermitage of San Venanzio, suspended above the Aterno River inside its nature reserve. You walk the gorge, past walls painted with murals telling the village's own history, stop for an aperitivo overlooking the canyon, and return to Castel di Ieri for dinner.
Day 5 - Castel Vecchio Subequo
Castelvecchio Subequo
A transfer to Castelvecchio Subequo to visit the church and convent of San Francesco, home to fourteenth-century frescoes and traces of the Roman town of Superaequum that gave the valley its name. A free afternoon back in Castel di Ieri, with a chance to catch the weekly market if the dates line up, before dinner in the village.
Day 6 - Secinaro and the Prati del Sirente
Secinaro
On to Secinaro for a walk through its historic centre, then up to the Prati del Sirente: a plateau where the ground still carries the marks of an ancient impact, studied by scientists and told about by locals ever since. A packed lunch out in the open, and a shared pizza dinner to close the longest day of the week.
Day 7 - The Last Story
Castel di Ieri
The final morning is spent in a workshop with a local craftsperson or producer, so you take home something made by hand rather than bought. Before departure, one last moment together, because every village here has its own storyteller, and by now you will have met more than one. And that may be the simplest way to describe the week: not just places seen, but something quieter, woken back up.
Included
- 6 nights' accommodation in Castel di Ieri or a Valle Subequana village, at partner properties
- Daily breakfast
- All lunches and dinners listed in the itinerary
- Van transfers for excursions outside the village
- Tour leader for the full week
- Pro Loco "La Torre" accompaniment for the Castel di Ieri stages
- Entry to the Italic Temple, the Hermitage of the Madonna di Pietrabona and the Convent of San Francesco
- Craft workshop on the final day
- borGO support throughout the week
- Basic insurance under Italian law
Not included
- Flights and arrival transfers
- Meals not listed in the itinerary
- Personal expenses
- Extra travel insurance
- Tips and gratuities
Good to know
Duration: 7 days / 6 nights. Extended version available on request.
Best seasons: spring (May-June) and autumn (September-October), when the Prati del Sirente and the gorges are best on foot.
Languages: Italian, English, others on request.
Groups: maximum 6-8 people. More only on request.
Pricing
The package starts from
2575€ per traveller in low and mid-season and from
2755€
in high season (mid-June to end of August).
Extras we recommed
This itinerary can be personalised with various activities such as:
- E-bike tour in the Sirente Valley
- Donkey walk in Goriano Valli
- Visit at the 'Museo Diffuso'
Who travels with us on this route
This package was designed for travellers who want the quiet version of Abruzzo, not the highlight reel.
You'll feel at home on Sakra if a temple with no ticket queue means more to you than a landmark with one, if you'd rather spend an afternoon in a workshop with a local craftsperson than shopping for souvenirs, if you're happy eating what the village is cooking that day rather than choosing from a menu, if you're looking for a week that asks something of you, not just one that entertains you.
The pace suits travellers comfortable with a few hours of walking most days, including uneven gorge paths and the stone steps leading into both hermitages: Sakra is not well suited to travellers with limited mobility. Families are welcome, though the walking and the slower, reflective rhythm of the week make it a better fit for older children and teenagers than for young children.
Questions before you book
Can this package be customised?
Yes. The 7-day version is the core itinerary. On request we can extend it, add an excursion, or lighten one of the longer days (day six, between Secinaro and the Prati del Sirente, has the most walking).
How much driving is involved each day?
Transfers between Valle Subequana villages are almost always 15 to 40 minutes. Only the Sulmona day involves a longer drive.
Do I need to know this history already?
No. The history arrives through the places and the people who tell it, not through anything you need to study first.
Is it suitable for solo travelers?
Yes. Solo travellers are matched with the rest of the group.
What benefit does this bring to the local community?
Accommodation, meals and guiding are all local. Part of the route is run directly by the Pro Loco "La Torre," so the trip supports the people working every day to keep these villages alive.
Is this a religious or spiritual experience?
No, not in the sense of a pilgrimage or a retreat. Sakra tells the story of places tied to ancient rites and visits them with respect, but it remains a cultural and human journey, open to anyone curious, whether or not they hold any belief or practice.
