Sacra di San Michele in autumn

A thousand-year-old abbey perched on the rock, and below it a sea of woods that turns red and gold at the end of October: the Sacra di San Michele is best reached on foot.

The experience

We set off with the Guidders from Sant'Ambrogio di Torino and climb the Way of the Cross mule track, marked by crosses and fountains, through chestnuts and oaks that change colour at every bend. At the top the Sacra awaits, with the Staircase of the Dead and the view over the Susa Valley and the Avigliana lakes. After the visit and lunch we head down the other side towards Chiusa di San Michele and close the loop along the valley floor.

It is Piedmont's symbol, and its story of monks and stairways carved into the rock inspired the abbey in Umberto Eco's «The Name of the Rose».

Anyone with some fitness: the mule track climbs steadily but is wide and paved, and at the top there is plenty of time to catch your breath.

Come and climb to the Sacra with the Guidders: the colours of the woods, the monks' silence and a view that repays every step.

Sant'Ambrogio di Torino is less than two hours from Milan: A4 to Turin, the northern ring road and the Frejus motorway to the Avigliana exit, then the main road to Sant'Ambrogio. By train, the Turin–Susa line stops in the village. Car pooling in the outing's Telegram group.

How hard is it, really

What's included in the price

Itinerary

One day, approximate times. The final details come in the group chat.

Sunday

8 Nov

9 km · D+ 620 m · 4 h

The stops · 9 km

Meeting point 9:30approximate

Meeting at Sant'Ambrogio, Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, provincia di Torino, Italia. The exact time is confirmed in the group chat. We usually meet a little earlier for breakfast together, when possible.

HOW TO GET THERE

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09:30MEETING

Meeting at Sant'Ambrogio

We meet the Guidders in Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, at the foot of the Pirchiriano: the Sacra is right up there.

09:45MULE TRACK

The mule track of the crosses

From the little church of San Giovanni Vincenzo the paved mule track begins, marked by the crosses of the Way of the Cross.

11:15CHURCH

The Sacra di San Michele

Visit of the abbey: the Staircase of the Dead, the church in the rock and the view over the valley. Then a packed lunch.

13:45VIEWPOINT

Down through the woods

We descend the other side, among chestnuts and crunching leaves.

14:45VILLAGE

Chiusa di San Michele

The village at the foot of the Sacra: from here the valley floor leads us back to the start.

15:15RETURN

Back to Sant'Ambrogio

We close the loop at Sant'Ambrogio, with the Sacra waving from above. Group photo with the Guidders.

What to bring

A list made for this hike. No technical gear: just good shoes and a well-packed backpack.

Questions?