Introduction: A trivial, easy route lets you look at the imposing, overhanging face of the Costone from below. Cimata Puzzillo, on the other hand, is a really fun summit that can be reached in fifteen minutes from Rifugio V. Sebastiani.
Route features: No difficulty on a very rough gravel track up to the hut. No waymarking. From the hut to Cimata Puzzillo, a few little grade I moves (hands and feet), suitable even for young teenagers who want to get used to very airy ridges.
Rifugio Vincenzo Sebastiani can also be reached from Piani di Pezza: see the route from Capo di Pezza to Rifugio Vincenzo Sebastiani.
Route description
The gravel track carries on into the wood; you meet a first no-entry sign and then a second. Still going on through the wood, you never leave the gravel track, which is usually used to supply Rifugio V. Sebastiani. After about 1.5 km you come out into the wide Vallone del Puzzillo. On our right (to the north) we have the bulk of Monte Puzzillo. All around, arranged almost in a circle, many other 2000-metre peaks. We carry on along the traces of the gravel track, which will lead us to the foot of the imposing bulk of the Costone and its overhanging face. Slowly the route will change direction until it leads you south towards the saddle where Rifugio Sebastiani stands.
From here the path will drop towards the nearby summit of Cimata Puzzillo. To reach the summit you need to balance on large limestone boulders visibly eroded by water. On Cimata Puzzillo, a modest summit cairn. The ridge to Cimata Puzzillo is truly one of the airiest ridges in the whole mountain group. Beautiful.
The gravel track carries on into the wood; you meet a first no-entry sign and then a second. Still going on through the wood, you never leave the gravel track, which is usually used to supply Rifugio V. Sebastiani. After about 1.5 km you come out into the wide Vallone del Puzzillo. On our right (to the north) we have the bulk of Monte Puzzillo. All around, arranged almost in a circle, many other 2000-metre peaks. We carry on along the traces of the gravel track, which will lead us to the foot of the imposing bulk of the Costone and its overhanging face. Slowly the route will change direction until it leads you south towards the saddle where Rifugio Sebastiani stands.
From here the path will drop towards the nearby summit of Cimata Puzzillo. To reach the summit you need to balance on large limestone boulders visibly eroded by water. On Cimata Puzzillo, a modest summit cairn. The ridge to Cimata Puzzillo is truly one of the airiest ridges in the whole mountain group. Beautiful. The route is not hard to make out, even if the waymarking is in a really bad way. You follow the white gravel road as far as the two drinking troughs (one working, the other dry). At the second trough you turn left to reach the open grassy slopes, where we find a great many dog-rose bushes.
From the open grassy slopes we make out, up above, the ridge of the Serra di Celano and, lower down, the long spurs coming down from it. In front of us we try to take the most obvious spur.
This spur will join the ridge of the Serra di Celano. On the left edge of the rocky spur, a wide valley full of trees. Evocative. We follow the spur until we meet the upper part of the ridge. We follow the ridge until we find the path coming up from Rifugio La Serra. Here the very old waymarking appears. We climb over grassy meadows, full of mushrooms in autumn.
We look out from the ridge to take in the view over the Sirente and Monte Etra. The Gole di Celano are barely visible; the feeling of a sheer drop is not so strong. The ridge of the Serra gets rockier. Paint marks, red-and-white at first and then yellow-and-red, lead us over easy little moves to the summit, where we find two crosses, one of them very imposing.
For the descent, on the other hand, we can go down by the gravel track that passes very close to Rifugio La Serra. You follow the red-and-white paint marks as far as the gravel track, then follow the gravel track back to the car.
The Serra di Celano is certainly a pleasant hike, one you can also do with children.
Variants and alternatives
The same summit can also be reached from Piani di Pezza, passing by the same hut. See here the fact sheet of the hiking route from Piani di Pezza to Rifugio Vincenzo Sebastiani.
Notes on effort and difficulty
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take from Rifugio Sebastiani to Cimata Puzzillo?
From Rifugio Vincenzo Sebastiani the summit of Cimata Puzzillo is reached in about fifteen minutes. These are the last 500 metres of the route, on an airy ridge with a few grade I moves where you need hands and feet.
Is the route to Cimata Puzzillo suitable for youngsters?
Yes, the fact sheet gives it for ages 11-14. Up to the hut you walk without difficulty on a rough gravel track; the final ridge suits young teenagers who want to learn to move on exposed ridges, always accompanied.
