Pleasant hike recommended for families at all times of the year.

The Rat is the name of the strip of vineyards, woods, meadows and rocks that lies further east than the strip of woods and rocks crossed by the trail. To venture into this pristine environment, one must arrive at the hamlet of Palù, the easternmost of Poggiridenti Piano, near the border with the territory of the municipality of Tresivio.

Reaching the few houses in the hamlet and passing a washhouse, you walk along a stretch of country road to find the trailhead at an elevation of 340 m.
The trail begins to climb firmly up the mountainside in the shade of scrub, among maples, ferns and branches of ivy that colonize the dry stone walls.

A series of thirty signs made by the children of the Gianni Rodari elementary school in Poggiridenti, placed at various points along the ascent, illustrate the flora and fauna present. Continuing along the path at a certain point one encounters a landslide body that lies at the foot of the Prede'ra del Rat, the greenstone quarry. Having passed the short band of boulders, the trail begins to climb again. At this point the section turns left and continues with a few steep switchbacks. It turns, then, to the right and passes close to a cliff, where it reaches the Vedelin Valley stream gorge, a picturesque place with a pretty little waterfall.

Continuing between dry stone walls, you come to a scrub of maple trees; past a series of steps carved into the rock, you proceed into the thicket, among locust and ash trees. Past the thicket on the left, you enter, at an altitude of 490 meters, a dirt track that runs flat. Turning right, after a very short climb, you reach the Castelli Panoramica provincial road, just to the right of the bridge over the Rogna stream, on the border between Poggiridenti and Tresivio. From here you can descend from the uphill route or complete the loop by continuing to the Santa Casa and then descending again along the road that runs through the vineyards.

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Source: Valtellina Outdoor