Far too often we think that we have to travel far away to have incredible exotic experiences, and that's what I had been thinking for about 30 years before the Covid 19 pandemic, and the ensuing travel restrictions, forced me into exploring hidden gems and secret spots right here in the outskirts of Rome.
Having no other choice than exploring the municipality of Rome I was forced into browsing the web in search of every possibile historic or natural site that could be found within the boundaries of where we were allowed to travel during the pandemic and this opened myself up to a universe of possibilities.
I discovered, for the first time in my life, that right here, in the Roman countryside, there are incredible deep gorges and canyons filled with hidden waterfalls, spanned by massive ancient Roman bridges, and that there are over 50 km of Etruscan tunnels that resemble the underground rivers of the Philippines!
One of the main advantages of local travel is the ease and convenience it offers. No long-haul flights or exhausting layovers – simply hop in your car or take a short bus or train ride to your destination.
On top of that, looking for adventure on one's doorstep can be improvised and, therefore, be done when one's mind and spirit are aligned with the travel experience, while a long trip requires meticulous advance planning and the actual travel, because it is done when planned and not necessarily when one's mind and spirit are tuned with the actual experience, might be much less than one had anticipated.
But let me share with you 3 places that, by exploring canyons and gorges that are considered to be too close to the city and, therefore, not deemed worthy of being explored by the majority of hikers here in the Rome area, I have had the opportunity to be the first one to post on social media, and this earned me a reputation, in the Roman hiking community, as the "discoverer of hidden waterfalls".
Since I published blog posts, Wikiloc tracks, Google Maps' reviews and videos, more than 1,200,000 people have seen those posts and I have received hundreds of private messages from bloggers, YouTubers, writers of hiking guidebooks, journalists (including national TV!), hiking guides who asked me to show them how to get to those hidden waterfalls.
And here are the 3 falls that I discovered and made known to a lot of people and, basically, turned into mainstream hiking spots... incredibile...
The Hidden Waterfall of the "Acqua Rossa" Canyon
The "Acqua Rossa" (red water) canyon is a 10-km long canyon that encompasses 3 municipalities: Rome, Gallicano nel Lazio and Poli.
This canyon was relatively known, in part, because it is spanned by the largest Roman bridge that also served as part of the longest system of acqueducts of the ancient Roman era: the "Acqua Marcia".
But I explored a section of it that no one had ever explored before, because, in order to explore it, you have to traverse long and deep natural pools and, basically, swim in those pools.
So, one day, after water-hiking and swimming through, more or less, deep pools, I arrived to the edge of an Amazon-like waterfall, which became known as the "Maresca" waterfall, it was basically given my name, by Luigi Plos, the most famous author of hiking guidebooks here in Rome.
The hidden "Maresca" waterfall in the Acqua Rossa canyon
The Acqua Rossa canyon
The Acqua Rossa canyon
The Double Waterfall in a Cave
Just few hundred meters away from the Acqua Rossa canyon is another incredibile canyon, known as Fosso della Mola di Pance, that is very tricky to explore, as it requires water-hiking in deep water, constantly using a machete to make carve a pathway through the extremely thick bushes that obstruct much of the riverbed.
And, by having the patience, which was only possible to cultivate out of the frustration caused by the travel restrictions, to do just that, I stumbled upon this gem: a double waterfall situated inside of a cave
My Latest Discovery: the Hidden Waterfall of the Passerano Canyon
This one canyon is particularly unique because it is situated 100 meters away from a city bus stop!
Obviously not all places offer the amazing nature and ancient architecture that Rome offers, but the overarching principles behind my search for hidden gems in my backyard can be applied pretty much everywhere...by simply learning how to look at familiar surroundings with fresh eyes.
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