Gargano in September 8 Foresta Umbra

We set off for the Foresta Umbra, the forest of shadows, a little disconcertedly. Despite being declared part of a UNESCO world heritage site in 2017, information about hikes and walks is fragmentary and confused.

We have a pluriphotocopied photocopy of a photocopy of a map of itineraries which we got from the otherwise helpful people at the Vieste tourist office which is virtually indecipherable, another colour artistic version which seems extremely vague, one or two scanty descriptions of itineraries found on Internet together with some anecdotal information from TripAdvisor mainly about the info centre being closed and getting lost but with posters generally thinking it's very nice.

It's a short drive from Vieste and suddenly we are surrounded by tall tall trees and very low undergrowth in all directions. 

The road is good and wide and it's an easy and pleasant drive through the woods. There seem to be a lot of picnic areas with parking near the road.

We arrive near the lake and visitors' centre where instead, and inexplicably, there isn't a proper car park. Cars are parked on both sides of a rather uneven road the other side of the signpost to the lake so we park there too and then follow the path to the visitors' centre which is indeed closed today (just today perhaps? There's a sign..) and have a look at some rather lethargic deer behind a fence. Nice to have the opportunity to see them so close up, nevertheless....

Then we stroll around the lake where there are a lot of turtles. There's one sign for a longer walk but we decide to do the Caritate Sfilzi walk which is the best documented on the Internet. We park at the Caritate picnic area between kilometre 8 and 9 on the road (just after the 8km sign coming from Vieste). Since it's nearly midday we decide to take advantage of the comfortable picnic tables and eat our usual tomatoes bread and cheese picnic straight away. 

Then, just across the road there's a track leading uphill which soon brings us to the main Caritate - Sfilzi forestry track which is between the Forestry building at Caritate and the Sfilzi refuge on the main road to Vico del Gargano. Instead we are going as far as the Sfilzi Spring. Here it's an easy walk, we just stay on the main track which is mostly level. The rock seems to be some sort of limestone and also the vegetation corresponds - cyclamens, 

lots of ferns especially, and also lots and lots of Butcher's Broom with the occasional red berry. After about 3 and a half kilometres we reach a sign where the path to Sfilzi Spring starts, it's marked as pedestrian path Sfilzi  - Casalini 

and becomes a narrower path with a wooden fence next to it. 

From there it's just a short walk to the Spring, a green and peaceful place with a little cave behind it carved out of the rock and an old engraved stone with an inscription which is difficult to make out. We decide to keep walking and arrive at the end of the path at Casalini, where there is nothing much but more forest, the fence along the side of the walk is entirely made in wood.

We walk back to the car happily, it's been an interesting taste of a beautiful place where we may well return.