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How to get to the Grotta del Vento

Address: via Grotta del Vento 1,
Fornovolasco 55021 LU.

 

The Grotta del Vento is in the centre of Garfagnana, a mountainous area that coincides with the other valley of the Serchio river. The area is surrounded by several motorways (A1, A11, A12, A15), however, from whichever one you come from, the best way to reach the cave is to go onto the A11 Firenze-Mare take the exit at Lucca, either the east (est) or west (ovest) one is the same.

      • From Lucca: km 50, 1.hr.-1hr.20mins.

From Lucca then follow the road signs for Castelnuovo Garfagnana, or the brown-coloured tourist attraction signs which simply indicate “Garfagnana”.
At about 37 km from Lucca, still following the signs for Castelnuovo, you arrive at Gallicano, where the first signs indicating the cave can be seen. Leave the bottom valley road, crossing through the centre of Gallicano and follow the signs for the Grotta del Vento. After about 12 km. of mountainous roads you arrive at your destination.

      • From Capannori: km 53, 1.hr.-1hr.10mins.

Those coming from Florence follow the A11, it’s possible to save time and kilometres and avoid the busy traffic of Lucca, by taking the exit at Capannori. From the toll gate, pass Porcari on the right and proceed for Marlia, then follow the signs for Castelnuovo Garfagnana until Gallicano and then turn for the Grotta del Vento. At the time of writing , the road signs for Garfagnana from the toll gate of Capannori are not clear. This road is therefore only advised for those who have an up-to-date navigation system.

Alternative roads

For those who wish to take mountain roads that are sometimes very narrow with a lot of bends, but offer some really interesting scenery, several solutions are listed below. Bear in mind that although the distance is shortened, these roads can take much longer to arrive than the first propsal.

      • From Aulla, by Passo dei Carpinelli (m. 842): km 85, 2.hrs.-2hrs.40mins.
From the A15 take the exit at Aulla, then follow the signs for Fivizzano. Along the road for Fivizzano, about 12km from Aulla, take the turning for Castelnuovo Garfagnana. Once at Castelnuovo proceed in the direction of Lucca until the town of Gallicano, then follow the signs for the Grotta del Vento.
      • From Massa, by Arni: km 70, 2hrs.-2hrs.30mins.
From the A12 take the exit at Massa and enter the centre of the city. Then follow the signs for San Carlo and Castelnuovo Garfagnana. Once at Castelnuovo proceed in the direction of Lucca until the town of Gallicano, then follow the signs for the Grotta del Vento. This road is more panoramic but not recommended in winter and in bad weather conditions.
      • From Forte dei Marmi, by the Cipollaio Tunnel: km 72, 2hrs.-2hrs.30mins.
From the A12, at Forte dei Marmi take the exit for Versilia, then follow the signs for Seravezza and Castelnuovo Garfagnana. Once at Castelnuovo proceed in the direction of Lucca until the town of Gallicano, then follow the signs for the Grotta del Vento. This road should also be avoided in the case of persistent bad weather conditions.
      • From Modena, by Passo delle Radici (m. 1529): km 136, 3hrs.-3hrs.40mins.
From the A1 take the exit at Modena Nord, then follow the signs for Sassuolo. Proceed in the direction of Passo delle Radici, going round Montefiorino and crossing Piandelagotti. From Passo delle Radici follow the signs for Castelnuovo Garfagnana until Pieve Fosciana. A little further on turn in the direction of Lucca until the town of Gallicano, then follow the signs for the Grotta del Vento. It’s best to avoid this road in winter because of snow.
      • From Reggio Emilia, by Passo di Pradarena (m. 1579): km 142, 3hrs.-3hrs.40mins.
From Reggio Emilia take the SS 63 in the direction of Castelnuovo Monti. Past Castelnuovo proceed to Busana where you take a turning for Ligonchio. From Ligonchio go up to Passo di Pradarena, then down until Castelnuovo Garfagnana, then at Gallicano, follow the signs for the Grotta del Vento. It’s best to avoid this road in winter because of snow.
      • From Bologna, by Porretta Terme, San Marcello Pistoiese: about km. 136, 3hrs.-3hrs.40mins.
From the toll gate of Bologna Casalecchio follow the motorway A1 until Sasso Marconi, then the SS 64 until Porretta Terme. Three kilometres further on, in the locality Ponte della Venturina, turn right and proceed until Pontepetri, where turning right again you pass San Marcello Pistoiese and reach La Lima and continue for Bagni di Lucca. Then following the signs for Castelnuovo you arrive at Gallicano and proceed for the Grotta del Vento.

Notes for the use of GPS navigators

In many modern navigation systems it’s possible to type in “Grotta del Vento” as the destination. However, with this setting, many navigators suggest particularly awkward and tortuous roads in the last part of the route. For this reason we advise you to type in ‘Gallicano’ on the navigator and from Gallicano follow the signs for the cave.
For those who wish to type in the final destination on the navigator and don’t have Grotta del Vento amongst the pre-set destinations, the exact address is:

via Grotta del Vento, 1
Comune di Vergemoli
Provincia di Lucca

set up details:

Lat. 44°02’03” N (Decimale: 44,0341° N)
Lon. 10°21’27” E (Decimale: 10,3575° E)

For those arriving by Camper

The road to the Grotta del Vento is accessible for the majority of camper vans in circulation,as long as the maximum height does not exceed m. 3,50. However, in the final part, from Gallicano to the destination, the narrow winding road requires a good experience of driving in mountain areas.

Driving with bigger vehicles (from m.5,50 upwards in length) can get difficult on particularly busy days (Easter, Bank Holidays, middle weeks in August), during which we strongly advise you not to try and reach the cave with a camper van.

Since it is possible to spend the night in the nearby council car park, paying a fee during the day but free at night, one solution to avoid the traffic is to arrive in the evening after 8 pm, when most of the visitors have already left the area and take advantage to do one of the tours the next morning.

The alternative roads to reach the cave are much more difficult than the one from Gallicano, so they are not recommended for most camper vans. It is particularly important to pay attention to the notes for the use of navigators.

How to get here with public transport

It is possible to reach the Grotta del Vento with public transport using the bus service, the timetable of which varies according to the school calendar.
In summer, some public bus services to Fornovolasco continue the route right up to the car park of at the Grotta del Vento. The bus timetable can be viewed on the website Autolinee Toscane (External Link). LINEA E77 Gallicano-Vergemoli-Fornovolasco.

This is the Summer 2024 timetable for the Gallicano-Vergemoli-Grotta del Vento route:

 

It’s possible to get the bus to the Grotta del Vento at Gallicano or the nearby train station Barga-Gallicano. The train timetable is available on the website Ferrovie Dello Stato (Link esterno).

For a single consultation of train and bus timetables, we suggest you consult the service Google Maps.

For those arriving by plane the nearest airport is Galileo Galilei at Pisa, about 75 km away.

 

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