Today we walked about a third of the famous Chestnut Trail in South Tyrol, Italy. A 60km line of chestnut groves extends all along the sunny slopes of the Isarco Valley.
In Europe the chestnut (not horse chestnut), more than most other species of tree, had until modern times a vital service; so important that it has earned the right to be known as “Brotbaum” - bread tree and provided nourishment for at least 6 months of the year.
It was an extremely beautiful hike, althoud we had to climb at the end 400 altitude meters to reach Klobenstein, to get the narrow gauge train.
And yes I lay down on the chestnuts prickly outside, to get this picture. As I‘m not a fakir, it was really painfull :-)
The brightness and clarity are gorgeous! I love the low angle, too, to emphasize the importance of the chestnuts. I would love to hike that path one day.
