Pyramids…and prehistoric reptiles

We depart from Marone which one can reach by train (Trenord – http://www.trenord.it/EN/) or private transport.

From there we climb towards Colpiano until we reach Cislano, passing through the Pyramids Nature Reserve of Zone and enjoying wonderful views of the lake.  The Reserve was created in 1984 to protect an area characterised by a very special geological phenomenon: the creation of pyramids of earth by the erosive power of water.  We will walk amongst towers of prehistoric sand up to 30 m tall, sometimes strangely capped by stones, where water has completely eroded away the moraine deposits left by the last glaciation.  At Cislano we will see the Church of Saint George, erected in the 15th century and important for its fresco cycle on the outer walls, amongst which an image of Saint George killing the dragon stands out.

From there we proceed towards Zone where we encounter a section of the Via Valeriana, the old Roman road that linked Brescia to Valcamonica, running along the eastern shore of Lake Iseo. We will follow this road to the Zone Cross at 930 m asl. Along the way we will make a stop to see another survival from the past: on a steep rocky wall we will see a series of footprints attributable to large prehistoric reptiles from 220 million years ago that were the ancestors of crocodiles.

After a stop to enjoy our packed lunches we will begin to descend on a path through luxuriant Mediterranean vegetation that offers panoramas over the northern part of Lake Iseo and Montisola.  This will bring us to Pisogne after about an hour and a half, and from there we will take the local train back to Marone.

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  Some of the "pyramids"

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  A "pyramid"

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  Some of the "pyramids"