Starting from Santo Stefano Belbo (Valle Belbo), you immediately climb towards San Grato, with a climb of about 7 km, rideable and asphalted. Arriving up at San Grato/Santa Libera, the wild, hilly landscape of the Bormida Valley opens up, and it is already Alta Langa, with woods, hazelnut groves, pastures and vineyards that respect the natural slopes of these deep hills. From the top, the hills become waves of a sea that continues endlessly on the horizon, moving with the wind at every bend, giving depth and tranquillity to every pedal stroke.
After a ride to the top of the hill, we reach the Paesino di Bubbio, with the old houses arranged on either side of the 14th-century Via Maestra, bordered by the castle and the parish church, and a series of contrade, alleys and stairways that create evocative views. Continuing to descend towards the bottom of the valley, you arrive at Monastero Bormida, a medieval village founded around 1050 by a group of Benedictine monks. In 1300, the castle and fortification of the village was developed from the monastery walls and towers by the Del Carretto marquises.
We then cross the bridge over the Bormida River and start uphill again towards Roccaverano (759 metres) on an asphalt road for about 12 km in the midst of green pastures, hazelnut groves and lavender orchards.
