• Gravina di Matera - This karst ravine, shaped over time by its stream, stretches for nearly 20 kilometers from the base of Matera, a city renowned for its Sassi (ancient houses carved into the calcarenite) and recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Rich in caves that were once strategically inhabited by locals, the ravine flows southward, passing Montescaglioso, before merging into the Bradano River and eventually the Ionian Sea.

We will hike along the stream’s path on the ridge of one side of the ravine, taking in the scenic views of the Murgia Materana Regional Park.

• Chiesa Rupestre di San Nicola all’Ofra - The journey continues to the rock church of San Nicola all’Ofra, a farmhouse with interconnected rooms carved into the cliff: tunnels, stairways, cisterns, churches, and frescoes, spanning three levels.

This cluster of caves overlooks the Matera ravine and its stream.

A highly evocative site in a stunning landscape, where the steep rocky walls also serve as a habitat for the rare black stork, a magnificent bird at risk of extinction, which has remarkably returned to nest in the Lucanian region in recent years.

• Grotta dei Pipistrelli - A complex of karst caves featuring large entrances and long, narrow tunnels, serving as an important breeding site for intriguing flying mammals.

In the 19th century, local archaeologist Domenico Ridola discovered Paleolithic tools, ceramics, tombs with skeletons, and fossils of extinct animals such as the ancient ox and the cave bear in this area, where previous searches for King Barbarossa’s legendary treasure had taken place.

These findings are now displayed in the Domenico Ridola National Archaeological Museum of Matera.

• Private transportation
• Pick-up

A panoramic excursion in rocky habitats, flanking the Gravina di Matera and its stream which extends for 20 km, from the foot of the city of Matera, made famous for its Sassi and declared a world heritage site by UNESCO. We will follow the stream along the ridge of one side of the ravine, enjoying the landscapes of the Murgia Materana Regional Park. First by exploring the rock church of San Nicola all’Ofra, a farmhouse with its rooms dug into the cliff that communicate with each other: tunnels, stairways, cisterns, churches, developing on 3 levels of height. And then the karst Bat Cave, among the oldest evidence of human life in this area, a series of corridors, a breeding site for flying mammals, a place that hides the treasure of King Barbarossa between history and legend and where thanks research carried out in recent centuries revealed Paleolithic tools and fossils of extinct animals, such as the cave bear.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.