# A Madonie road trip: 16 villages by car in 3 days > Madonie road trip: a 262 km loop from Cefalù in 3 days, 16 villages from the sea to the Petralias. Roads, distances, driving times, stops, where to stay. - Page: https://www.lemadonie.it/en/itineraries/villages-by-car/ - Updated: 2026-10-19 - Best seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn - Other languages: [Italiano](https://www.lemadonie.it/itinerari/borghi-in-auto.md) · [Español](https://www.lemadonie.it/es/itinerarios/pueblos-en-coche.md) · [Français](https://www.lemadonie.it/fr/itineraires/villages-en-voiture.md) · [Deutsch](https://www.lemadonie.it/de/reiserouten/doerfer-mit-dem-auto.md) ### The western side: from Cefalù to Polizzi Generosa The longest day at the wheel: 7 towns, many of them short stops, on the minor roads that climb from the sea towards the Imera valley. Night in Polizzi Generosa. About 104 km and 2 hours 35 minutes of driving. - [Cefalù](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/cefalu/): Start. SP136 and SP28 towards Gratteri. - [Gratteri](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/gratteri/): 17 km, about 25 min. The terrace over the Tyrrhenian. - [Isnello](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/isnello/): 14 km, about 20 min. GAL Hassin astronomy park. - [Collesano](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/collesano/): 11 km on the SP9, about 15 min. Targa Florio museum and ceramics. - [Scillato](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/scillato/): 11 km on the SP9bis, about 20 min. Short stop. - [Caltavuturo](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/caltavuturo/): 8 km on the SP24, about 20 min. Rocca di Sciara and the Terravecchia ruins. - [Sclafani Bagni](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/sclafani-bagni/): 10 km, about 15 min. The least populated municipality in the province. - [Polizzi Generosa](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/polizzi-generosa/): 33 km via SS120 and SS643, about 40 min. Night. ### The high Madonie: Castellana Sicula, the Petralias and Gangi Few kilometres and lots of time on foot: four towns less than 20 minutes apart, all above 750 metres. Night in Gangi or Petralia Sottana. About 36 km and 45 minutes of driving. - [Castellana Sicula](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/castellana-sicula/): From Polizzi 8 km on the SS643, about 10 min. - [Petralia Sottana](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/petralia-sottana/): 10 km on the SS120, about 10 min. Home of the park authority. - [Petralia Soprana](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/petralia-soprana/): 3 km, 5 min. The highest town in the park. - [Gangi](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/gangi/): 15 km via SP29 and SS120, about 20 min. Night. ### Back to the sea: Geraci Siculo, Castelbuono, Pollina and San Mauro The SS286 crosses the park from south to north and drops towards the coast. Four towns, then Cefalù. About 122 km and 2 hours 50 minutes of driving. - [Geraci Siculo](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/geraci-siculo/): From Gangi 14 km, about 15 min. Ruins of the Ventimiglia castle. - [Castelbuono](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/castelbuono/): 22 km on the SS286, about 25 min. Castle and Palatine Chapel. - [Pollina](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/pollina/): 17 km, about 30 min. Maurolico tower and Pietrarosa theatre. - [San Mauro Castelverde](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/san-mauro-castelverde/): 31 km via SS113 and SP52, about 50 min. Optional if you're running late. - [Cefalù](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/cefalu/): 38 km via SP52 and SS113, about 55 min. Finish. The Madonie village road trip is a loop of about 262 km that starts and ends in Cefalù: in 3 days you pass through all 15 municipalities of the Madonie Park (Parco delle Madonie) plus Gangi, just outside its boundary. You spend about 6 hours at the wheel in total, split into 3 stages. The nights are in Polizzi Generosa and Gangi. **At a glance** - **Start and finish**: Cefalù. From Palermo, add 72 km on the way out and 68 on the way back. - **Distance and driving**: about 262 km, 6 hours 10 minutes without stops, calculated on OpenStreetMap. - **Towns**: 16, from Cefalù at 16 metres to Petralia Soprana at 1,147. - **Nights**: Polizzi Generosa and Gangi, or Petralia Sottana. - **Main roads**: SP9, SS643, SS120, SS286, SS113. - **Season**: April to November. In winter you need chains or winter tyres on the SS120, SS286 and SS643. ## Who is this trip for? For people who enjoy driving on mountain roads and want to see the towns more than the trails. For anyone who has already done the "classic" Madonie and wants the small towns too, like Scillato, Sclafani Bagni or Castellana Sicula, which one-day trips always skip. With 16 towns in 3 days you won't go into every museum: in some you take a half-hour stroll, in others you spend half a day. We tell you which, stop by stop. If you'd rather walk, see [a week in the Madonie](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/itineraries/one-week/), with fewer towns and more trails. ## When to go? From April to June and from September to November the roads are clear and the days long enough for 7 stops. In summer the towns fill with festivals: Castelbuono hosts the [Ypsigrock Festival](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/events/ypsigrock-festival/) in early August and Geraci Siculo the [Giostra dei Ventimiglia](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/events/giostra-dei-ventimiglia/). Great to see, but book your nights early and expect parking to be hard. In winter the trip is doable, but you need snow chains on board or winter tyres on the SS120, SS286 and SS643: in winter 2025/2026 the ANAS order required them from 1 December to 31 March. Details are on our [roads page](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/roads/). ## The 3 stages by car Distances and times calculated on 19 October 2026 with OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, with no traffic or stops: | Day | Route | km | Driving | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | Cefalù → Gratteri → Isnello → Collesano → Scillato → Caltavuturo → Sclafani Bagni → Polizzi Generosa | 104 | 2 h 35 | | 2 | Polizzi Generosa → Castellana Sicula → Petralia Sottana → Petralia Soprana → Gangi | 36 | 45 min | | 3 | Gangi → Geraci Siculo → Castelbuono → Pollina → San Mauro Castelverde → Cefalù | 122 | 2 h 50 | | **Total** | | **262** | **6 h 10** | The minor roads between Collesano, Scillato and Caltavuturo are narrow and slow: between Scillato and Caltavuturo, 8 km take more than 20 minutes. Treat the times as minimums. ## Day 1: from the sea to the Imera valley **[Gratteri](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/gratteri/)**, at 657 metres. The Balarm website calls it the terrace over the Tyrrhenian: on clear days you can see the Aeolian Islands. Its territory holds the remains of the abbey of San Giorgio. Stop for half an hour to an hour. **[Isnello](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/isnello/)**. This is where you'll find GAL Hassin, the astronomy park: the standard visit lasts 2 hours 30 minutes, with planetarium and museum, and is booked on its website. If you do it, you'll have to drop one of the small towns in the afternoon. **[Collesano](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/collesano/)**. Home of the Targa Florio museum, about the motor race that ran on these roads, and of an old tradition of art ceramics. A good lunch stop. **[Scillato](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/scillato/)** is the town of the [orange festival](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/events/sagra-dell-arancia-orange-festival-scillato/). A short stop is enough. **[Caltavuturo](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/caltavuturo/)** lies below the Rocca di Sciara. Above the town you can see the ruins of the Terravecchia castle, the oldest core, and the Chiesa Madre holds works by the Gagini. **[Sclafani Bagni](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/sclafani-bagni/)** is the least populated municipality in the metropolitan city of Palermo: 342 residents in May 2026. The name "Bagni" (baths) was added in 1954, for a hot spring in the countryside. Walk to the top of the village for the castle remains and the view. Then the SS120 and SS643 take you to **[Polizzi Generosa](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/polizzi-generosa/)** for the night. Next morning, before leaving, step into the Chiesa Madre: it holds the fifteenth-century Flemish triptych that the town attributes to Rogier van der Weyden. ## Day 2: the high Madonie The short day at the wheel and the long day on foot. **[Castellana Sicula](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/castellana-sicula/)** only became a municipality in 1947, splitting off from Petralia Sottana. It has a museum of rural life. **[Petralia Sottana](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/petralia-sottana/)** is home to the Madonie Park authority. Stroll along the main street to the Chiesa Madre. From here, if you want a detour up high, Piano Battaglia is 19 km and half an hour away on the SP54. **[Petralia Soprana](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/petralia-soprana/)**, at 1,147 metres, is the highest town in the park and was named Borgo dei Borghi in 2018. You explore it on foot between the viewpoints: from the Loreto one, on clear days, you can see Etna. **[Gangi](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/gangi/)** was named Borgo dei Borghi in 2014. Seen from the road, it's a town that covers an entire hill, as in the photo at the top. In the crypt of the Chiesa Madre lie the mummified bodies of the town's priests from 1725 to 1872. ## Day 3: the SS286 down to the sea **[Geraci Siculo](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/geraci-siculo/)**: walk up to the ruins of the Ventimiglia castle, above 1,000 metres. The family's story is in our article on the [Ventimiglia castles](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/magazine/ventimiglia-castles-geraci-to-castelbuono/). **[Castelbuono](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/castelbuono/)**: the castle ordered in 1317 by Francesco I Ventimiglia is now the Museo Civico, with the Palatine Chapel and its Serpotta stucco. From April to October it opens 9.30 am-1 pm and 3-6.30 pm, from November to March 9.30 am-4.45 pm (museum hours, checked on 19 October 2026). Lunch here. **[Pollina](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/pollina/)**: the Maurolico tower, where astronomer Francesco Maurolico watched the sky between 1548 and 1550, and the open-air Pietrarosa theatre, carved into the rock and opened in 1979. **[San Mauro Castelverde](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/san-mauro-castelverde/)**, at 1,050 metres, is the one awkward stop: 31 km and 50 minutes from Pollina, then 38 km down to Cefalù. If you're running late, skip it and go straight from Pollina to Cefalù, 23 km. Its territory includes the [Gole di Tiberio](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/trails/gole-di-tiberio/), if you fancy stretching your legs. ## Where to stay We put the nights where the stages end, not at any particular hotel: - **Night 1, Polizzi Generosa**: end of day 1 and 10 minutes from the start of day 2. See [where to stay in Polizzi Generosa](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/polizzi-generosa/where-to-stay/). - **Night 2, Gangi**: day 3 starts here. See [where to stay in Gangi](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/gangi/where-to-stay/). Or [where to stay in Petralia Sottana](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/petralia-sottana/where-to-stay/), 18 km earlier. For food, see the "where to eat" pages of each town, starting with [Collesano](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/collesano/where-to-eat/) for the first lunch and [Castelbuono](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/castelbuono/where-to-eat/) for the last. ## If it rains The road trip works in the rain too: only the time you spend outdoors changes. Spend longer at the indoor stops, like GAL Hassin in Isnello, the Museo Civico in Castelbuono and the main churches of Polizzi, Caltavuturo and Gangi. With a weather warning, check the regional Civil Protection bulletin and our [roads page](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/roads/) before setting off: landslides and closures happen on minor roads. ## Practical tips - Old-town streets are narrow and steep: park at the entrance to the town and walk up. - Fill up when you can, especially on day 1 on the minor roads. - Day 1 is full: if you leave after 9 am, skip Scillato or Sclafani Bagni. - Before each mountain stretch, check the [town forecasts](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/weather/). ## Frequently asked questions ### Which are the villages of the Madonie? The Madonie Park has 15 municipalities: Caltavuturo, Castelbuono, Castellana Sicula, Cefalù, Collesano, Geraci Siculo, Gratteri, Isnello, Petralia Soprana, Petralia Sottana, Polizzi Generosa, Pollina, San Mauro Castelverde, Scillato and Sclafani Bagni. Gangi is just outside the park, but it's usually visited along with them. ### How many days do you need for the village road trip? To see all 16 you need at least 3 days, with about 262 km and 6 hours of driving from Cefalù and back. In 2 days you can do half the loop, for example the inland side with Polizzi, the Petralias, Gangi and Geraci. ### What is the most scenic road to drive? In our view the SS286 between Geraci Siculo and Castelbuono, which on day 3 crosses the park from south to north through woods and pastures and drops towards the sea. It's 22 km, about 25 minutes without stops. ## Sources - [Wikipedia, Parco delle Madonie (list of the 15 municipalities)](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parco_delle_Madonie) - [Wikipedia, Collesano](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collesano) - [Wikipedia, Caltavuturo](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caltavuturo) - [Wikipedia, Sclafani Bagni](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sclafani_Bagni) - [Wikipedia, Castellana Sicula](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castellana_Sicula) - [Wikipedia, Gangi](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangi) - [Wikipedia, Pollina](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollina) - [Wikipedia, Castello di Castelbuono](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_di_Castelbuono) - [Balarm, Gratteri "terrace over the Tyrrhenian"](https://www.balarm.it/news/la-terrazza-sul-tirreno-e-magica-pure-di-notte-il-tour-da-sogno-vicino-a-palermo-157802) - [Balarm, the abbey of San Giorgio](https://www.balarm.it/news/monaci-e-cavalieri-magie-e-riti-l-abbazia-di-gratteri-e-le-sue-rovine-cariche-di-mistero-129476) - [GAL Hassin, visits for the public](https://www.galhassin.it/divulgazione-per-il-pubblico/) - [Visit Polizzi Generosa (town council), Chiesa Madre](https://visitpolizzigenerosa.it/it/attrazioni/chiesa-di-maria-santissima-assunta-o-chiesa-madre/) - [Museo Civico di Castelbuono, hours](https://www.museocivico.eu/contatti_/) - [Museo Civico di Castelbuono, Palatine Chapel](https://www.museocivico.eu/cappella-palatina/) - [I Borghi più belli d'Italia, Petralia Soprana](https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/borgo/petralia-soprana/) - [LiveUnict, Borgo dei Borghi 2018](https://catania.liveuniversity.it/2018/11/26/borgo-dei-borghi-2018-paese-siciliano-petralia-soprana/) - [ANAS, order no. 357/2025/PA on snow chains and winter tyres for the SS120, SS286 and SS643 (copy published by the Comune di Gangi)](https://gangi-api.municipiumapp.it/s3/3036/allegati/avvisi/ow135736.pdf) - [Giornale di Sicilia, ANAS press release on the A19 rule from 15 November 2025 to 15 March 2026 (11 November 2025)](https://palermo.gds.it/articoli/cronaca/2025/11/11/sicilia-dal-15-novembre-obbligo-di-catene-o-pneumatici-invernali-sui-tratti-a-rischio-neve-e-ghiaccio-897ee3b6-e3f6-4a51-a668-e24ed1d58d74/) - [Distances and times: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, calculated on 19 October 2026](https://project-osrm.org/) --- Markdown version of the page https://www.lemadonie.it/en/itineraries/villages-by-car/, from Le Madonie (lemadonie.it), an independent guide to the Madonie. Facts with source and date of check.