# Trail 561, from Portella Colla to Piano Cervi > Trail 561 from Portella Colla to Piano Cervi and Case Disiceddi: beech woods, the small lake, Madonie firs and pastures. Duration, season and tips. - Page: https://www.lemadonie.it/en/trails/portella-colla-case-disiceddi-trail-piano-cervi/ - Updated: 2026-10-19 - Other languages: [Italiano](https://www.lemadonie.it/sentieri/sentiero-portella-colla-case-disiceddi-piano-cervi.md) · [Español](https://www.lemadonie.it/es/senderos/sendero-portella-colla-case-disiceddi-piano-cervi.md) · [Français](https://www.lemadonie.it/fr/sentiers/sentier-portella-colla-case-disiceddi-piano-cervi.md) · [Deutsch](https://www.lemadonie.it/de/wanderwege/von-portella-colla-nach-case-disiceddi-piano-cervi.md) ## At a glance | | | |---|---| | Distance | about 10 km | | Time | about 3 h (Approximate values, breaks excluded) | | Start | Portella Colla (37.86754, 14.00495) | | Route | Point to point | | Best seasons | Spring, Summer, Autumn | | Villages nearby | [Collesano](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/collesano/), [Isnello](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/isnello/), [Polizzi Generosa](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/polizzi-generosa/), [Scillato](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/scillato/) | ## Along the way - Piano Cervi, a high basin with a small lake - Beech woods of Cozzo Piombino and a planting of Abies nebrodensis - Basilisco and its mushroom, protected in zone A - Charcoal kilns and the traditional hay hut by the refuge - Views towards the Gulf of Termini Imerese Trail 561 starts at Portella Colla, at the junction of the SP54 and SP119 near Piano Battaglia, and climbs through beech woods and pastures to Piano Cervi, a basin at about 1,530 metres with a small lake. It then continues to Case Disiceddi. The full track is about 10 km and takes about 3 hours of walking without stops. Go between May and October. For a half-day outing, stop at Piano Cervi and turn back. ## Why go to Piano Cervi For one of the most alpine-looking landscapes in the Madonie. The Cefalù Madonie tourist district describes Piano Cervi as a wide river and karst basin: a small lake in the middle, pasture all around, a dense beech wood to the north-west. And because in a few hours you see the history of the forest and the shepherds: charcoal kilns, a traditional hay hut and, beyond the basin, the màrcati where provola cheese is still made. ## What you see along the way At first the track runs beside a stream that cuts deep into the ground. The district points out an outcrop of Numidian Flysch here, with thin layers of dark clay and bands rich in tiny fossils, best seen with a magnifying glass. In spring, a little further on, there is a patch of **basilisco**, a yellow herbaceous plant. On its dead roots grows the basilisco mushroom, one of the flavours of Madonie cooking: this is zone A of the Park and picking it is forbidden. Past the gate of the state forest you enter the beech wood of Cozzo Piombino. On its slopes there is a planting of *Abies nebrodensis* made by the regional forestry agency in the late 1970s, one of the first attempts to save the Madonie fir. The natural population, the district recalls, has just 30 adult trees. At the top of the climb **Piano Cervi** opens up. Beyond the basin the trail goes back into the woods, passes some charcoal kilns and reaches the Club Alpino Siciliano refuge, next to which the forestry agency has rebuilt a hay hut using the traditional technique. ## Beyond Piano Cervi If you want to continue, you can go down the Valle della Giumenta to the Mandria Nipitalva, a màrcato where shepherds still take their flocks to summer pasture and make Madonie provola. From here, the district writes, the view stretches from the holm oak wood below Pizzo Carbonara to the Gulf of Termini Imerese. Mind the golden eagle. The stretch of the Sentiero Italia that enters the Vallone Nipitalva from Casa di Mastro Peppino is closed from May to October to protect the nests. In that period you follow variant 566b towards Piano Zucchi, where the Rifugio Luigi Orestano stands, closed since 2008: do not count on it for a stop or a bed. ## Who it is for and when to go The 561 suits people who walk regularly: wide tracks, steady climb, no exposed passages. As far as Piano Cervi it also suits families. May to October. Spring for basilisco and a full lake, autumn for the colours. Check the [weather at Portella Colla](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/weather/portella-colla/) before you go, and in autumn the Park news on wildlife control zones. ## How to get to Portella Colla From Piano Battaglia follow the SP54 to the junction with the SP119: you are at Portella Colla. The SP119 from Polizzi Generosa was closed in February 2026 after a landslide near this junction: check [Madonie roads](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/roads/). The full track ends far from the start. If you have no car at the finish, turn back at Piano Cervi. ## Where to sleep and eat Near the start there is the [Rifugio Giuliano Marini](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/where-to-stay/rifugio-giuliano-marini-petralia-sottana/), at Piano Battaglia. On the Piano Zucchi side the Rifugio Luigi Orestano has been closed since 2008, as our article on [Piano Battaglia in winter](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/magazine/piano-battaglia-in-winter/) explains. The nearest villages are Polizzi Generosa and Isnello: [where to stay in Polizzi Generosa](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/polizzi-generosa/where-to-stay/), [where to stay in Isnello](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/isnello/where-to-stay/), [where to eat in Isnello](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/isnello/where-to-eat/). ## Tips - Bring water from home: do not count on finding any along the track. - On the open pastures, in fog, follow the track on your phone. - Do not touch the basilisco and do not pick mushrooms: in zone A it is forbidden. - Close any pasture gates you open. For track, profile and waymarks of the 561 there is the technical page on sentierisiciliani.it, in the box alongside. On the SP119, a few kilometres below Portella Colla, the [Abies nebrodensis trail](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/trails/vallone-madonna-degli-angeli-and-the-abies-nebrodensis/) also starts. ## Track and technical details The GPX track, elevation profile and waymarks for this trail are on sentierisiciliani.it. [Open on sentierisiciliani.it](https://www.sentierisiciliani.it/it/sentieri/sentiero-portella-colla-case-disiceddi-piano-cervi) ## Frequently asked questions ### How long does trail 561 from Portella Colla to Piano Cervi take? The full track, to Case Disiceddi, is about 10 km and the page calculates about 3 hours of walking without stops. Piano Cervi, at about 1,530 metres, is halfway: many people stop there and turn back, making a half-day outing. ### Is trail 561 difficult? You walk mostly on dirt tracks and woodland paths, with no exposed passages. The climb to Piano Cervi is steady but not steep. Pay attention to route finding on the open pastures, especially in fog. ### Where do you park at Portella Colla? Portella Colla is at the junction of the SP54 and SP119, a few kilometres from Piano Battaglia. Leave the car in the lay-bys near the junction without blocking gates and tracks: Park rules forbid stopping where it is not suitable. ### Can you do it with children? As far as Piano Cervi, with children who walk a couple of hours, it works: the track is wide and the small lake in the middle of the pasture is a goal they like. The full traverse to Case Disiceddi is longer and needs a car at the finish. ### Are there restrictions for the golden eagle? Not on trail 561 itself. The Cefalù Madonie tourist district notes, however, that the stretch of the Sentiero Italia that drops from Casa di Mastro Peppino into the Vallone Nipitalva is closed from May to October to protect golden eagle nests. In that period you use variant 566b towards Piano Zucchi. ### When should you go to Piano Cervi? From May to October. In spring basilisco flowers along the track and the lake is full of meltwater; in autumn the beech wood turns colour. In autumn also check the Park's notices on wildlife control zones, which in October 2026 included Portella Colla. ## Sources - [Distretto turistico Cefalù Madonie Himera, sentiero 561 Portella Colla - Case Disiceddi (Piano Cervi)](https://www.cefalumadoniehimera.it/trails/561-sentiero-portella-colla-case-disiceddi-piano-cervi/) - [Distretto turistico Cefalù Madonie Himera, 566b deviazione per la nidificazione dell'aquila reale](https://www.cefalumadoniehimera.it/trails/561-566b-deviazione-si-per-la-salvaguardia-della-nidificazione-dellaquila-reale/) - [OpenStreetMap, relazione 14894428 (sentiero 561)](https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/14894428) - [Ente Parco delle Madonie, news e avvisi (zone di controllo della fauna)](https://www.parcodellemadonie.it/) - [Sentieri Siciliani, sentiero Portella Colla - Case Disiceddi (Piano Cervi)](https://www.sentierisiciliani.it/it/sentieri/sentiero-portella-colla-case-disiceddi-piano-cervi) --- Markdown version of the page https://www.lemadonie.it/en/trails/portella-colla-case-disiceddi-trail-piano-cervi/, from Le Madonie (lemadonie.it), an independent guide to the Madonie. Facts with source and date of check.