A Walk in the Alta Murgia Among Jazzi and Dolines

The Alta Murgia is one of those lands that careless tourism does not even know it has. Those who think of Apulia imagine trulli, sea and whitewashed old towns; few know that in the heart of the region stretches a vast, almost bare limestone plateau, a Mediterranean steppe swept by the wind, where the silence is so full it becomes the protagonist. This is the Alta Murgia National Park, and to walk through it means to cross a landscape that seems to belong to another South, harder and more essential.

The landscape

Here woods are absent and open spaces abound: grasslands as far as the eye can see, rock outcrops, dry-stone walls that trace ancient boundaries, and dolines, those karst hollows where the stone opens into sudden depressions. Punctuating the landscape are the masserie, some of them fortified, and the jazzi, the ancient shelters for the sheep of the transhumance, testimonies to a pastoral world that shaped these places for centuries. As you walk you come across their remains, low walls and enclosures that tell of the civilisation of wool.

Castel del Monte

The symbolic reference point of the whole plateau is Castel del Monte, the mysterious octagonal castle commissioned by Frederick II, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which rises solitary on a rise and draws the gaze from a great distance. Many of the park's itineraries use the castle as a focal point: you reach it on foot across the pastures, or keep it on the horizon as a reference point while walking among the dolines. Watching it appear and disappear behind the undulations of the plateau is one of the most evocative experiences of this territory.

The itineraries

The itineraries develop largely on dirt roads, ancient drovers' tracks and trails among the pastures, with generally modest elevation changes: the Murgia is a plateau, not a mountain, and the climbs are gentle even if constant. The technical difficulty is low, but the real effort comes from exposure: here shade is a rare luxury and the sun is relentless. You can build half-day walks or full-day outings by linking farmsteads, jazzi and panoramic points. Several areas of the park, such as the wood of Acquatetta or the pine plantations established in the past, offer more sheltered variants.

Getting there requires a car: the park is reached from the centres surrounding it, such as Andria, Ruvo di Puglia, Gravina, Altamura and Spinazzola, from which roads and dirt tracks head towards the interior of the plateau. Castel del Monte is well signposted and has a car park. It is best to set out with clear references and reliable tracks, because in the vastness of the Murgia orientation points are scarce and the trails are not always marked continuously.

When to go

The right time is the cool season: March and April, when the plateau covers itself in green and blossom and the days are mild, and November, when the air turns crisp and the raking light brings out every fold of the terrain. These are the months when the Murgia is at its best and, above all, when solitude is guaranteed: Apulian tourism concentrates elsewhere and on the coast, and up here you can walk for hours without meeting anyone. Summer, by contrast, is not advised: the heat and the total absence of shade make excursions demanding and potentially risky.

A fundamental practical tip: carry all the water you think you will need, and then a bit more, because along the routes you will find no fountains or supply points. Add a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen even on cool days, and calculate your times carefully so as not to be caught by darkness out in the middle of the plateau. Finally, stop to listen: the real reason to come all the way here is not a postcard panorama, but that rare sense of emptiness and silence that the Murgia, off every route, can still bestow.

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