Being in front of the Large Colella Landslide awakens completely unexpected emotions! The first thing that strikes the visitor is its heart shape, a huge heart of rocks which could tell stories about ancient times and distant continents, even from the southern hemisphere, and which no longer exist today. If the Aspromonte has a heart it is right there and beats strongly, it tells the eternal story of life, or rather, it is a perfect metaphor of everyone’s and everything’s cyclic life: of the Earth, of nature and of us humans, of the continuous growth, reaching and overcoming limits and the consequent collapsing, sliding down, eroding, of an eternal transformation. Being in front of the Large Colella Landslide means feeling like in a huge rocky cathedral and at the same time in a yellowish-white landscape which seems almost lunar, in front of the open heart of the Earth, immersed in the lush green of the surrounding vegetation, means understanding that the the ground under your feet is not a stable and lasting thing, but that it could give way at any moment and it means being confronted with one’s own transcience and littleness. But it is also the moment when all problems vanish and you completely merge with nature, enjoying the spectacle of breathtaking 360-degree views of the geosite, oft he Colella Valley and turning your gaze towards the sea, of the Pentedattilo rock, San Lorenzo and the Etna. Continuing your walk, you can reach the tip next to it which has views of the Fiumara Amendolea, the Calonero Waterfall and the entire valley until down to the sea. Here we are faced with the most ancient and noble rocks of the Aspromonte which were formed between 500 and 250 million years ago and with still active processes of erosion and gravitational phenomena among the largest in Europe. Here we are in front of one of the eight geosites of international importance of the Aspromonte Geopark.
Punta d’Atò can be reached from the nearby Zumbello forest hut (Hiking time: 2 hours round trip, elevation gain: approx. 60 m), or as the highlight of a longer excursion which starts at a lower altitude and crosses chestnut and pine forests and passes on an ancient path carved into the rock with wonderful views of Roccaforte del Greco and the coast below (Hiking time: 4 hours, elevation gain: approx. 400 m)
