"Where once there was ice, there is now...": borrowing a well-known song by Italian singer Adriano Celentano, we invite you to discover on foot - with two daily itineraries - the lakes of the upper Val Nure, in the hinterland of Piacenza.
The disappearance of the glaciers has actually left in that area glimpses of green and small lakes, to be discovered walking along paths suitable for everyone, which wind through the woods.
A lively and diverse nature animates the paths that lead to Lake Moo, now without water, to Lake Bino and, on the other side, to Lake Nero.
Peculiar species of flowers and plants come to life in this rare environment, far from human contamination, where the encounters along the way are mostly animals.
As a starting point, we suggest the town of Ferriere, which allows reaching within a few kilometers by car the entrance of the two paths that we propose.
The first one is a 6 km route (3+ hour walk on average): Canadello - Moo Lake - Bino Lake - Prato Grande.
The second one is a ring-route of about 7.5 Km (4 hours of walking on average): Selva - Lago Nero - Buche – Selva.
For the first day, an easy dirt road, closed to motorized vehicles in every season, connects Canadello, 3 km from Ferriere, to Moo Lake.
It is also possible to follow the path 021 of CAI, which coincides for long stretches with the road, cutting some hairpin turns.
After the last hairpin turn you arrive in front of the largest basin of the Apennines of Piacenza, where there is a small oval mirror: Moo Lake at about 1100 meters above sea level.
The small lake, now extinct due to the invasion of marsh flora, was formed thanks to the geological mechanisms produced by the ice that descended from Mount Ragola.
Continuing beyond the area of Lake Moo, climbing up the eastern slope of the lake, you reach a wide road that leads to Lake Bino, of morainic origin, formed by deposits due to the ancient presence of a glacier.
In relationship to Lake Moo, Lake Bino has a greater flow of water: a natural pool with a wide view of the valley, whose banks, in part accessible, alternate with rocky fragments that slide steeply into the water.
Note the flowering, starting in late spring, of numerous buttercups, as well as the presence of newts and water lilies, which give an ancestral sense to the landscape: an ancient place, untouched, where nature brings with it past memories of its slow and continuous transformations.
After leaving Lake Bino and passing the top of the route, the itinerary continues until the meadow of Prato Grande, of glacial origin as well. It is a vast grassy surface that in ancient times housed lake basins, which have since disappeared.
Here you can often meet grazing herds, high altitude birds such as hawks and buzzards, and the area is also full of mushrooms.
At the end of this first route, it is enough to retrace your steps to reach Canadello.
The second day, leaving from Ferriere, continue by car to Selva and at about 3 km from the town you'll find on the right a direction for Bivacco Sacchi, Monte Bue and Fontana Gelata. Take this road until you reach two large open spaces at the sides of the road where you can park.
Leaving the car, take path 007 of the CAI and after about ten minutes you'll find a crossroad with directions for Dogana, to be ignored.
Continuing through the beech forest, in about 45 minutes you arrive at Fontana Gelata, where a spring waits for you.
Crossing the stream on the left you will find the directions for the path 011 of the CAI that leads to Lago Nero, which offers suggestive views of the surrounding mountains.
Following the path in the wood in about 45 minutes you finally reach the enchanting Lago Nero, set among beeches and white firs and lying in a glacial basin framed by a morainic hillock of glacial origin.
Below, on the right, two vast meadows are the result of the silting up of two ancient glacial lakes.
In order to get to the end of the ring, going back towards Selva, it is necessary to take the path 001 and then, from Le Buche, the path 005 (alternatively you can go back to Lago Nero the way you came).
