Salento Trail

The Salento Trail grew out of a group of friends from the heel of Italy who turned years of exploring their peninsula into a looped bikepacking route, then into a club, RTquadro, to share it. They are clear that it is not meant to be a race: their own motto swaps speed for slowness, energy gels for local dishes and the shower for a swim in the sea.

The tracks wind mostly through the Salento countryside of dry stone walls and red earth, crossing three protected areas, the Cesine oasis, the Otranto coast park and the Ugento dunes, and passing dolmens, menhirs, coastal watchtowers, fortified farmhouses and the castles of Otranto and Gallipoli. Riders can take on the full multi-day loop or one of the single-day One Shot routes, stopping in village bars and bakeries along the way.