Discover Donato: holiday apartment for mountain biking, mountain trails and culture

Donato between the Serra and mountain panoramas

The municipal area of Donato is particularly well suited to mountain biking. Over just a few kilometres, the routes from Donato lead through the forests of the Serra to the gentle mountain slopes. From the mountain slopes, there are views across the plain below, extending from Turin to Novara. This combination can help guide you when choosing a holiday apartment in Donato.

Routes with different profiles

The Blue Trail, the Donato–Piane–Gre–Ceresito–Donato route, is highly challenging. It is 19.7 kilometres long and climbs approximately 800 metres in elevation. The route returns to Donato. This provides a clearly defined, demanding route for sporty day trips.

The Donato–Oropa Trail runs between Andrate and Oropa along the “Tracciolino”, a road that is partly unpaved and partly paved. For walking, the Pian Bres–Alpe Cavanna trail is suitable: from Donato, it can be reached on foot by following marked trail signs and leads through beech and birch woodland to the Alpe Cavanna pastures in about one hour.

The Alpe Cavanna–Colma di Mombarone trail climbs 1,191 metres, from 1,180 m to 2,371 m. It follows a ridge where gentians and daffodils bloom in spring and passes by Lake Pasei.

Local details and orientation

In Donato and its hamlets, there are more than 40 fountains and around ten wash troughs. On this stage of the Cammino di Oropa della Serra, Donato also has bars, minimarkets, restaurants and accommodation options.

The routes proposed by the municipality are fully signposted on site. Educational activities can take place in Donato all year round. You can therefore plan your stay around different focuses: cycling, walking, the landscape or educational content.

Memory and regional history

The Area Monumentale di Lace was created around the restored ruins of a partisan command post destroyed in 1945. It is panoramically situated at Costa di Lace and is particularly suitable for guided visits by schools and organised groups.

The Centro di documentazione sull’emigrazione in Donato researches family archives and collects the memories of residents, families and emigrants from Valle Elvo e Serra. Cultural interest in Donato thus extends from the memorial site to personal stories from the region. Educational activities available all year round complement this focus.

When choosing your holiday apartment in Donato, you can take these differences into account: challenging routes and elevation gains, an approximately one-hour woodland trail, panoramic views, fountains and wash troughs, or guided visits and family archives. This allows you to decide whether your stay should be shaped more by activity, landscape, local life or history.

More destinations for planning your trip

Graglia, Castellengo, Masserano, Bioglio, Crevacuore, Netro, Vivaro and Pollone

For the higher-level travel overview: Biella.