The little town of Cortino lays in heart of the Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga, in an uncontaminated mountain territory offering abundant nature trails that unwind along rare white spruce woods and crystal clear torrents rushing down from the highest peaks of the Apennines.

The first naturalistic itinerary we wish to recommend  leads from the Teramo valley to the Tordino river springs. As the path goes up the mountainside the oaks, willows and prairies turn into beeches and moss patches; colours, sounds and scents continuously mute and accompany the hiker into a genuine discovery of nature.

Once in Padula, a small town at an altitude of 900 metres, and starting point for many excursions (the trails are adapted for hiking, horse or mountain bike riding), it is possible to reach the peak of the Monte Bilancere at a height of 1200 metres. From the top, the entire province unwinds under the eyes, stretching from the Monte Gorzano, which in winter is a sought-after destination for lovers of mountain claimbing on ice, to the imposing massif of the Gran Sasso while the Adriatic Sea lays on the horizon.

Also worth mentioning is the Abetina di Fonte Spugna; this beautiful wood of white spruces and beeches, testimony of the ice age, represents a real environmental rarity also because it is the southern most in Europe. Here the Parco Gran Sasso -Monti della Laga has set up a protected wildlife area to make it possible for visitors to observe the most representative species of the Apennines: the stag.

The many little villages scattered among the hilly woods, most of which are deserted, are like little treasures of history and archaeology. An ancient Roman temple dating back to the 3rd century B.C has been recently dug up near Pagliaroli.

In Padula, the 15th-century Sanctuary of Madonna dei Monti dela Laga, conserves the rests of a 15th-century fresco representing a mutilated saint, a decorated wooden baroque altar and a wooden organ. Remaining in Padula it is possible to visit the small 17th-century Church of S.Antonio and in Cortino the Church of S.Maria Assunta dating back to 1300.