PINEROLO towards Canada

The start is from piazza Garibaldi, in front of the Pinerolo station. Following the signs with the maple leaf, continue to piazza Vittorio Veneto (which the people of Pinerolo call piazza Fontana), where the weekly market takes place. Passing in front of the Town Hall and the Tourist Office, continue along via del Duomo. Upon reaching piazza San Donato (fountain), take via Trento and follow it to the Casa del Vicario, at the intersection with via Principi d'Acaja.

Turn right and follow via Principi d'Acaja to the San Maurizio square, 450m (fountain).

Now take Via Ciochino and, with no possibility of error by always following the maple leaf sign, reach the Church of San Defendente in Costagrande, about 570 m (fountain).

Continue now to the right of the church for about 100 m, then turn left and keep following the maple leaf. The road continues paved for about 1 km, then becomes a wide dirt track through the woods until the turnoff to Case Galletto: turn right on a steep but easy dirt track to be followed on the main route without turning left towards the houses. Continue on the main route ignoring deviations until reaching the small clearing of the Colle dell’Infernetto about 800 m.

Hikers go left: after a very short steep descent, take the right track which, after 1 km, becomes paved and leads to the settlement of Talucco. After the church (last fountain), take the first narrow paved road on the right. Here begins the Sentiero delle Carbonaie (SDB/049) and follow it passing through the village of Borgogna. Always following the White/Red signs of the Sentiero delle Carbonaie and the maple leaf, reach the Colle Eremita at about 960 m.

Continue always following the signs of the carbon works path until Colle Ciardonet at 1081 meters. Now descend and head without error to the Melano Casa Canada refuge at 1061 m, reachable on foot in 20 minutes, by cyclists in 10 minutes following the entire dirt road.

Wear clothing and footwear suitable for the environment and season

There are water points in the town, at Costragrande, near the small church of San Defendente where there is also a refreshment point, and at the arrival.

Getting to Pinerolo is easy by following the A55 if coming from Turin.

Train: the Pinerolo railway station is just a few minutes' walk from the starting point (www.trenitalia.com)

Bus: the bus terminal is just a few minutes' walk from the starting point (companies Arriva and Cavourese)

At the station and in the center of Pinerolo there are several public parking lots (some paid on weekdays)

If you choose a weekday to do this route, don't miss the Pinerolo market on Wednesday (smaller) and Saturday morning.

To shorten the route, it's also possible to start directly from the village of Talucco.

The path features several small clearings with panels explaining what the charcoal kilns were and illustrating, in reality, the various stages of their preparation for charcoal production, once a precious local resource of Val Lemina.