Enchandng woods, night spooks, falcon predators and falcon houses, Walt Disney bunnies peeping out from behind the bushes, smell of goats cheese and `ricotta', processions, decorated carts, musicians and maids dressed in gold and silver, good shepherds offering whey and bread and further still, a crystal sea that measures up to the Caribbean, ski pistes and ski lifts, Baroque, Romanesque and Norman churches, tiny little villages set in the rocks like Nativity scenes, abandoned abbeys bathed in the scent of the woods, horses and foxes, cane work and lace work and, last but not least, village festivals, fairy tales, folklore, art and dreams...

By train you can sit back and relax, enjoying the scenery without having to worry about driving. But trains are hot in Sicily - air conditioning hardly exists - so from Cefalù it is better to go back to the fresh air of the Madonie mountains. Why not go walking in autumn or spring, like the wayfarers did in the 18' century- Or horse riding, seeing as the Vallegrande horse riding centre is along the way-

The houses of Sant'Anastasia make a great stopping point, to taste the delicious wine that has been marketed as a quality wine for a couple of years. Then you'll reach Castelbuono, dominated by the fortress of Ventimiglia castle. Incidentally, it is important to understand that Sicilians were mainly mountain people. Living on an island that has constantly been invaded from the sea from the Phoenician period to Garibaldi - towns and villages were often built in the mountains, in defence and to keep a look out over the surrounding area and preserve their culture. Indeed the Madonie mountains are rich in ancient places and typical mountain traditions, unusual in the `land of the sun and the sea'. Castelbuono, the old Ypsigro founded by the Byzantines, owes its magnificence to the noble Ventimiglia family, powerful Norman Counts, who made it the county capital in the mid 15' century. Its beauty `penetrates the soul', said Houel in the 18`" century. Castelbuono does not only offer artistic beauty, e.g. the main Church, but also an excellent cuisine, based on mushrooms, wild asparagus, home made pasta, piglets and, above all, kid and lamb prepared in a thousand different ways. The restaurants are in historic and fascinating buildings, for example Romitaggio, located in an ancient Benedictine monastery, or `Il vecchio palmento', located in an 18' century oil mill. Near Castelbuono, where the county costume festival takes place in August, is Piano Battaglia, western Sicily's ski resort, with three pistes of varying levels. Snow is guaranteed, at least in February, and it is not expensive to ski here. There are two hostels providing board and lodging: Cai (Club Alpino Italiano) and Cas (Club Alpino Siciliano), the latter is better. There are two gastronomical diversions: between Piano Battaglia and Piano Sempria, in summer, the shepherds, who have migrated from the lower pastures to find fresh air and good grazing ground, are happy to chat, share fresh ricotta and sell their cheese. If you take them wine, the shepherds will gladly share their memories and stories.

And also their view as `entrepreneurs' of tradition. If you are not there in the summer, try and look for the shepherds on the lower pastures, in the numerous farmhouses between the plateaux of Gratteri and Gibilmanna.

The second purely greedy diversion is to Polizzi Generosa (heading towards Piano Battaglia, take the Portella Colla junction). You cannot miss the sfoglio, the famous cheese cake covered in short pastry and filled with fresh `tuma' cheese with cinnamon, chocolate and honey. A unique delicacy, absolute delicious eaten warm. Light and fluffy mushrooms mushroom in the Madonie woods, but they are difficult to find unless you know where to go. Here's a couple of tips for mushrooming: for perfumed and delicious pore mushrooms you need to go back to the Portella Colla junction and walk along the track to the right of the Polizzi junction. A couple of hours walk until you get to streams and lakelets and, if you're lucky, a good booty of mushrooms. For connoisseurs, there are also the Vicaretto woods, after Piano Battaglia: great walking, many kinds of edible fungi, including parasol.

What if it is not mushrooming season but you like gathering- Well, go for wild asparagus instead. It grows near the typical dark green bushes with pointed leaves, and one of the most fascinating places where you can find it is Gratteri, a fairy tale village clinging to the rock above Mazzaforno (accessible from the Vicaretto woods by a scenic road). In Gratteri, on New Year's Eve, when the clock strikes midnight, the `old' witch dressed in rags rides through the streets on a decorated mule until dawn, pursued by village people and a few fortunate tourists. Once out of the village, there is a track leading to San Giorgio. It meanders through ravines under overhanging rocks, past stables and groups of horses, some of which are wild, and runs along a stream that almost becomes a river. The track comes to an end in a little valley where, as if in a dream, suddenly you see the abbey of San Giorgio in a glade, with its magnificent gilded stone, framed by thick woods rich in asparagus and mushrooms.

Some say these places are more enjoyable out of season, in the sweetness of spring or autumn. At Easter, for example, Isnello mourns on the Good Friday procession. In October, from magnificent Baroque Petralia Soprana and Petralia Sottana, rich in amazing churches and magic countryside, one can walk up on foot or go by the Park's jeep to the Madonna dell'Alto, an ancient convent gripping the top of a mountain that evokes images of gnomes and fairy tales, and a good area for mushroom picking. Lastly, in August, it is worth tearing yourself away from the sea for these two important events: the Sagra della Spiga (festival celebrating the ear of corn), a pagan feast dedicated to Ceres who, every first Sunday of August, takes strange carts without wheels, called straule, around Gangi. Do not forget to visit Gangi Vecchia, the old town famous for its gastronomy and, if you are lucky, watch the Cravaccata, a festival that takes place every seven years in Geraci Siculo to celebrate the shepherds that "came down" from the mountains bringing cheese and beasts (cows, sheep and goats) to the village. Snippets of ancient dying traditions.

The Madonie mountains, a chain stretching between the river valleys Pollina and Imera Settentrionale, are the oldest mountains in Sicily (apart from a few peaks in the Peloritani mountains), as shown by evidence of fossilised lamellibranchs, sea weed and sponges found in the calcareous areas. The highest and most spectacular peaks are: pizzo Carbonara 1979 m, Mount San Salvatore 1912 m, Mount Ferro 1906 m and Mount dei Cervi 1656 m. Despite belonging to the same chain, each mountain is different. Some are rounded, some are sharp, some covered in vegetation, others bare: they all majestically shape the landscape, creating valleys, plains, plateaux, precipices and gently rolling ridges. From the peaks the view is wonderful: Mount Etna, the Nebrodi Mountains and the Aeolian islands, tinged with splendid colours at dawn and dusk, seeming almost unreal. But the Madonie Mountains are not only unforgettable for their nature. The area features numerous religious buildings, monasteries, hermitages and mountain churches, often isolated up in the mountains. Scattered along the river course, one finds mills, old farmhouses, often built on the ruins of Roman villas, that prove culture can live in harmony with nature. The Madonie Regional Park was established in 1989 and it covers almost 40,000 ha. It is subdivided into four different areas, according to environmental priorities and activities permitted.

Area A (5,733 ha), a special reserve, where the natural environment is untouched, it features ecosystems that are very interesting both from a naturalistic and panoramic point of view.

Area B (16,535 ha), general reserve, where building or extension work is forbidden, or any kind of modification to the park. The Park managers allow forestry, farming and shepherding activities, and the building of relevant infrastructures, such as access roads, maintenance and conservation of the natural environment.

Area C (427 ha), a protected area, where buildings, building modifications and landscaping are allowed, in line with the purpose of the Park, such as tourism, cultural facilities and parking areas.

Area D (16,984 ha), a controlled area, where all activities are allowed, as long as they are compatible with the purpose of the Park. The Madonie Regional Park covers the municipalities of Caltavuturo, Castelbuono, Castellana Sicula, Cefalù Collesano, Geraci Siculo, Isnello, Petralia Soprana a Sottana, Polizzi Generosa, pollina, San Mauro Castelverde, Scillato and Sclafani Bagni.