The Royal Baths in Valdieri

After your stop in Entracque, get back on the road again and, after an initial downhill section, you will then continue gently uphill for about 6 kilometres, taking you up to an altitude of 978 metres asl and Sant’Anna di Valdieri. Here you can visit the Eco-museum of Rye, an important reference centre that brings together the history and local traditions linked to this ancient cereal. And it is precisely the lost traditions, the ancient values of life in the countryside and a reawakening of the culture of the valley that has prompted six courageous women entrepreneurs to start over, working to combat local depopulation and bringing new life to the village, so much so that they have named Sant’Anna di Valdieri the “Women’s village”.

After about 6 kilometres we reach the Terme Reali di Valdieri (literally the Royal Baths), where in summer you also have the option of the bike-on-bus service that lets you put your bikes into the bus luggage compartment free of charge. The hot water and sulphur springs here have antioxidant, depurative, soothing and regenerative properties, and an ancient history: the first spa was built way back in the sixteenth century and in the eighteenth century King Carlo Emanuele III decided to build his Regio Baraccone by the side of this precious water. In the nineteenth century, the beneficial waters of Valdieri became the spa of the Royal House of Savoy. Later, King Victor Emmanuel II visited the baths and decided to turn the area into a Hunting Nature Reserve and even had several royal summer residences built in the surrounding area, thus preserving the natural area.