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 Extra food such as muesli bars (hard to find in mountain village stores).

 Optional: lightweight stove and pan so you can prepare hot drinks, enabling you to get away early in the morning without having to wait for breakfast.

 Plentiful supply of euros in cash. Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) or cash dispensers are listed in the route description.

Accommodation

Walkers will enjoy some marvellous overnight stays, thanks to memorable Italian hospitality. There is a wide range of accommodation available:

 Small-scale comfortable hotels in villages

 Special walkers’ hostels, known as posto tappa

 High-altitude alpine huts, rifugio

 Unmanned bivacco shelters

 Your own tent.

The First three can – and should – be booked in advance: one day ahead is usually sufficient at off-peak times, but even months before is recommended for groups. The majority of the posto tappa establishments are family-run affairs so need a little advance warning to prepare evening meals. Refuges can be busy on Saturdays with local mountaineering groups, for example on Monviso. The middle fortnight of August is peak holiday season in Italy, so plan ahead for hotels. All necessary accommodation details are given in the walk descriptions, as are phone numbers for contacting the nearest Tourist Office. If your Italian is not up to scratch don’t hesitate to ask staff where you are staying to phone to book your accommodation for you; it is a common practice. However, all efforts at speaking Italian will be greatly appreciated, not to mention essential in some places: English-speakers in the isolated valleys of Piedmont can be counted on one hand! French can come in handy as it is widely understood and spoken. On the phone try: