Monte Capanne
Top Tips and Hiking Guide for the Highest Peak on the Italian Island of Elba

Monte Cappane Overview

Monte Capanne, the highest peak on Elba, stands at an altitude of 1,019 meters above sea level.

Located on the western side of Italy’s third-largest Mediterranean island, it is composed of granodiorite, an igneous rock closely related to granite.

For me, the hike and visit to Monte Capanne was one of the best things we did when visiting Elba.

Hiking trails & Tips for hikes to the Monte Capanne summit

There are six hiking trails that lead from different villages to the Monte Capanne summit: Marciana, Poggio, Valle Nevera, Chiessi and Pomonte. The hikes take between 3.5 and 6 hours, depending on the starting point and of course your speed and fitness level.

Even on these “easy” summit tours, you need to conquer almost 600 meters of altitude. For experienced hikers, this might not seem very challenging, but due to the high temperatures and heat of the summer, these tours should not be underestimated.

For this reason, I recommend hiking up Elba’s highest mountain only in spring or fall, when the temperatures are more moderate. If you do decide to hike in summer, start very early and bring plenty of water.

⇨ There is shade only at the beginning of the hike; most part of the trail is exposed to the blazing sun!

Hiking Description: From Poggio to Monte Capanne

Monte Capanne Summit Ascend

My recommendation for ascending Monte Capanne is the hike from Poggio. In this lovely mountain village, the hiking trail to the summit is well signposted. The path leads out of the village over large stone steps and steadily uphill.

You will quickly gain altitude, soon enjoying stunning views of the villages of Poggio, Marciana Marina, and the surrounding bays of the island.

With its distinctive oval shape and two church towers, the view of Poggio from above is even more impressive and beautiful.

From a certain altitude, the vegetation becomes increasingly sparse, and only grasses and the prickly dwarf broom grow near the summit. While we were alone for most of the way, the last section of the trail becomes quite crowded.

Not only do several hiking trails join up below the summit, but many visitors who have taken the cable car up the mountain also take a walk here.

Monte Capanne Summit

Just below the Monte Capanne peak is the top station of the cable car (Cabinovia) and a small bar. From there, it is just a few meters further up to the summit, where you will find several antennas and a helipad.

The 360-degree panoramic view includes the entire island of Elba, the other close-by islands of the Tuscan Archipelago, the coastline of the Italian mainland, and the neighboring French island of Corsica.

I was even able to see the ferries coming from Piembino. Well, at least until it got too cloudy, and we decided to return.

Monte Capanne Summit Decent

For the way back, we chose the route to the southeast via Le Filicaie. This is a truly beautiful path, but it includes a short, easy via ferrata (protected climbing route). If this is too challenging for you, it’s best to descend using the same path as the ascent.

At the beginning, the path runs over large granite slabs and leads downhill on the south side of Monte Capanne.

Unfortunately, the trail is poorly marked, so you really need to keep an eye out for the red and white markings. We got a bit lost here and had to backtrack several times to find the correct trail.

Shortly before reaching Le Filicaie, there is an easy via ferrata over the southeast ridge. That short climb can be done without any equipment, but sure-footedness is essential!

From Le Filicaie, we head north again below Monte Capanne, parallel to the rocky granite wall. We soon meet up with our ascent path at a crossroad and hike back to Poggio along the same route we hiked up.

Details on Hiking Trek

Poggio – Monte Capanne Summit (round trip)
Hiking time: 3h | Length: 6,5km | Altitude meters: ↑ 650 & ↓ 650 |
Difficulty level: intermediate – difficult
⇨ GPS and more pictures tracked with Komoot

Monte Capanne Cable Car

If you can’t or don’t want to hike, you can also reach the panoramic summit by cable car (Cabinovia).

The valley station to reach the summit of Monte Capanne is located in the beautiful village of Marciana, just a few meters from the town center, on a small road towards Marciana Alta.

There is a large free parking lot directly at the valley station at an altitude of 375 meters (⇨ location). The cable car, originally built in the 1960s, was renovated in 2005. It takes 18 minutes to transport its guests up to an altitude of 950 meters.

The cable car cabins consist of yellow lattice gondolas without a roof, accommodating a maximum of two people standing. To board, the cable cars slow down slightly, an employee opens the door, and passengers jump inside. It’s a bit adventurous, but great fun if you have a head for heights!

Upon arrival on the top station of the cable car, a short walk takes you to the highest point on Monte Capanne and the entire island of Elba, at 1,019 meters above sea level.

Cable car opening hours: From June to September from 10:00 – 17:30hrs.
Last departure from Monte Capanne is at 18:00hrs.
In October, it operates from 10:00 – 17:00hrs with a last descent at 17:30hrs.
There is a lunch break from 13:00 – 14:20 and no gondolas run.
Cable car price: € 20,00 per Person / Return trip

Trail Signage in Elba

You should definitely have a hiking map of Elba with you when hiking on the island. Whether digital or on paper, make sure it is available offline.

There are signposts on the island, but they are not good or present everywhere. Main hiking trails are usually very well signposted and also marked with white and red stripes on trees or stones, but as soon as you leave those, you are on your own.

Where there are little or no signposts, stone cairns are often used as markers. However, even following these and assuming to be on the right path, did lead me more than once to a dead end.

Therefore, a hiking app or GPS tracks are very helpful to at least go in the right direction.