Cold water
An hour east of Rome the limestone mountains start, and everything they hold comes back out as cold water falling.
38 things to book15 placesthe nearest is in Rome itself
This is the part of central Italy nobody expects. Behind Tivoli the Aniene comes down through a gorge in the middle of the town; further up the valley at Subiaco it is cold enough to make you gasp in July; and over the Umbrian border the Marmore falls drop a hundred and sixty metres in three stages, which the Romans arranged deliberately and which is still, technically, plumbing.
Canyoning is the full version: a wetsuit, a helmet, and a descent of a gorge by jumping, sliding and abseiling down the water. It is more approachable than it sounds — the guides pick routes to fit whoever turns up — and it is the single best thing to do near Rome on a day when the city is unbearable.
The gentler versions are on this page too: walks to the falls, gorge paths, and rafting on the same rivers where they flatten out.
A canyoning day has a shape worth knowing before you book one. You meet at a car park, you put on a wetsuit that is already wet, you walk uphill for twenty minutes feeling ridiculous, and then you get into the water and stop thinking about anything else for three hours. Jumps are optional at every point and the guides say so before each one, which is the thing nobody tells you and the thing that makes it work for people who were not sure.
The gentler grid is genuinely gentle. Villa Gregoriana at Tivoli is a park in a gorge with a path down to the bottom of a waterfall in the middle of a town. The Marmore falls are a walk with viewpoints. The Corchiano gorges are a stream between rock walls with Faliscan sunken roads cut alongside. None of them need a wetsuit or a booking with an instructor.
The one fact that changes the plan at Marmore: the water is released on a schedule, because it is also a power station. Between releases the cliff is dry. The schedule is published by whoever runs it and the cards link there rather than to a timetable of ours, because it changes by season and by day of the week.
What to bring for the wet version: a swimsuit under your clothes, a towel, shoes that can be soaked and walked in, and a change of everything. Wetsuit, helmet and harness belong to the operator. What to leave in the car: anything that does not enjoy water.
Wetsuits, guides and cold water. Graded by the operator, and the grade is on the card — most of what runs near Rome is at the approachable end.
Best fit for this section first, then whatever you can book today. Closest to Rome breaks a tie. Never by who pays us.
Down the riverFive kilometres down the Aniene. Helmet and paddle included, shuttle to the start.
€25 per person
Books on viverelaniene.com
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Down the riverForty-five minutes walking in, then two hours down the Fosso Ravi gorge.
€50 per person
Books on avventuristicandopark.com
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Down the riverA raft descent of the urban stretch of the Tiber.
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Down the riverTrendingPaddle under Castel Sant'Angelo and past Tiber Island, down the middle of Rome.
A sports club — you join them for the day
See the day
On the trailThe park in the gorge cut by the Aniene at Tivoli, managed by FAI since 2002, with a waterfall of about a hundred and twenty metres and Roman temples above it.
See the day
On the trailA farm restaurant and camper area right beside the acropolis of Civitavecchia di Arpino, the one with the pointed-arch gate.
See the day
Down the riverA four-hour excursion walking in the water through the gorge of Nepi, starting from the Cascata del Pizzo, among small falls and pools.
A sports club — you join them for the day
See the day
Down the riverA stretch of the Aniene done on foot, through gorges, with jumps, natural slides and rope descents.
See the day
Under the groundA trip that combines caving with canyoning progression techniques: you walk through underground chambers, cross fixed sections and rope traverses with a helmet, harness and head…
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Down the riverYou paddle an individual inflatable kayak down the Aniene, with guides alongside.
See the day
Down the riverThe same stretch of the Aniene as the soft rafting but run in wetsuits, with a land briefing first, then strong currents, rapids, surfing and jumps at the end.
See the day
Down the riverA soft rafting descent of the Aniene that stops at the Aimara craft brewery, which sits directly on the water.
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On the trailA day walk described as light and suitable for everyone through the natural monument of the Corchiano gorges, past waterfalls and springs, Faliscan-era vie cave cut into the roc…
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With your handsFarm visit followed by a guided walk into the gorges and the old town of Corchiano, ending with a tasting of the local food and wine produced on the surrounding land.
See the dayNo wetsuit, no booking with an instructor. Tivoli's gorge, the Marmore falls, the cascades in the Simbruini.
Best fit for this section first, then whatever you can book today. Closest to Rome breaks a tie. Never by who pays us.
On the trailThe Roman-built waterfall on the border between the Rieti basin and Umbria, with marked paths on two levels and the Balcone degli Innamorati, a viewpoint reached through a short…
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Off roadA four-hour guided off-road ride across farmland and Mediterranean scrub to the Cerveteri waterfalls, where the operator says there is a swim stop.
See the day
Off roadA three-hour guided ride on dirt tracks between olive groves and vineyards through the Etruscan territory of Cerveteri, with a stop at the Cascatella di Sant'Antonio where the o…
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Off roadA four-hour guided quad ride on an easy route with a stop at the Mola waterfall of Oriolo Romano.
See the day
On the trailIsola del Liri is the town with a waterfall in the middle of it, and the water ran the paper mills that made it rich.
See the day
On the trailA climbing session with instructors on the crags near the Marmore falls.
See the day
Down the riverThe put-in is right under the Marmore falls, on the Nera.
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On the trailThe park sells four themed guided visits: the Balcone degli Innamorati under the falling water, a walk on the park trails covering history, flora and fauna, an animated visit fo…
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Down the riverThe rafting centre licensed to operate under the Marmore Falls, running class-4 descents from the Papigno base and gentler family descents and children's trips from the Arrone b…
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On the trailA guided walk with a local guide from the lake of Piediluco to the Marmore falls, following the water.
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On the trailA waterfall cut by Roman engineers in the third century BC, now on a controlled flow because the water drives a hydroelectric plant.
See the day
Off roadThe operator's longest and roughest guided ride: five hours, eighty per cent on unsurfaced tracks, with the Cerveteri waterfalls as the turning point.
See the dayThe Aniene above Tivoli and the Simbruini behind it: the greenest, highest, least Roman-feeling direction out of the city.
Best fit for this section first, then whatever you can book today. Closest to Rome breaks a tie. Never by who pays us.
With your handsThey collect you at your Rome hotel; you come back having made lunch by hand.
€250 per person
Books on Villa Proietti
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On the trailEntry to the monumental Roman sanctuary of Hercules Victor at Tivoli, the third site of the VILLÆ complex.
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On the trailEntry to the archaeological area of Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, part of the VILLÆ state institute along with Villa d'Este and the Sanctuary of Hercules Victor.
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On the trailA private guided tour of Hadrian's Villa covering the emperor's private quarters, the Canopus and Serapeum, the Pecile portico and the Large and Small Baths, including the under…
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On the trailEntry to the Renaissance villa and terraced garden of fountains at Tivoli.
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With your handsA hands-on day with Chef Davide at Tivoli: making fresh pasta, tasting local wine and eating what has been cooked.
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On the trailA long but not difficult ring hike starting from the small settlement of Campaegli and reaching the summit of Monte Autore.
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On the trailA visit to the monastery of San Benedetto, built against the rock face above the Aniene valley, where Benedict lived as a hermit.
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On the trailA ring hike from the Serra Sant'Antonio pass above Filettino to the summit of Monte Viglio, the highest peak of the Monti Cantari at the eastern edge of the Simbruini park.
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On the trailA ring hike starting at the car park of the Santissima Trinità sanctuary above Vallepietra, along the Alta Via del Parco and part of the Frassati path, crossing the karst depres…
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In the airA tandem paragliding flight over the Tiburtini hills and the Aniene valley nature reserve, thirty-five kilometres from Rome.
A sports club — you join them for the day
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In the hot waterA day pass to the thermal spa fed by the sulphurous Acque Albule springs on the road between Rome and Tivoli.
See the dayDriving time from the middle of Rome, on the road network and without traffic. It tells you whether the day stands up; it is not a timetable.
Getting there
The day stays yours: you leave when you want, stop where you want, and come back when the light goes.
Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Localrent, and anything about that booking goes through them.
See prices on LocalrentNo parking to find, no wrong turns, and you leave when the day is done.
Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Welcome Pickups, and anything about that booking goes through them.
See prices on Welcome PickupsNo. The guides run routes for first-timers and grade the day to the group. You need to be able to move about and be comfortable getting wet; you do not need to be able to swim well, and the card tells you where a minimum age applies.
Cold. It comes out of limestone mountains and it is cold in August, which is exactly the point in August. You are in a wetsuit provided by the operator.
Villa Gregoriana in the middle of Tivoli, where the Aniene falls into a gorge under the town, and the Marmore falls over the Umbrian border, which are the tallest man-made falls in Europe. Both are walk-in rather than technical.
Late spring through summer for canyoning, when the water is manageable and the air is hot. The falls themselves are at their most dramatic after rain, which is another argument for the wetter half of the year.
In the gorges above Subiaco — the descent to the Laghetto di San Benedetto is the classic — in the Sabina gorges, at Nepi and Corchiano north of the city, and behind Arpino in the south. Most of it is an hour to an hour and a half out.
At some of them, and it depends on the fall and the season rather than on a rule. The canyoning and water-trekking days are the reliable way to be in the water, because the guide knows which pools are safe and how much water came down last night.
Half a day for most of the routes near Rome, including the briefing, the walk in and getting changed. The longer descents run to a full day. Each card carries the operator's own duration and their own grade.
The easier routes take children, usually from around ten to twelve, and the guides grade the day to whoever turns up. The minimum age is the operator's and is on the card. Water trekking — walking up a stream rather than descending it — is the version for younger ones.
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