val d'Ega
The Earth Pyramids of Collepietra
The earth pyramids of Collepietra in the Val d’Ega
Giants of clay
Perjury and greed, according to legend, are supposed to be the reasons why earth pyramids reach toward the sky in Collepietra instead of lush, green and fertile meadows.
Children of erosion
Heavy storms, the “punishment of God”, are in fact the cause of these unique and extremely rare natural landmarks. Where glaciers deposited moraine clay during the ice age, heavy rainfall formed a clay paste that slowly flowed down into the valley. Harder material, such as larger rocks, protected the underlying clay from the rain: over the millennia pillars of up to 30 metres in height were formed, each complete with its own “hat”.




A walk past the miracles of nature
The hike from Collepietra to the earth pyramids and back takes a leisurely three hours. Follow the “yellow pyramid” signs from Collepietra to the Katzenbach gorge and via the Lahnenweg path just below these impressive giants of clay. Then pass the Raffeinerhof farm and ascend to the Dosser cross; from here it is directly down to the pyramids. The way back to Collepietra is on trail no.2 along the Katzenbach path.