NatureUpper Tyrrhenian Cosentino · Riviera dei Cedri
The Lao at Laino Borgo
The point where the Lucanian Mercure enters Calabria and becomes the Lao: at Laino Borgo the river collects the Battendiero and Iannello and plunges into its gorges, for rafting, kayaking and canyoning in the Pollino park.
The Lao rises in Basilicata, in the Pollino National Park, on Serra del Prete, above 2,000 metres, between the territories of Viggianello and Rotonda, and on its Lucanian stretch it is called the Mercure. It is at Laino Borgo and Laino Castello that it enters Calabria: here it takes in the Battendiero and Iannello streams, changes its name and slips into a deeply enclosed gorge that runs for several kilometres, eventually crossing Papasidero and reaching the Tyrrhenian at Scalea, after about 55 km. Its regime is torrential, with sometimes heavy floods in autumn, yet its flow stays plentiful all year: in summer it rarely drops below 5 m³/s, thanks to the permeable rock of much of its basin. Steady flow, clean water and a long stretch through the gorge explain why the river draws rafting and canoeing enthusiasts. Laino Borgo lies just above the ravines where the Lao enters its rapids, and since the 1990s it has become a rafting destination; there is also kayaking and canyoning, while walkers follow the Iannello on foot. The river and its tributaries are home to brown trout, rovella, bleak and eel. In antiquity the river, called the Laus, marked one of the borders between Lucanians and Bruttians; today the A2 motorway’s Viadotto Italia crosses above its first Calabrian stretch.
Frequently asked questions
- Because its flow is plentiful all year, rarely dropping below 5 m³/s even in summer, its water is clean and it runs through a long enclosed gorge.
- In Basilicata, on Serra del Prete in the Pollino massif, above 2,000 metres, under the name of Mercure; it takes the name Lao on entering Calabria at the two Lainos.