Adventure Park VIVIAVVENTURA in Grottaferrata
High platforms, long ziplines,
and aerial obstacle courses – explore trees
from a new perspective and challenge yourself mentally and physically. Viviavventura (Live Adventure), an
engaging adventure park right outside Rome in Grottaferrata, certainly earns its name.
Your adventure starts with
getting fitted into a harness and a brief tutorial and safety briefing where instructors
help you learn the ropes. Then you are off; kids 11 and under head to the 2 junior and 2 baby courses, while the rest of us make towards the 5 adult percorsi (circuits). I suited up so my daughter, age 10, could be
with her older brother on the adult circuit: We would tackle the wobbly planks, balance
beams and tricky crossings together.
We started with the verde facile percorso (green easy course). As soon as I hit the first platform of “easy”, I realized what I had gotten into. Even though I was securely harnessed, had a safety cable and staff were supervising, the adrenaline and fear kicked in. Have you ever seen in films, when one is crossing a high, rickety bridge, with breaking, rotten planks, and you feel the tension of plummeting? Vivavventura park is well maintained and secure, but yet I now understand that fear when I stood on the first platform.
The first obstacle makes you quickly aware of your height off the ground and the mental encouragement you’ll need to move forward. Luckily for me, my two kids were in front and more courageous; with my 10 year old shouting “You got this!”, I had no choice but to follow. If you don’t hike or mountain climb, it’s a new experience that could take you out of your comfort zone. But the feeling of getting across, zipping down, crossing from tree to tree, gives you thrills and a feeling of accomplishment that makes it worth it.
Shaking, I finished green and we were off to the rosso facile/medie (red easy/medium). This percorso is particularly cool, as it includes a zipline from one tree to another. Be attentive however, you need to catch the necessary rope and land properly or else you could take an unpleasant bump into the platform.
We proceeded to viola (purple), which is the longest zip line in Lazio at 160m. The free flight, which durated 10-15 seconds, was a highlight and a course we did twice. Thanks to Marzio, a friendly helpful staffer, whose encouragement got us all through difficult sections.
There are two other adult courses, red and black, and a climbing wall, but for our first time they were too advanced for us and we had our adventure for the day. Obviously, the courses depend on your physical level and experience; some find only the black percorso, the most difficult course, worthy of their effort.
My kids then worked through the junior obstacles by themselves, which were closer to the ground, but yet still challenging.
Unlike an amusement park, the effort is on you to work yourself through the park. There is no sitting on a ride; this is physical outdoor recreation that provides self-satisfaction, laughter and for us, a memorable, bonding experience. We are planning on going back.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
Vivivavventura has lots of trees, therefore is shady and it stays cool on hot
summer days. You can take it easy there
and not do the courses – it has a barbeque area and picnic tables to rent, a
sand volleyball court and playground for smaller kids. They also rent spaces for kids parties. There is a large parking
lot and a vending machine.
viale Kennedy, 58 Grottaferrata (Roma)
www.viviavventura.it
Share this page