Grande Strada delle Dolomiti

TomassoRizzi's picture

Location

Dolomites
Italy
46° 29' 14.6184" N, 11° 48' 48.078" E
IT
General info: 

Want to see some spectacular views… by car? The Great Dolomite Road runs 65 miles through some of the finest alpine scenery in Europe: Belluno–Cortina d'Ampezzo–Pordoi Pass–Sella Pass–Val di Fassa–Bolzano. For even more gorgeous views, you can take a cable car up from the pass to the summit of Sass Pordoi. And, of course, there are plenty of hiking trails!

At 7,346 feet it is the highest surfaced road traversing a pass in the Dolomites. In the spring and early summer, passes labeled private://closedprivate:// are often bare, dry, and, as far as local drivers are concerned, wide open. Conveniently for Italian tour operators, no direct public transportation route covers the Great Dolomite Road.

The Sass Pordoi cable car takes you in few minutes from the Pordoi Pass to the summit of Sass Pordoi, where a beautiful view of all the Dolomites is available all around you.
You can get to the summit, perhaps eating at the restaurant, and descend again with the cable car, or you can descend by foot along one of the three following itineraries.

The Sass Pordoi is an ideal starting point for hikes to Piz Boe, to the mountain passes Gardena and Campolongo and to Colfosco through the Val Mezdi.

Getting there: 

No public transport through the entire route.

Costs: 

Cable car Sass Pordoi
Opening dates: 18.05 - 20.10
Opening times: 09.00 - 17.00
One way 8,5€, Return ticket 15€.

Interesting places nearby

For those keen on winter sports, the private://Corno alle Scaleprivate:// offers 36 kms of beaten tracks able to satisfy all needs, with snow assured by a system of ad advanced technology on programmed snow.

Cortina d'Ampezzo has been a winter sports mecca since the 1930's, and in 1956 it hosted the first Italian Winter Olympic Games.

At the foot of the Julier mountain pass and amidst an impressive alpine scenery of lakes you’ll find the Swiss ski resort Corvatsch – Sils – Silvaplana.

Courchevel is a winter playground for the rich and famous – attracting a steady influx of stars from Beyonce to Beckham.

Courmayeur: one hundred kilometres between and off-piste on the perfectly groomed slopes or down virgin snow chasing after the last snowfall. On skis or a snowboard, in the presence of the highest mountain in Europe.

While skiing in Crans Montana Aminona you have an impressive view on the Matterhorn and the Mont Blanc. The Swiss ski resort is situated at 1,500 to 3,000 m above sea level and provides a variety of slopes of all difficulty levels.