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

Chamonix is the place to go for alpine thrill seekers wanting to push themselves to the extreme. The resort is known the world over for its steep, challenging runs, off-piste powder, and dramatic mountain scenery.

The charms of the village, the pleasures of a great ski area! Nestling in Savoie, Champagny en Vanoise is one of 10 ski resorts of La Plagne skiing domain : 225 km of marked runs, 108 lifts between 1 250 and 3 000m in altitude.

Between Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc, two regions have merged across the Franco-Swiss border to form a single region known as Portes du Soleil.

The giant Monterosa ski area is one of the world's largest, and thanks to recent investment in new lifts you can now ski or board without needing to stop for 180km between the resorts of Champoluc and Gressoney and Gressoney on to Alagna

The main Champorcher ski area below Rosa dei Banchi is accessed by a cable car to Laris followed by the 2km Cimetta Rosa drag lift. The village itself has five hotels and a discotheque.

Champoussin : This Valaisan village, built in the architectural style typical of the Val d’Illiez, will enchant you with its rustic authenticity.