Known as the most picturesque pass in the Dolomites between the East and West mountains, find out why you should brave the switchback roads and steep inclines... just make sure you check your breaks beforehand!
Between Cortina d'Ampezzo and Ortsei there is the SS243 road, which joins SS244 coming down from San Lorenzo di Sebato and SS242 (which takes you to Ortsei and then onto the main highway SS12) together. It's a 16km stretch of road which takes around 30 minutes to get from one side of the pass to the other.
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Gardena Pass Guide
Summary: Stretch of picturesque road Distance: 16km Time: 30 minutes Max elevation: 2,136 metres Difficulty: Easy Best time: Summer |
You can take the whole road through the pass or just get to the most scenic point and turn back, however this is used as a route between the East and West sides of the Dolomites, so if you are taking part in a larger road trip it is worth taking this longer route.
Passo Gardena - What to see, where to stop and everything in between
Now while many use this as a places to drive between two destinations while enjoying the scenery, it is actually an amazing hiking area! However if you only have time to drive through here is what you need to know.
The section you see in all the photos is only about 4/5 km long and it a switchback road with no lay-bys (there are signs to say no stopping at anytime too - this is definitely for safety, as the roads are narrow and very steep) so you want to be prepared.
There is a parking place at the bottom and at the top of the pass, so take the opportunity to use both. You can obviously go up and down the road a many times as you like but it's not for the faint hearted and you need to be a confident driver as the hairpins reach an incline of 11%. This section features a lot of motorbikes, so be careful about giving them enough room to manoeuvre.
The road forms part of the Sella Ronda, a circular route that links four mountains passes: Passo Sella, Passo Pordoi, Passo Campolongo, and Passo Gardena. So wherever you look you are surrounded by mountains.
It is a popular skiing destination so you will see a lot of ski lifts and routes between the trees. It is also a key destination for hiking, being part of the Alta Via 2 multi-day hiking route.
At the top there is a little hotel, which serves food, so this is a great place to stop and admire the view from both sides of the pass. The view over the other side is also a 'wow' moment as you can see as far as the Sassolungo mountain range.
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