Passo Manghen

Passo Manghen
This is a short but very satisfying tour. Ready to plunge into the green of the forest and make your way up to the pass amidst an impressive scenery of the Dolomites, surrounded only by the silence of the woods? Prepare to share the narrow roadway only with some motorcycle riders.

The tour information
We start from Panchià and cross the characteristic wood-covered bridge getting onto the bike path of the Val di Fiemme leading towards the Lake Tesero. The bike track follows the route of the famous Marcialonga and leads therefore to the cross-country ski center, which has already hosted three Nordic World Cups and countless World Cup races.
This part of the route is very pleasant, as we roll slightly downhill along the river through vast meadows and pastures. Our next landmark, near to the Masi di Cavalese, is the old iron bridge, which had been built for the old railway of the Val di Fiemme no longer in existence. Few minutes later we arrive at the valley station of the ski resort of Alpe Cermis. On the left we see the slope,which the participants of the Tour de Ski take in January, uphill of course. Within sight we notice the memorial stone, which recalls the disaster of 3. February 1998. Twenty people died when a United States aircraft flying low cut the cable supporting the gondola of the cable car.
In the hamlet of the Cascata we turn left, leave the bike path behind us and admire the waterfalls. After some photo shoot we continue along Avisio to the Molina and turning again left we hit the ascent which leads to the Passo Manghen.
This shows to be moderate the first few kilometers and so here is where we need to save some energy to be able to climb up to the 2043 meters. From the third kilometer on, the slope becomes steeper. It means we need to keep a constant pace, as there are no possibilities to take a breather.
Few kilometers further, the road gets narrow and even steeper. Here begins the demanding part of the ascent. The gradients reach here up to 9,4 percent and we have to face 13 hairpin bends. Fortunately, in the first section, the shadow of the woods offers us shelter from the sun. The higher we climb, the lighter gets the forest.
The last 3 kilometers we must keep focused not to run into a crisis. Once out of the forest, we can enjoy the beauty of the surrounding landscape. The narrow road winds up through pastures and it is not rare to spot some cows grazing.

Those, who still have some energy left, can really enjoy this last section, especially after reaching the Manghen hut. Two more hairpin bends and one of the most demanding ascents of the Dolomites behind us, we reach the highest point of the tour.

On the way back we take the same road, but have to pay attention, as we know how narrow and steep the road is.

Distance: 55,00 km Height variation: 1.560 mt Riding time: 4:00 h Difficulty: expert

Passo Manghen:

Distance: 16,00 km  Height variation: 1.200 mt Max.gradient:15% Average gradient:10%