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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Italia - Dolomiti, Cortina - Falzarego - Lagazuoi, 1-day Track (part one)

Short Briefing
The Dolomites hiking trails are clear and very well maintained, being marked at each 100m with red-white bands. At the starting points and at the intersections, beside the red-white bands, the paths are numbered and wooden path indicators are present. Practically, it is impossible to loose the path if you have a trail map, which may be obtained for free at any info centre in Dolomites, or in exchange for aprox 2 euro at any souvenirs shop.

Considerations
Due to the amount of the pics I shot, I had to split this article in 2 parts, so this part refers mainly to Lagazuoi area and the WW1 museum.
The Passo Falzarego is located at about 15km west of Cortina d'Ampezzo and may be reached by car or bus. Whilst arriving to Falzarego you will have an road option by turning left to Cinque Torres area, but this was not our track.
We took this cablecar from Falzarego (alt. 1900m) to Lagazuoi (alt. 2700m) and we paid approx 11 euro per person only for one way up. When arrived to Lagazuoi, do not forget to make beautiful panoramic photos with Passo Falzarego, Lagazuoi and around. Also, we visited some galleries and tunnels digged by austro-hungarians in the World War 1. To visit these tunnels you will need headlamps or flashlights.

Also, see this blog topics:
- Italia - Cortina d'Ampezzo;
- Italia - Dolomiti, Cortina - Faloria - Sorapis, 1-day Track
- Italia - Dolomiti, Lagazuoi - Giussani - Dibona, 1-day Track (part two);

Next, images I shot on this track:

On the way to Falzarego:

Rifugio Col Gallina

Passo Falzarego:

Lagazuoi:

Tunnels below Rifugio Lagazuoi:

WW1 Museum:

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Italia - Dolomiti, Cortina - Faloria - Sorapis, 1-day Track

Short Briefing
The Dolomites hiking trails are clear and very well maintained, being marked at each 100m with red-white bands. At the starting points and at the intersections, beside the red-white bands, the paths are numbered and wooden path indicators are present. Practically, it is impossible to loose the path if you have a trail map, which may be obtained for free at any info centre in Dolomites. The maps can also be found at souvenir shops for aprox 2 eur, or you can bring your own listed maps from the net :)
For about 5 eur, you can buy the Dolomiti Passport (a green or blue scrapbook) that you may stamp at any "rifugio" on the mountain.

Also, see this blog topics:
- Italia - Cortina d'Ampezzo;
- Italia - Dolomiti, Cortina - Falzarego - Lagazuoi, 1-day Track (part one);
- Italia - Dolomiti, Lagazuoi - Giussani - Dibona, 1-day Track (part two);

Track Map

Elevation Curve

Track Description
The track difficulty is easy to medium, taking into account that it starts from Faloria Cablecar Station. The length is of about 17km that may be walked in 10 hours, so the recommendation is to be followed in summer (july, august, september). We took this cablecar from Cortina (alt. 1230m) to Faloria (alt. 2100m) and we paid 13 euro per person only for one way up. The cablecar has an intermediate station at Mandres (alt. 1500m). When arrived to Faloria, do not forget to make beautiful panoramic photos with Cortina and around.
The 223 path climbs from Faloria to Rifugio Tondi (alt. 2343m), where you may drink a tea or coffee whilst you shot great views all around the mountain. Just accross the valley, the Cristallo mountain area is opening its great view - one of the most beautiful of Dolomites. The 223 path passes a beautiful rocky landscape until the Forcella Faloria (alt. 2300m) where it intersects the 215 path.
Then, following the same 223, the way easy climbs and lowers besides the Ciadin del Loudo rocks on the right, until it reaches the base of Forcella Marcuoira (alt. 2300m); we have climbed to Forcella Marcuoira, as it is right next to the main track. After the intersection of 223 and 216, the track starts to climb via chains to pass the mountain to Sorapis Lake. The path lowers until you reach Sorapis lake; the lake is renowned for its beautiful blue-green lighten water color; immediately near Sorapis there is the Rifugio Vandelli, where we stamped the Dolomiti Pass. From Vandelli, you follow the 215 path, which climbs 1km and then lowers via forest to Passo Tre Croci (alt. 1800m). From Tre Croci you follow the road to Rio Gere, which is easy to find, as there are several ski cable installations; also, from Rio Gere, you may climb to Cristallo, but this was not our track. We walk the road until the intersection with 206 path that we followed by turning left. The 206 track is levelled and goes to Mandres, where you'll find beautiful views to the left - Faloria rocky landcape and peak and to the right you may shot panoramas with Cortina. From Mandres to Cortina there are several tracks and forestry roads (210, 220 paths, aso); we followed 220 back to Cortina.

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Next, images I shot on this track: