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Toblach to the Passo Cimabanche

The cycleway starts close to the station in Toblach (Dobbiaco), going under the road as it heads out of town. It climbs gently over the next 15 kilometres, with an altitude gain of a little over 300 metres before the Passo Cimabanche (1535m).

The cycleway follows the Höhlensteintal (Val di Landro) that goes through the heart of the northern Dolomites, with the Naturpark Fanes-Sennes-Prags on one side, and the Naturpark Drei Zinnen on the other.

A couple of kilometres out from Toblach you pass the Toblacher See, which is almost as beautiful as the nearby Pragser Wildsee. There are a couple of places to eat or get a drink beside the lake.

The Sorgenti war cemetery

Three kilometres further on, look out for the Sorgenti War Cemetery (also known as the Croda Bagnata or Naßwand war cemetery).

The soldiers buried here were injured fighting on on the Monte Piana (the mountain that you can see towering above the Dürrensee) and died in the nearby field hospital. Originally some 2,000 soldiers were buried here. The Austro-Hungarian empire was a multi-ethnic empire and as well as Austrians and Germans, soldiers from other countries in the empire, were buried here, along with the bodies of prisoners from Romania, Poland, and Russia.

War cemetery dei Sorgenti

After the war the Italian government adopted the policy of closing war cemeteries and bringing the soldiers’ remains to ossuaries. The German government also adopted a policy of central­ising the remains in larger cemeteries, and later after the Anschluss (annex­ation) of Austria, this policy was extended to the remains of Austrian soldiers.

However, even in death, the Nazi government’s racial policies continued to operate so the bodies of soldiers from the other countries that had made up the empire — who were now regarded as Untermensch — were left behind, and, judging from the names on some of the crosses, so were Austrian and German Jewish soldiers.

The cemetery was then effect­ively abandoned. Fortunately, in the 1950s, a local woman, Waltraud Fuchs, took respons­ib­ility for caring for it. Today, it is cared for by her son Hanspeter. It has been declared a national monument — although there are also signs appealing for donations for the cost of its upkeep.

Next stop is the Dürrensee (Lago di Landro) 11 kilometres from Toblach. Look out for a turning on your left that leads to the Drei Zinnen Blick — a scenic viewpoint from which you can see the Drei Zinnen (Three Peaks — Tre Cime in Italian).

The altitude of the lake is just under 1400 metres, leaving a bit over 100 metres more ascent until you get to the pass.

The Dürrensee (Lago di Landro)

At the pass the München-Venezia crosses over into the Veneto and begins the long, 46-kilometre, descent to Sottocastello di Cadore.

From the Passo Cimabanche to Cortina d’Ampezzo

The cycleway and the road continue together to the old station at Ospedeletto. After that they diverge, the road descends into the valley of the Torrente Boite while the cycleway continues on the valley side, descending more gradually down into Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Woodland gives way to open mountainside. Monte Cristallo looms above you, and in front, the vista opens up of a chain of mountains.

The Ciclabile delle Dolomiti on the flanks of the Monte Cristallo north of Cortina d’Ampezzo

The cycleway brings you to a junction with the SR48 as it descends from the Passo Tre Croce. On the other side of the road is the old train station — now used as the coach/bus station.

If you want to visit the centre of Cortina, you have to contend with Cortina’s one-way system. My suggestion would be to turn right (onto the SR48) and then right again (the one-way system doesn’t give you any other option). Follow the markings on the road for Belluno and Venezia, and then bear left. At the junction go left (signs for Belluno, Pocol and for the Falzarego and Giau passes). If you want to visit the centre of Cortina, then take the next left into the Piazza Pittori Fratelli Ghedina. The centre of Cortina is a zona traffico limitato, so it might be worth getting off your bike to be on the safe side.

If you don’t want to visit the centre of Cortina then continue where the cycleway resumes on the other side of the bus station.

View of the Cadore from the road to the Passo Falzarego

Cortina – Sottocastello di Cadore

Coming out of Cortina there’s a section of pista ciclabile through the woods that’s a little gravelly. The pista ciclabile gets back into its stride at the Dogana Vecchia 8 kilometres on from Cortina. Dogana Vecchia means old customs house - this used to be the border between Italy and Austria.

From here on though it’s a wonderful cruise down towards Calalzo di Cadore. As well as the scenery, look out for the beautiful old station buildings.

When to leave the cycleway

The München-Venezia cycle route follows the Lunga Via delle Dolomiti cycleway almost all of the way to its end at the train station in Calalzo di Cadore, but near Pieve di Cadore it makes a sharp right and heads down towards Sottocastello di Cadore and the valley of the Piave river.

I first rode this section of cycleway just after the route had opened, and I don’t know how much you can rely on the München-Venezia cycle route signs at this point.

The turning for Sottocastello is on the outskirts of Pieve di Cadore: you come to a cross­roads: to your left is the Via Arsenale leading uphill to the centre of Pieve, and the Lunga Via delle Dolomiti cycleway resumes on the other side of the road; you need to turn right and head downhill on the Via Villanova which leads into the Via San Valentino. The Via San Valentino brings you into Sottocastello’s Piazza San Leonardo, beside the church.

There are other routes you can take: if you miss the turning onto the Via Villanova, there’s another turning a little way further on. You could, in theory, take the road (the Via Galghena/Via Saccon), from Tai di Cadore, but while, at first sight, this looks like the simplest option, it isn’t: if you zoom in you’ll see that the cycleway at this point runs on a viaduct.

Looking ahead: closure of the cycleway at Castellavazzo

Further on, on the next section of the route, a key section of cycleway has been closed, meaning that you need to ride on the busy SS51 for a kilometre and a half. One of the options for avoiding this section of the SS51 is to continue on the Lunga Via delle Dolomiti cycleway to the station at Calalzo di Cadore and take the train from there to Longarone. For more inform­ation see the next part of this guide: München-Venezia: 7: the Via Alemagna (Sotto Castello di Cadore to the Lago di Santa Croce).

Video

Here’s a short speeded-up time-lapse video showing the cycleway from the Vecchia Dogana near Cortina d’Ampezzo to the point where you need to turn off to go to Sottocastello.

Sign for the München-Venezia cycle route

Articles in this series

• München-Venezia Overview
• München-Venezia: 1: München to Achenkirch
• München-Venezia: 2: Achenkirch to Hall-in-Tirol
• München-Venezia: 3: Hall-in-Tirol to Brenner
• München-Venezia: 4: Brenner to Fortezza Franzensfeste
• München-Venezia: 5: the PusterTal (Fortezza Franzensfeste to Toblach)
• München-Venezia: 6: the Ciclabile delle Dolomiti
• München-Venezia: 7: the Via Alemagna (Sotto Castello di Cadore to the Lago di Santa Croce)
• München-Venezia: 8: the Lago di Santa Croce to Treviso
• München-Venezia: 9: Treviso to Venezia