Monte Plananizza

Adventurous and experienced all-mountain bikers will really enjoy Monte Plananizza and will be served up a top-class trail in the heart of Friuli.

Description

The tour begins at the parking lot below the Forte di Col Badin, which has been extensively restored and is well worth seeing. The start rides along the disused railroad line, which is now used as the Alpe Adria cycle path. This relaxed roll-in phase rides past Villanova to Chiusaforte. From the village of Localita Topic, the route becomes steeper and you begin the actual ascent, which rides towards Stavoli Ceresarie and Forcella Patok.

In the lower section, the climb is still easy to pedal on a single trail and you can climb almost 500 meters in altitude. After that, however, it gets steeper and the bike has to be carried or pushed up the old military path or mule track. There are several water points along the way where you should definitely fill up your water supply, especially as the tour can be made more difficult by high temperatures in the summer months.

Before Forcella Patok, turn sharp left and carry your bike to the Monte Plananizza junction. The path is eroded in some places in the upper section before the saddle, but this should be manageable for experienced and alpine bikers. The bike depot is set up just below the summit, from where the last few meters are covered on foot. The ascent to the summit is highly recommended, as the view from the top is legendary - all the prominent mountains of the Julian Alps are visible, particularly attractive in the transitional period with snow-covered peaks.

The descent follows the same route as the ascent and offers technical sections between difficulty levels S1 and S3. The upper two thirds of the route are relatively easy to ride before the trail reaches S3 level from Stavoli Ceresarie and is somewhat exposed in places. There are countless hairpin bends and rocky steps to challenge you technically before you finally meet the railroad line again in Chiusaforte and roll back to the starting point in a relaxed manner.

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