Beginner friendly and technically easy, this tour is a mix of hiking and via ferrata through an impressive landscape along the Fanes river. Sentiero dei Canyons e delle Cascate di Fanes features three via ferratas: Giovanni Barbara, Lucio Dalaiti, and Cengia de Mattia.
Summary
Grade: B – view topo
Vertical: 300m ferrata, 470m total
Time: 45min approach, 1h30min ferrata, 1h descent, 3h15min total
Access / Parking: 46.6031,12.1064 – Google Maps or any Android maps app
Start via ferrata: 46.5941,12.0838 – Mapy.cz or any Android maps app
Download gpx track
Map and photos
Access
From Cortina d’Ampezzo, we head north on road SS51, which connects Cortina d’Ampezzo with Dobbiaco (Toblach in German). At a large bend where the road turns east, we take a left and stop at a spacious paid car park. A few free parking spots can be found near the entrance of the car park and nearby, along the roadside.
Alternatively, parking is available at the Visitors Center, though there are fewer spaces there.
For those using public transport, we first arrive in Dobbiaco by train, then take a bus to the starting point of the tour.
Approach to start
We follow signs for Ponte Alto (or Ponte Outo), a wooden bridge, and hike southwest along path 10, staying mostly on the south side of the Fanes River. Just after the Ponte Alto bridge, there is a wooden table under the trees – a perfect spot to put on our via ferrata gear.
The route
The Giovanni Barbara and Lucio Dalaiti via ferratas are completed as a circuit. We start on a wide ledge with Giovanni Barbara, moving beneath the waterfall itself, getting quite close to the water. We continue on the other side, down to the base of the waterfall. From here, we ascend via ferrata Lucio Dalaiti and complete the circuit, returning to where we started near the wooden table on path 10.
From here, we hike upstream along path 10 until we reach the upper waterfall, where we clip back onto the cable to climb the third via ferrata, Cengia de Mattia. If you encountered crowds at the first waterfall, expect this via ferrata to be less crowded.
Cengia de Mattia is short and initially passes under the waterfall. After this section, the route continues upward on the opposite side of the stream and finishes on a footpath that rejoins hiking path 10 via a bridge.
Descent
Descend on path 10 back to the car park, down in the valley.
Good to know
- This is a popular area, very busy on good weather days in high season.
- You may see people without a via ferrata set near the lower waterfall, but those sections are wet and exposed, so it’s safer and highly recommended to use the via ferrata gear.
Donation box
I’m trying to keep this site ad free, supported by donations via Buy Me a Coffee or PayPal. I highly appreciate your support, as this encourages me to keep adding new routes.
Video
Weather
Main sources
- ferrate365.it
- bergsteigen.com (German)
- we climbed the route on August 23, 2018