Forcella Lavaredo, known in German as the Paternsattel, is a saddle at 2,454 m in the Sesto Dolomites of northern Italy. It lies on the ridge running north-east from the Tre Cime di Lavaredo towards Croda di Passaporto and Monte Paterno, on the standard walking route from Rifugio Auronzo past Rifugio Lavaredo to Rifugio Locatelli. It is the point where the north faces of the three peaks come into view. The surrounding Three Peaks Nature Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2009.
Forcella Lavaredo
In 1933 Emilio Comici and two companions spent three days and two nights on the partly overhanging north face of the Cima Grande — the wall the saddle turns you towards.
- Entrance
- No ticket and no gate — the saddle is open ground. The only charge on the way in is the toll on the road up from Misurina.
- Accessibility
- Not step-free: the approach is an unsurfaced mountain trail over rock and gravel, and the car park at Rifugio Auronzo has neither an accessible entrance nor accessible bays.
- Parking
- Paid gravel car park at Rifugio Auronzo (P4), the nearest to the saddle; a parking pass can be bought in advance. No wheelchair-accessible bays.
- Difficulty
- About 1.7 km on foot from the Rifugio Auronzo car park (2,320 m) on a wide trail past Rifugio Lavaredo to the saddle at 2,454 m; rocky and steep in sections.
- Transport
- Bus to the Rifugio Auronzo stop, 1.8 km from the saddle; the Misurina casello Tre Cime stop is 4.1 km away.
- Advance booking
- Nothing to book for the saddle itself; the parking pass for Rifugio Auronzo is the one thing worth arranging ahead.
- Hours
- Open 24 hours.
What makes it special
The trail from Rifugio Auronzo shows the south walls of the Tre Cime the whole way in. At the saddle, 2,454 m up, the ridge turns and the north side opens instead, with Monte Paterno (2,744 m) standing straight above the gap and Croda di Passaporto (2,719 m) beside it. Underfoot it is gravel and broken rock, and wind pushes through the notch; alpine choughs hang in it and work the updraughts along the walls. The path carries on north-east from the saddle to Rifugio Locatelli, the standard viewpoint for the north faces, so most walkers reach Forcella Lavaredo with somewhere else still to go.
Good to know
- Water: there is no drinking water point within 800 m of the saddle, so fill up before you leave the hut.
- Toilets: the nearest are about 530 m away and charge a fee, and mountain huts and their facilities are not always open.
- Footwear: stretches of the trail are steep and cross bare rock — boots with thick soles, and poles if you walk with them.
- Layers: the temperature swings sharply at 2,454 m; a warm jacket and a raincoat belong in the pack whatever the forecast.
- Crowds: the path from Rifugio Auronzo is a busy one, and long queues build for the bus up to the hut.
Getting there
Cars stop at Rifugio Auronzo, at the top of the toll road up from Misurina, and the last leg is on foot. A wide, well-marked trail runs east from the hut, passes Rifugio Lavaredo at 2,325 m and climbs to the saddle; it is stony in places, with steep sections, but the line is obvious and there are usually other walkers on it. Buses run as far as the same hut, so people arriving by bus and people arriving with a parking pass set off from the same point.
Best time to visit
Better: a settled, clear day. The whole point of the walk is the view of the north walls and Monte Paterno, and a low cloud base cancels it outright. Sunrise, sunset and the middle of the day all work; the peaks hold up at any of them.
Avoid: days when a cold front is crossing the Dolomites. Fog, wind and heavy rain reach the saddle fast at 2,454 m, and snow falls here even in high summer.
Sun & daylight
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Forcella Lavaredo on the map
Weather at 2,454 m turns fast: when a cold front passes, fog, wind and heavy rain arrive quickly, and snow falls even in high summer. In shaded gullies and under the north walls old snow lies into late summer. Wet rock on the trail is the main hazard — turn back rather than push on.
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Frequently asked questions
What can you see from Forcella Lavaredo?
The north side of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, with the Cima Grande reaching 2,999 m, and, directly above the saddle, Monte Paterno (2,744 m) and Croda di Passaporto (2,719 m).How hard is the walk from Rifugio Auronzo?
It is a wide, marked mountain trail, and the saddle stands only about 130 m above the hut. Sections of it are steep and rugged and cross bare rock, so proper hiking boots make a difference.Are the huts and toilets open?
Not always. One visitor found every toilet closed and the café at the top shut on the day they walked up, so check before relying on either.Is there anything left from the First World War?
Yes. The front line between Italy and Austria-Hungary ran through the Tre Cime, and the area still holds fortifications, trenches, tunnels, iron ladders and commemorative plaques from the fighting of 1915–1917.Where is the visitor centre for the nature park?
In Dobbiaco, in the former Grand Hotel. It covers the trails and the natural and man-made landscapes of the Sesto Dolomites, the range Forcella Lavaredo sits in.