Giau Pass

The road climbs out of larch forest into open pasture and levels off at 2,236 m, with Nuvolau and Averau standing directly over the top of the pass. From there the view runs the full circle: the Marmolada and the Pale di San Martino away to the west, Ra Gusela to the north, and eastward the Cortina valley closed in by the Tofane and Cristallo. The two descents lead to different worlds. One drops to Cortina d'Ampezzo and its hotels; the other winds down to the quiet villages of Colle Santa Lucia and Selva di Cadore in Val Fiorentina. This is grazing country at the top, and the pass sits in the middle of it — Monte Pore (2,405 m) can be walked to from here, and four huts stand on and below the road.

• No toilets and no drinking water within 800 m of the pass — deal with that in the valley before you drive up.
• Four huts on and below the pass: Passo Giau (2,236 m), Da Aurelio (2,175 m), Fedare (2,000 m) and Malga Giau (1,900 m).
• Coaches and trucks are allowed over Giau, which the Falzarego road does not take — an alternative route into Cortina from the Agordino.
• Cyclists: about 10 km and 900 m of ascent from Selva di Cadore, averaging 9–9.5% with pitches of 14–15%.
• Bring a wind layer — the top is open pasture at 2,236 m.

Everyone arrives by road. Provincial road SP638 runs over the top, linking Colle Santa Lucia with Cortina d'Ampezzo, and the high point of the pass is the viewpoint itself: you park at the roadside and finish on foot along the tarmac, past the information boards near the summit. From the Selva di Cadore side the last stretch is narrow and twisting, cut into the rock and stacked with hairpins. The Cortina side is the easier drive of the two.

Better: clear days in summer, when the road is open and the whole ring of peaks is out.

Avoid: winter, when avalanches block stretches of the road.

The pass is open pasture at 2,236 m and the panorama is the entire reason to come, so low cloud takes the visit away completely. Check the sky before committing to the drive up.