G1 | Larici – Portule – Galmarara

The itinerary, particularly popular with expert cyclists, runs through the highest part of the Plateau and is characterized by vast expanses of dwarf pine groves, high altitude pastures, and many sections of road closed to vehicle traffic. Thanks to the dirt roads made by the Austro-Hungarian army during the first World War, the route goes through some of the most remote and beautiful areas of the Plateau which, considering the high altitude and the distance from inhabited centers and food points, should be tackled with due awareness. Along the entire high part of the itinerary, commemorative plaques to the Great War can be found, including those concerning Selletta General Von Mecenseffy (small pass).
Just after Monumenti locality, taking the small road to the left heading north, you can reach the malga located at the highest altitude of the entire Plateau: Malga Portule Pastorile – Casara Trentin (almost 2000 m), at the foot of Cima Portule.
Furthermore, from Malga Larici di sotto and Malga Galmarara, various excursions on Cima Portule, Cima XII, and the entire high part of the Plateau begin.

A shorter variation can also be taken, decreasing the difficulty of the itinerary both in terms of the difference in level and in terms of the duration (about 45 minutes shorter), turning right at the crossroads of Monumenti locality and travelling close to Malga Portule, then re-joining the itinerary near Malga Galmarara (travelling on the Zoviellostraße, on Monte Zoviello).

Other sites of interest along the route:

• After Ghertele locality, along Val Renzola, are some collection points of the Aqueduct: the springs are here (rare on the Plateau, since it is karstic) which were used during the Great War to provide water to the divisions of the Austro-Hungarian army. In fact, the water was pumped to the Bocchetta Portule accumulation reservoirs, dug entirely into the rock (to the altitude of 1937 m after a difference in level of about 800 m), and subsequently utilized using a complex distribution system.
• Bocchetta Portule, an important point of passage in the Austro-Hungarian arterial road of the First World War, between Val Renzola and Valle del Portule, which led from Piana di Vezzena to Campo Gallina. Near the opening, two enormous slits can be seen in the mountain, used first by the Italians as cannon posts and then by the Austrians as covered passage for a cableway that took munitions and provisions to Campo Gallina. There is a small rest area here with illustrative notice boards.
• Campo Gallina: this is one of the most interesting sites of the Ecomuseo della Grande Guerra Prealpi Vicentine, with numerous signs of what was the main Austro-Hungarian logistics center in the northern part of the Plateau, so much that it is called “the city between the mountains”. Thousands of soldiers were posted here, so everything that was needed for survival at these altitudes was constructed (a small church, a theater, parking for vehicles, etc.).

Mountains in the area: Cima Larici, Cima Portule, Cima XII, Monte Forno, Corno di Campo Verde, Corno di Campo Bianco, Cima dell’Arsenale, Monte Zingarella.