Col de Vršič et route du Mangart
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 68.96 mi
- Elevation gain
- 9,606 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Difficult
- Elevation loss
- 9,606 ft
- Max elevation
- 6,749 ft
- TrailRank
- 38
- Min elevation
- 1,536 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- 8 hours 18 minutes
- Coordinates
- 4743
- Uploaded
- May 3, 2020
- Recorded
- August 2019
near Log, Kranjska Gora (Slovenija)
Viewed 950 times, downloaded 17 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
|
Vršič Pass and Mangart Road
(100% asphalt / paved ... except the plank bridges, but that was just for the pictures!)
straddling Slovenia
and Italy
First difficulty of the day: the northern slope of the Vršič pass (vowels are moderately appreciated in the area) from Kranjska Gora (Sava valley, which flows into the Danube, in Belgrade). After a little flatter passing Jasna Lake (and its pretty ibex statue), it starts to climb (well). Most of the switchbacks on this magnificent route are paved ( good paving, comparable in quality to those on the Gotthard ). It was built in 1916-1917 by Russian prisoners captured by the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. At the end of a few switchbacks, we pass by a superb Orthodox wooden chapel , built in memory of the victims (a large number of prisoners who perished in an avalanche).
A higher, another lace has been brightened up with a veritable herd of cairns. A lot of bikes on August 15 ... but also a lot of cars! No "crazy about the wheel", fortunately ... but approaching the pass, traffic jams are such (in both directions!) That I can no longer even squeeze by bike. I have to finish the last hundred meters on foot (with other cyclists). Too bad, I think I had climbed at a pretty good pace ...
Short break at the Vršič pass (1612m) , despite the cars (the pass is the starting point for many hikes: we did one the day before!) Before diving on the other side, towards Trenta, to find the Isonzo valley (or Soča, in Slovenian), which flows into the Adriatic and which has been the scene of various battles throughout history, notably during the Italian Campaign (1796-1797) , with Napoleon, and World War I, with the 12 Battles of Isonzo (1915-1917) . We can still see traces of these conflicts, for example a pillar of the cable car that had been built between Kranjska Gora and Bovec to supply the Austro-Hungarian troops in winter (when the snow prevented the use of the road). Still full of numbered laces, but without cobblestones this time. A little further down, I move away from the road again to see another monument: a statue erected in honor of Julius Kugy , a Slovenian mountaineer / writer. Yep, I'm starting to hang out / frolic, but it's only just begun because the course of the Soča is dotted with a myriad of suspension bridges, each more picturesque than the next, above the turquoise waters of the river! I can't resist the temptation to push my bike on it ...
Despite everything, I progress and, shortly before Bovec, I turn right towards Italy, going up the valley of the Koritnica, a small tributary of the Soca. At Log pod Mangartom, I pass near the entrance to the Predil mine tunnel (which it seems possible to visit). I continue my way and, about 1.5km before the Col du Prédil, I take a right to go towards Mangart (a sign seems to indicate a maximum slope of 22%, but that seems a bit exaggerated to me). It is an absolutely superb road (the highest in Slovenia), quite narrow, which passes "above" itself (but it is not as obvious as the spiral viaduct of the Snail of the pass of Saint-Louis , since it is a tunnel here). The vegetation becomes less dense with the wire of the laces and, after a last tunnel, the landscape emerges a little before the final part: the loop of Mangart (2055m) , brushing the Italian border and dominated by the imposing silhouette of the mountain of the same. name (2679m), all forming a sort of circus. 🎪
I then descend to the intersection to finish the ascent of the Col du Predil (1156m) . Some fortifications before the pass, as well as a monument with a cast iron or bronze lion , dedicated to the Austrian soldiers who perished while defending the pass during the fighting against the Napoleonic troops in 1809. We pass the old border post and other fortifications, on the Italian side, then the road descends to Lake Predil, the waters of which will end in the Gail, then in the Drava and the Danube. I continue my descent towards Tarvisio. I miss a fork (towards Rutte Piccolo) which could have allowed me to "cut through the woods" and avoid a little traffic, but nothing serious. A little moment of hesitation, then, to find the cycle path, but the latter is well indicated: you have to trust the signs! The cross-border network of tracks between Italy, Slovenia and Austria also seems to be very well developed. The track is wide, reserved exclusively for bicycles, peacefully crosses the woods and even passes over a pretty viaduct (vestige of an old railway line?). I then return to Slovenia (nice little border crossing on a cycle path!), Often along fields, sometimes dotted with "kozolecs" (typical hay dryers) with the Mangart massif as a backdrop. We find the valley of the Save (but the passage between the basin of the Save and that of the Drave is done smoothly, without a real pass). The last km are almost flat, and I finally arrive in Kranjsja Gora. The weather is still fine but, shortly after, an absolutely monstrous thunderstorm ⚡ will break out: it was better to be inside!
Previous ascents (in Austria):
🚩 Kaunertal Glacier
🚩 Großglockner High Alpine Road
🚩 The monsters of the Fraganttal
(100% asphalt / paved ... except the plank bridges, but that was just for the pictures!)
straddling Slovenia
and ItalyFirst difficulty of the day: the northern slope of the Vršič pass (vowels are moderately appreciated in the area) from Kranjska Gora (Sava valley, which flows into the Danube, in Belgrade). After a little flatter passing Jasna Lake (and its pretty ibex statue), it starts to climb (well). Most of the switchbacks on this magnificent route are paved ( good paving, comparable in quality to those on the Gotthard ). It was built in 1916-1917 by Russian prisoners captured by the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. At the end of a few switchbacks, we pass by a superb Orthodox wooden chapel , built in memory of the victims (a large number of prisoners who perished in an avalanche).
A higher, another lace has been brightened up with a veritable herd of cairns. A lot of bikes on August 15 ... but also a lot of cars! No "crazy about the wheel", fortunately ... but approaching the pass, traffic jams are such (in both directions!) That I can no longer even squeeze by bike. I have to finish the last hundred meters on foot (with other cyclists). Too bad, I think I had climbed at a pretty good pace ...
Short break at the Vršič pass (1612m) , despite the cars (the pass is the starting point for many hikes: we did one the day before!) Before diving on the other side, towards Trenta, to find the Isonzo valley (or Soča, in Slovenian), which flows into the Adriatic and which has been the scene of various battles throughout history, notably during the Italian Campaign (1796-1797) , with Napoleon, and World War I, with the 12 Battles of Isonzo (1915-1917) . We can still see traces of these conflicts, for example a pillar of the cable car that had been built between Kranjska Gora and Bovec to supply the Austro-Hungarian troops in winter (when the snow prevented the use of the road). Still full of numbered laces, but without cobblestones this time. A little further down, I move away from the road again to see another monument: a statue erected in honor of Julius Kugy , a Slovenian mountaineer / writer. Yep, I'm starting to hang out / frolic, but it's only just begun because the course of the Soča is dotted with a myriad of suspension bridges, each more picturesque than the next, above the turquoise waters of the river! I can't resist the temptation to push my bike on it ...
Despite everything, I progress and, shortly before Bovec, I turn right towards Italy, going up the valley of the Koritnica, a small tributary of the Soca. At Log pod Mangartom, I pass near the entrance to the Predil mine tunnel (which it seems possible to visit). I continue my way and, about 1.5km before the Col du Prédil, I take a right to go towards Mangart (a sign seems to indicate a maximum slope of 22%, but that seems a bit exaggerated to me). It is an absolutely superb road (the highest in Slovenia), quite narrow, which passes "above" itself (but it is not as obvious as the spiral viaduct of the Snail of the pass of Saint-Louis , since it is a tunnel here). The vegetation becomes less dense with the wire of the laces and, after a last tunnel, the landscape emerges a little before the final part: the loop of Mangart (2055m) , brushing the Italian border and dominated by the imposing silhouette of the mountain of the same. name (2679m), all forming a sort of circus. 🎪
I then descend to the intersection to finish the ascent of the Col du Predil (1156m) . Some fortifications before the pass, as well as a monument with a cast iron or bronze lion , dedicated to the Austrian soldiers who perished while defending the pass during the fighting against the Napoleonic troops in 1809. We pass the old border post and other fortifications, on the Italian side, then the road descends to Lake Predil, the waters of which will end in the Gail, then in the Drava and the Danube. I continue my descent towards Tarvisio. I miss a fork (towards Rutte Piccolo) which could have allowed me to "cut through the woods" and avoid a little traffic, but nothing serious. A little moment of hesitation, then, to find the cycle path, but the latter is well indicated: you have to trust the signs! The cross-border network of tracks between Italy, Slovenia and Austria also seems to be very well developed. The track is wide, reserved exclusively for bicycles, peacefully crosses the woods and even passes over a pretty viaduct (vestige of an old railway line?). I then return to Slovenia (nice little border crossing on a cycle path!), Often along fields, sometimes dotted with "kozolecs" (typical hay dryers) with the Mangart massif as a backdrop. We find the valley of the Save (but the passage between the basin of the Save and that of the Drave is done smoothly, without a real pass). The last km are almost flat, and I finally arrive in Kranjsja Gora. The weather is still fine but, shortly after, an absolutely monstrous thunderstorm ⚡ will break out: it was better to be inside!
Previous ascents (in Austria):
🚩 Kaunertal Glacier
🚩 Großglockner High Alpine Road
🚩 The monsters of the Fraganttal
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