Falzarego Pass is a high, rocky saddle at 2,105 metres on the road between Cortina d'Ampezzo and the Livinallongo valley, and the first thing you notice is how much of the landscape is made of ruin. Not buildings, but rock: the walls of the Tofane and the Cinque Torri, the tower-like peaks to the east, and the great scree slopes beneath them. Near the summit is the lower station of the cable car that rises to the Lagazuoi, a summit with a view over half the Dolomites.
The pass has a grim history. During the First World War, the line between Italy and Austria-Hungary ran along these ridges, and soldiers on both sides spent years in tunnels dug into the mountains, fighting as much against the weather as each other. Tunnels, trenches, and gun emplacements remain on the Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, and an open-air museum preserves some of them. The mountain is heavily visited, but the silence of the old galleries, cold and dripping, is a reminder of what happened there.
The riding is a pleasure. From Cortina, the road climbs steadily through forest and then open pasture, with long bends and good surface, and it feels natural, with views opening onto the pale towers. The descent toward Livinallongo is steeper, with tight hairpins, and the traffic can be heavy in July and August. The pass is generally open from late spring to autumn, though snow can fall early, and winter may close it intermittently. Morning is the best time for the light and the quiet.
Cortina d'Ampezzo, about ten kilometres to the east, is the biggest town nearby, with fuel, restaurants, and shops, and it is the sensible place to fill up. Smaller places along the way, like Livinallongo and Colle Santa Lucia, have limited facilities. At the pass itself you will find refuges, a hotel, and a cable car station, and a plate of pasta or polenta with a coffee works well after the climb. Wind and cloud can arrive suddenly, so carry a warm layer and a waterproof, even on a clear day.