Why this ride
101 km one way from Ponte di Legno - plan on about 1 h 56 of riding. The highest point is about 2,600 m. Gavia Pass is open in summer only - check it is open before you set off. It is a high-mountain day.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Bormio · Stelvio and Gavia Serious Pass Day · part 2
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 101 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 56
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Gavia Pass
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 111 km this is Gavia Pass, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 111 km
- Named road
- Gavia Pass
- Pass
- Mortirolo Pass
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Gavia Pass
The Gavia is one of those passes that people talk about in lowered voices. At 2,621 metres it is among the highest paved roads in the Italian Alps, linking Bormio in the Valtellina with Ponte di Legno in the Val Camonica, and it crosses the rugged, rocky heart of the Stelvio National Park. The summit is bare and wild, with snow patches into July, two small lakes, the dark Lago Nero and the pale Lago Bianco, and a stone refuge, Rifugio Berni, with a restaurant and a view across the glaciers of the Ortler-Cevedale group.
Read the complete Gavia Pass write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gavia Pass is where the day begins. Next is Tirano food.
2. Tirano food
Tirano sits at the foot of the Bernina route, near the Swiss border, and it is the one place in Italy where a train runs along the street. The red carriages of the Rhaetian Railway start here and climb over the Bernina Pass into Switzerland on a line that is listed by UNESCO, and the Bernina Express leaves from a station just a few steps from the town centre. Watching the little train rattle between parked cars on the main road is one of those charming oddities that make you smile.
Read the complete Tirano food write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tirano food is where this day stops to eat. Next is Back to Bormio.
3. Back to Bormio
Bormio lies in a high valley of Lombardy, a town of narrow lanes, stone arches and church bells at around 1,200 metres, with mountains rising steeply on every side. It has been a spa since Roman times, and the warm springs that bubble up from deep in the rock still feed thermal baths where you can soak after a long day. In winter it is a ski resort with a long tradition, and the famously steep Stelvio downhill run, used for World Cup races, starts above the town.
Read the complete Bormio write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 101 km.
Leg by leg
Gavia Pass to Tirano food
Gavia Pass → Tirano food is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tirano food to Back to Bormio
Tirano food → Back to Bormio is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.