Friulian Alps by van, 5 days from Asti

Five days in the van in the Friulian Alps, starting from Asti. The roads of the Carnia, the Val Canale and the Tarvisio area are narrow, with hairpins, steep grades and tunnels cut into the rock, so we go with a compact van, about the size of a car, that fits where a big motorhome does not. The first and last days are transfers; the three in between are valleys, lakes and high plateaus.

Day 1, Asti to Venzone

About 9 hours of driving, on state roads rather than motorway: Cremona and Mantua, then Bassano del Grappa, Feltre and Belluno, and finally the Pontebbana up to Venzone. Venzone was destroyed by the 1976 earthquake and rebuilt stone by stone. We walk inside the fourteenth-century walls with their double moat, between the Duomo of Sant'Andrea and the Chapel of San Michele, where the mummies of Venzone are kept: bodies that a mould dried out before they decayed.

We sleep in the car park on Via dei Fossati, right by the walls: no barriers or height limits, no water or waste service and no electricity, but automatic public toilets across the road.

Day 2, the Sauris valley

About 1 hour 15 minutes of driving. From Venzone we go up to Tolmezzo and Ampezzo, then take the regional road of the Lumiei, which climbs the torrent's gorge: tight hairpins and old tunnels on the bends, stone-paved, damp and poorly lit. At Sauris we stop at the Maina dam and walk between the villages of Sotto and Sopra, where the houses are Blockbau, squared logs on a stone base. At the Wolf ham factory in Sauris di Sotto you can taste Sauris ham, lightly smoked with beech.

We sleep at Campeggio Treinke, between the two villages: 70 pitches in the woods, with water and electricity, hot showers, and water fill and waste. It is open from 1 June to 31 October.

Day 3, Sauris to Sappada

About 1 hour 30 minutes of driving. The SP33 climbs to the Sella di Razzo, the border between Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto, then drops toward Vigo di Cadore, and we go up the Degano valley to Sappada. It is a scenic road but narrow, with no centre line, and landslides and ice that linger: it reopens in late spring and in autumn it can be closed as a precaution, so before leaving we phone the Vigo di Cadore town hall or the Sauris tourist office. On the way there is Pesariis, the clock village, with twelve large monumental clocks along its streets.

In Sappada (Plodn) we visit the old part, with its seventeenth- and eighteenth-century timber hamlets, and the hay figures of "Il fieno racconta". On foot we reach the Sentiero delle Cascatelle, where the Mühlbach torrent drops about twenty metres, next to the Piccolo Museo della Grande Guerra. To taste: cjarsons, Carnic ravioli with a sweet-and-sour filling of potato, ricotta, raisins, cocoa and cinnamon.

We sleep at the Sappada motorhome area, in the Palù hamlet, with automatic pay machines, water fill and waste pits. Electricity is paid separately with a card.

Day 4, from the Piave springs to the Fusine Lakes

About 2 hours 15 minutes of driving, not counting the detours up high. From Sappada we go up to Cima Sappada and take the SP22 of the Val Sesis, to the springs of the Piave at the foot of Peralba. The road is very narrow, with average grades over 10% and no guard rails in places: suitable only for compact vehicles.

Then we drop back to Cima Sappada, follow the state road toward Rigolato and Tolmezzo, go up the Pontebbana through the Canal del Ferro and the Valcanale, pass Tarvisio and arrive at Fusine in Valromana. In the afternoon we walk the flat loop around the Fusine Lakes, under the Mangart massif.

We sleep at the Fusine motorhome area, on Via delle Ponze, with 43 pitches on paving blocks and grass, twelve electric posts, water fill and waste, beside the Alpe Adria cycle path. There are no showers or toilets.

Day 5, Montasio and the way home

About 6 hours 15 minutes of driving in all. From Fusine we go to Tarvisio, then toward Lake Predil and Sella Nevea. From there the Montasio road climbs, steep, with tight hairpins, some in tunnels with a limited profile. On the plateau, ringed by the limestone walls of the Jôf di Montasio, we take CAI path 622, half an hour across the meadows to the Brazzà hut, with a view over the western Julian Alps.

On the plateau, parking is tolerated only by day: overnight stays and wild camping are forbidden, to protect the alpine pasture, and the car park has no toilets, electricity or water service. We drop back to Sella Nevea, follow the Raccolana valley to Chiusaforte and the SS13, join the A23 at Carnia and get back to Asti by the A4 and A21.

Good to know

The season is late spring or summer, because the Sella di Razzo road only reopens in late spring and the Sauris campsite opens in June. We are looking for travel companions willing to split the actual costs. You need a compact vehicle in good order and calm driving on narrow roads; the walks are an hour or so. Roads, opening dates and parking rules change: we check them before leaving.