Monti Lessini - Piccole Dolomiti

The Small Dolomites is a mountain chain of Vicenza Prealps, bordered on the west by Lessini mounts and on the east by Mount Pasubio. It includes an arch of mountains extending from south-east to north-west for about thirty kilometres, and terminating on the Carena peak. The area features pinnacles, steep walls and rugged gorges and offers quite evocative views. A particular advantage of the Small Dolomites is that they can be reached easily even by less skilled trekkers. Even though they are only slightly higher than 2,000 m a.s.l., these mountains have great appeal onto Alpinists, and include walls that are interesting for rock climbers, such as the ones on mount Baffelan.
Another interesting feature of this area are the "vaj", narrow, inaccessible gullies dug by water erosion, which are quite picturesque, and sometimes look like deep slits within vertical rocky walls. Hiking and trekking are very popular activities here: the Small Dolomites offer a great variety of routes for any difficulty rate. The network of paths has been expanded even further thanks to the fortifications dating back to the First World War, such as the Strada delle 52 Gallerie (Road of the 52 Tunnels) - which is an extraordinary example of military engineering leading from Bocchetta Campiglia to Porte del Pasubio.