Malga Ces - Piani della Cavallazza - Orti Forestali

<p>The route from Malga Ces that leads to the Piani della Cavallazza (or Cavallazza) is a hike without any significant elevation gain, allowing you to enjoy beautiful views and pleasant resting places.</p>

<p>The starting point is Malga Ces (1,660 m asl), which can easily be reached from San Martino di Castrozza even with your own personal vehicle, from where a level path branches off in a westerly direction, initially crossing the “Valbonetta” ski slope before heading into the forest. After a few hundred metres, a sign appears with directions to the Piani della Cavallazza (Trail No. 15, which you take on the left). After crossing the Strada Forestale Val Bonéta forest road, you climb towards the Piani della Cavallazza in the only uphill part of the itinerary, which is nonetheless a comfortable trail with wide hairpin bends and slopes accessible to all. Along the ascent, the trail alternates between woodland and clearings, and after passing a few aqueduct buildings, heads towards the summit of the Piani della Cavallazza (1,972 m asl), with its small but spectacular flat terraces alongside the Cima Cavallazza. From here, you enjoy spectacular views of the Pala Group and at times even the town of San Martino di Castrozza. The trail then descends slightly, leading into a semi-marshy area characterised by sporadic vegetation with larch trees and bog pines, an unspoilt reserve of the Paneveggio Pale di San Martino Nature Park. After reaching a fork that leads to Malga Fosse di Sotto, we recommend continuing for a few hundred metres along Trail No. 15, taking the trail on the left towards the Rolle Pass / Malga Fosse di Sopra. This section of Trail No. 15 allows you to cross the most suggestive, panoramic and wild part of the Piani della Cavallazza, with the Cimon della Pala in the foreground together with the Pala Group. </p> <p>You then retrace your steps back to the previous fork, where the route takes the downhill trail towards Villa Pisoni / Malga Fosse di Sotto, heading down into the beautiful forest above San Martino di Castrozza. This section of the itinerary includes a few downhill stretches with rather steep slopes; utmost caution is therefore required when following the trail. After reaching the pastures of Malga Fosse di Sotto (1,639 m asl), no longer in use and near which (on the other side of the Cismón Torrent) lies the near-abandoned old military cemetery of the Great War, rather than descending towards San Martino di Castrozza, the itinerary continues along a brief uphill stretch on the “B.G. Miotti” Trail (section of the Caoria - Paneveggio bike and pedestrian trail). This part of the route can be taken about a hundred metres below the Malga ruin, to the right in a southerly direction. The “B.G. Miotti” Trail gently climbs into the forest until reaching the Orti Forestali (Forest Gardens) (1,700 m asl), former forest nurseries from the imperial era (i.e. the Austro-Hungarian Empire). </p> <p>From the dirt road junction near the Orti Forestali, the hike concludes by following the Orti Forestali forest road towards Malga Ces, which after a short descent, flattens out just before reaching Ces. A few hundred metres before Malga Ces near the so-called “Campigol”, the route resumes the flat stretch of path taken at the start of the itinerary, and which leads directly back to Malga Ces.</p>