A tiny road to Serrai di Sottoguda in the Dolomites
Located in the middle of the Dolomites, in the Italian Belluno province, part of the Veneto region, the road along the Serrai di Sottoguda gorges is one of the narrowest roads in the world. The Sottoguda gorge is closed to traffic. Only pedestrians and cyclists are allowed.
The road follows the river Pettorina going through the Sottoguda gorge, a deep canyon of 2,5 km considered a jewel of the Veneto Alps. Here the power of nature is still strong. Listen to the sound of the waters that streams down and originated the canyon of the Serrai. This road is not on all maps as the road is very narrow and doesn't go anywhere much. Anyway, the road has been used by the Giro d'Italia bicycle race.
The road, with12 little bridges, is paved and extremely narrow. It snakes along beside a stream in one of the narrowest gorges in the country. The gorge has a width of eight to ten metres and the walls on both sides have a height of up to 50 metres. The whole canyon has a length of approximately two kilometres. The current route followed to visit the Serrai, is not the original, but a track put in place during the First World War: witness to this, are two galleries used as ammunition depots and a chapel (in memory of the military cemetery of Malga Ciapela). Along the old route, now abandoned, one can see an effigy of the Sacred Heart: carved into the naked rock in a time when crossing the Serrai was very dangerous, it was created to warn and bless the travelers all at once.
The road is 1.7km long and features some steep sections, scarcely wide enough for two cars to pass at the same time. It has towering vertical sides, and not much light gets down there. The whole place has the eerie effect of making you feel very small. It's a must do.
Pic: Super Apam secondo canale