Limone sul Garda, Bocca Larici, Passo Nota, CAI 106, 102 e 123 Val Pura

Ring of great value, with cues of historical and scenic interest. Descents of high technical difficulty, with rock steps, loose bottom and exposed sections.

Departure from Limone sul #garda, from the lakeside parking lot (in winter parking is free, yesterday we spent 13 euros for about 8 hours). We pass through the beautiful village, very quaint, and follow the signs for the bike path suspended over the lake. We walk about a mile and a half of it and turn back to take the state highway in the direction of Riva del Garda (visible clothing in the dark and lights recommended for going through the tunnels). When we reach the old Ponale harbor, we leave the asphalt and start climbing - bike on our backs - the Trout trail for about 200 meters of elevation gain until we intercept the Ponale. We ride along the latter in the direction of Pregasina, colored by the many fruit trees in full bloom, refuel with water at the spring in the village and continue following the signs for Bocca Larici. Now begins perhaps the most challenging part of the climb, with cemented ramps approaching 20 percent gradient, then followed by a long, less steep dirt section up to the junction for Cima Larici (given the gray sky and mist present below, we decided to avoid reaching Cima Larici, saving some precious time in view of the afternoon rain).

We continued, still uphill, in the direction of Malga Palaer and continued following the dedicated MTB signs for Passo Rocchetta. The path to the aforementioned Pass, obviously uphill, is completely cyclable provided you have good legs and good lungs. Once we reach Passo Rocchetta, we could enjoy another glimpse of Lake Garda below and the surrounding peaks whitened by the latest snowfall, but, as already mentioned, the sirocco of these days has given us an air rich in humidity and sand, with the result of making any effort made to take a decent photo in vain. We continue now, in a continuous up and down, touching the Guil Pass, the Bocca dei Fortini, the Bestana Pass and, finally, the Nota Pass at 1208 meters above sea level. We stop at the Alpine Refuge of the same name (for those who want it, a little higher up there is also an open-air military museum), with the manager always ready to give useful information on the state of the trails back to the valley. We opt for the combination given by CAI 106 trails (devoid of difficulty), a short bike ride to reach the saddle located between Corna Vecchia and Corno Nero, CAI 102 (beyond our capabilities, we did a lot of it on foot) and finally for the beautiful CAI 123 in Val Pura. We finally reach upstream of Limone, with the possibility of crossing the entire village downhill, characterized by wonderful olive groves overlooking the lake.

At lower altitudes the setting is typical Mediterranean, while at higher altitudes we find a beautiful prealpine environment, rich in conifers, beeches and glades.