Dorena e monte Pagano

A Different Side of Pagano. This route takes you along the beautiful Dorena Trail, a long traverse at an elevation of about 2,000 meters, running along the eastern flank of Cima Cadì and Cima Verda, ending as it descends gently to Lake Mortirolo and the refuge of the same name.

The route starts from the village of Incudine, at 910 meters (parking on the left after the bridge over the Oglio River). We head south along a very short stretch of the state highway, then turn right onto the road toward Monno. We soon leave the main road at an elevation of 950 meters for a small road that leads below the village, down to the Ogliolo di Monno stream. After climbing back up to the village, we return to the Mortirolo state highway, which we follow for a few hundred meters until the left fork for Rasega. In the village of Fracai, we keep to the right and, at an elevation of 1,510, take a right onto the Sentiero dei Boschi (some sections require pushing the bike). After a short stretch carrying the bike on our shoulders, we reach, at an elevation of 2,010, the beautiful trail coming from Malga Dorena.

Turning right, we follow it to Lake Mortirolo and its mountain hut at 1,780 meters. From here, we descend along the Sentiero del Lac to an elevation of 1,700 meters; keeping to the left, we reach the Mortirolo road near the War Memorial (it is also possible to continue descending along the trail to its end at an elevation of 1,510 meters and climb back up via La Dritta to the bridge, adding 130 meters of elevation gain). We descend briefly to the Palö Bridge, at 1,640 meters, where we turn left onto the steep forest road that passes through the village of Plazza and leads up the old military trail to the summit of Mount Pagano, at 2,346 meters, surrounded by a distinctive dry-stone wall.

After enjoying the magnificent view, the descent begins along the entire beautiful northeast ridge, with technical and tricky sections down to Pianaccio, 2,150 meters (caution).

Turning right, we follow a beautiful traverse along a smooth trail that brings us back to the military road we took on the ascent at an elevation of 2,020 meters.

We descend briefly along it to an elevation of 1,950 meters, where we turn left onto a trail and begin the fun descent. From here on, be careful to follow the trail closely to avoid descending along the forest road (for a stretch, the trail runs parallel above the road). After a final section that’s a bit tricky to follow, we return to Incudine and the car.