Mortisa and the Grotte di Volpera

Description

Starting from the Crignes car park, take the tarmac road up through the hamlet of Cortina of the same name. Here, a few hundred metres from Corso Italia, there are wide lawns and a beautiful view of the centre. When the road forks, keep left and then left again following the signs for Mortisa. Mortisa, or Mortija in the Ampezzo language, is an area with charm that is still tied to the past: meadows, mountains, and a few traditional Ampezzo houses. Cross the hamlet to the last houses, after which a wide meadow opens up with a view of Cristallo, Sorapis and Antelao - this is where the wide dirt track 428 begins. Take the path, which after a short while enters the forest and continues fairly easy and wide. The forest gradually becomes denser - various animals, such as woodpeckers and squirrels, can be seen. This forest is special because of the large boulders precipitated long ago, on which trees or shrubs often grow today and under which small caves can be found. This area is in fact very popular and well-known for sport climbing and bouldering. When you cross path 451, take it to your left and descend until you emerge from the forest in the village of Campo di Sotto, where Titian Vecellio's mother Lucia was born. Here, you’ll reach Campo di Sopra via the asphalted road, enjoying the wide view of the mountains of Cortina. At the crossroads, keep to the left, cross the entire hamlet until the asphalt road turns into a dirt road and continue along the latter, climbing up to a wide meadow. From here, the view also opens up to the Tofane, the Pomagagnon and the centre of Cortina with its bell tower. Continue along this easy path until the road, after crossing a bridge, becomes paved again and you arrive at the Via del Parco car park. From here, continue for another 5 minutes on Via del Parco and then, after crossing the Ponte Crignes, you will reach the starting point again.