Vajont - Diga del Vajont (Via Ferrata della Memoria)

Access to the starting point:
Access from Gorenjska: Via Border crossing Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then along the motorway towards Udine to the Tolmezzo exit. From Tolmezzo, follow the road towards Ampezzo and the Passo della Mauria mountain pass. The road then descends and leads to a crossroads where you turn left towards Belluno. Follow the signs for Belluno until you reach Longarone. In Longarone, turn left after the signs for "Diga del Vajont". The road then crosses the river Piavo and soon begins to climb. Follow the ascending road until the 6th serpentine where the signs "Ferrata" direct you to the right onto a narrow road. Follow this road to the parking lot in front of the tunnel.

From the coastal side: Take the motorway towards Venice/Venezia. At Portogruaro, leave the motorway towards Venice and turn right on the motorway towards Pordenone. At the next motorway junction near Conegliano, turn right towards Belluno. The motorway ends near Belluno and we continue towards Auronzo and the Passo Mauria at the next junctions. Follow this road only as far as Longarone, where you turn right after the "Diga del Vajont" signs. The road then crosses the river Piavo and soon starts to climb. Follow the ascending road until the 6th serpentine where the signs "Ferrata" direct you to the right onto a narrow road. Follow this road to the parking lot in front of the tunnel.

Path description:
From the parking lot, continue to the information boards where the signpost points right to a narrow path through the forest. The path descends gently at first and soon leads to the steep slopes above the gorge and then to the entrance to the tunnel. You will need a torch to walk through the narrow and low tunnel. From the tunnel the path leads to a ledge where the protected path begins.

The path continues along the ledge for some time, crossing the precipitous slopes above the Vajont stream. From the path we have a nice view of the gorge and the old road leading to the dam. Higher up, the main road is also the main road, which unfortunately also results in litter along the way. From the ledge, the path then climbs steeply up a ladder to the left. The path becomes much more difficult here and climbs mostly vertically above the ladder for some time (difficulty C/D and D). In the most difficult parts we also have some scrambling to help us. The route then turns slightly to the right and climbs up a steep gully to the right (difficulty C, D). Above the gully, the difficulty drops a shade. First there is a short, less demanding traverse along a ledge to the left, then a climb along a steel beam (difficulty B/C, C) and then a traverse along the ledge again.

The route then becomes steeper again and follows a mostly almost vertical wall (difficulty C). Here we also start to get a view of the dam Diga del Vajont, which is located at the end of the gorge. The path then becomes less difficult for a while and also leads us through a short lane of forest.

The path then soon leads us back to steeper slopes where we climb up along the cableway. At this point you will also often hear the noise of cars as the path bypasses the tunnel through which the main road passes. Above the tunnel, the path continues to climb upwards along a steel track (difficulty B/C). The slope here is generally slightly less steep than in the first part of the route (difficulty B/C). After this slope, you then climb up to a slightly larger ledge where the path becomes slightly easier. After the ledge, cross the wall to the right and descend slightly. This path leads to the registration box.
From the registration box, there is a climb up a ladder, and then the protected path soon ends. After the end of the protected path, continue on a footpath through the forest, which leads to a crossroads.

The path to the left leads to Casso, and we continue down to the right towards the dam Diga del Vajont. From the crossroads, the trail continues to descend all the way to the main road. After crossing the road, continue to the right and you will soon reach the dam Diga del Vajont and the memorial chapel.

Return to the starting point through the tunnel. Be careful when walking through the tunnel. The traffic through the tunnel alternates one-way, which allows us to avoid walking in the non-transparent parts of the tunnel at times when there are cars on the opposite side of the tunnel.

On the other side of the tunnel, turn left onto the footpath that leads back to the starting point.

The route described is extremely difficult and you will need a helmet and a self-protection kit. In the initial tunnels you will also need a torch. Climbing gloves are also recommended.

The Via Ferrata della Memoria protected climbing route was created in 2015 to commemorate the victims of a catastrophic accident that occurred in 1963. Due to the reservoir above the dam, which wetted the ground, a huge avalanche was triggered from the Monte Toc mountain and covered the lake. The avalanche pushed the water over the dam and a large wave then flooded the village of Longarone in the Piave valley. The disaster killed 1917 people.

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