The Giau Pass () ( Ladin: ''Jof de Giau'') (el. 2236 m.) is a high

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

in the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...

in the province of

Belluno Belluno (; ; ) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the Capital (political), capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region. W ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It connects

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

with

Colle Santa Lucia Colle Santa Lucia (; Ladin language: ''Col'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, located about north of Venice and about northwest of Belluno. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of ...

and

Selva di Cadore Selva di Cadore ( ladin: ''Selva de Ciadore'' or ''Selva'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, located about north of Venice and about northwest of Belluno. As of 31 December 2004, it had a ...

. It is located at the center of a vast mountain pasture at the foot of Nuvolau (2,574 m) and dell' Averau (2,647 m) from which you can easily reach the Monte Pore (2,405 m). Impressive is the view west towards

with the

Pale di San Martino The Pala group (also known as Pale di San Martino) is the largest massif of the Dolomites, with about 240 km2 of surface, located between eastern Trentino and Veneto (province of Belluno), in the area between Primiero (valleys of Cismon, Canali ...

, Cime D'Auta,

Marmolada Marmolada (Ladin language, Ladin: ''Marmolèda''; German language, German: ''Marmolata'', ) is a mountain in northeastern Italy and the highest mountain of the Dolomites (a section of the Alps). It lies between the borders of Trentino and Ven ...

Piz Boe Piz or PIZ may refer to: * Piz Gloria, a mountain-top restaurant in Switzerland * Piz Buin, a mountain * Piz Dolf, a mountain * Piz Segnas, a mountain * Piz Buin (brand), a suncream brand * Piz (river), a river in Russia * Point Lay LRRS Airport ...

and Setsass, just to the east towards the valley of

, with

Tofane Tofane is a mountain group in the Dolomites of northern Italy, west of Cortina d'Ampezzo in the province of Belluno, Veneto. Most of the Tofane lie within the Ampezzo Dolomites Natural Park. Peaks The highest peaks of the Tofane group are ''To ...

, Croda Rossa, Pomagagnon,

Cristallo Cristallo is a glass that is totally clear (like rock crystal), without the slight yellow or greenish color originating from iron oxide impurities. This effect is achieved through small additions of manganese oxide.R. W. Douglas: ''A history of ...

, Croda da Lago, etc.

Accessibility and territory

Passo Giau is comprised in the territories of

San Vito di Cadore San Vito di Cadore is a small town and ''comune'' in the province of Belluno in the Italy, Italian region of Veneto in the Dolomites. The distance to Cortina d'Ampezzo measures . The nearest mountain is Monte Antelao. The town is a year-round tour ...

, and

. The road that goes up from Selva di Cadore has 29 tornanti and 3 tunnels for protection against avalanches, while the side towards Cortina is more easily passable. It is an interesting alternative to get to Cortina from Agordino area also because the road of Passo Giau, unlike the Passo Falzarego road is passable by trucks and coaches. However, despite the efforts made over the years, the winter season is often compromised by the avalanches that come down to block the uncovered parts of the road.

Mountain huts

* Rifugio Passo Giau (2236 m) - Colle Santa Lucia * Rirugio Da Aurelio (2175 m) - Colle Santa Lucia * Rifugio Fedare (2000 m) - Colle Santa Lucia * Malga Giau (1900 m) - San Vito di Cadore

Maratona dles Dolomites bicycle race

Since 1988 the Giau Pass is the sixth and steepest of seven Dolomites mountain passes riders cross in the annual

Maratona dles Dolomites The Maratona dles Dolomites (Ladin language, Ladin for "Dolomites Marathon"; ), is an annual single-day road bicycle race covering seven mountain passes in the Dolomites. Open to amateur cyclists, the Maratona—with 9,000 riders chosen from ...

single-day

bicycle race "Bicycle Race" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was released on their 1978 album ''Jazz'' and written by Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was released as a double A-side single together with the song " Fat Bottomed Girls", re ...

Accessibility and territory

Mountain huts

Maratona dles Dolomites bicycle race

See also