Alta Via n. 6 of the Dolomites: the Trail of Silence, from the source of the Piave to Vittorio Veneto
Start: Source of the Piave, Sappada (BL/UD) — Finish: Vittorio Veneto (TV) — Stages: 13 — Length: approx. 180 km — Elevation gain: approx. 19,000 m — Difficulty: E/EE, some EEA sections — Recommended period: June-September — Mountain groups: Carnic Alps, Rinaldo Group, Tiarfin, Spalti di Toro-Monfalconi, Duranno, Alpago — Main refuges: Sorgenti del Piave, Fratelli De Gasperi, Tenente Fabbro, Giaf, Padova, Pordenone, Semenza.
The Alta Via n. 6, known as the "Trail of Silence" (Alta Via dei Silenzi), is the longest of the Dolomites' Alte Vie and one of the least travelled by mass tourism, as its name suggests. The route symbolically begins at the source of the Piave river, near Sappada, and crosses in succession the Carnic Alps, the wild Rinaldo Group and the Tiarfin massif, before entering the heart of the Bellunese Dolomites among the Spalti di Toro-Monfalconi and the Duranno group, among the harshest and most isolated of the entire Dolomite range. The final stages cross the Alpago area, a land of woods, lakes and historic refuges such as the Semenza, before the descent to Vittorio Veneto. A long and varied route, suited to experienced, well-trained hikers, that over thirteen stages tells an authentic, silent and still little-known face of the Dolomites.
Discover all the Alte Vie of the Dolomites Quick Facts
- Stages: 13
- Length: approx. 180 km
- Elevation gain: approx. 19,000 m combined (ascent+descent)
- Difficulty: from E to EEA
- Start: Source of the Piave, Sappada
- Finish: Vittorio Veneto
- Main refuges: Sorgenti del Piave, Fratelli De Gasperi, Tenente Fabbro, Giaf, Padova, Pordenone, Semenza
Did you know?
Devised in 1972 by Toni Sanmarchi, it owes its name "of Silence" to the depopulation of the valleys it crosses: a solitary, wild environment where the silence left behind by abandoned pastures and their shepherds still lingers.
A river, a name, a silence
Alta Via n. 6 symbolically begins at the source of the Piave, the river that during the First World War was renamed the “River Sacred to the Fatherland” for its decisive role along the 1917–18 front line. From here the longest of the eight Alte Vie, thirteen stages covering about 180 km, winds south through some of the least-known mountain groups of the eastern Dolomites, until it reaches the Alpago area and Vittorio Veneto.
The final stages cross the Alpago, at the edge of the Cansiglio forest, one of the largest beech and fir woods in the Prealps, which for centuries supplied timber to the Arsenal of Venice: a direct link between these silent mountains and the history of the Serenissima.