Medium length stage, very easy and pleasant, mostly on a gentle descent through woods and wide meadows. Resting stage.
We enter the famous Val di Non: the villages of Malesco and Fondo are very suggestive. A visit to the beautiful Rio Sass Canyon is absolutely recommended.
We retrace the slightly uphill stretch towards Malga di Romeno, then on a wide carriageway in the woods, we proceed on a level path meeting Rifugio Mezzavia and, a few kilometers later, Rifugio Genzianella. Descending, we arrive at Passo di Mendola, near the town of the same name, full of buildings and usually crowded.
We continue on the road that continues north, uphill. After a couple of hairpin bends, we resume the path that in short ups and downs, takes us back to a beautiful carriage road, between flowery meadows and dense woods: we are in Val di Non. On the way, we meet the beautiful Bivouac Baita Larsetti, with a fountain available to hikers.
We turn again on the path towards secular pines. Cutting on a small path, not very easy to identify, we lose altitude in the woods to reach the paved road below, at the height of the chapel of Sant'Antonio. We take the road to the left and, after a hundred meters, we take the path that descends gently (200 m) and leads us to the town of Malesco, with its frescoed houses. Another stretch on the road and we reach the beautiful village of Fondo.
In Val di Non a variant of the Dolomite Ladin is spoken the noneso dialect. In recent years, a request has been made for the recognition of noneso as an official language, in order to protect and teach it in schools, and insert it in toponymy.
One of the most representative trees of the valley is the Mediterrenean hackberry, also called "spaccasassi" (stone breaker) and known for its wood, particularly hard but flexible. Its characteristics made it perfect for the production of whip handles: the town of Taio housed an industry that exported the artifacts all over Europe, which was very prosperous until the 1930s.
The Rio Sass Canyon that divides the village of Fondo in half, is a huge gorge 300 meters long and 60 meters deep.
Since 2001, thanks to the installation of stairs and walkways, it is possible to follow it with a comfortable walk overlooking the waterfalls and pools of the Rio Sass.
The water clock in Fondo, in the main square, is a complex and fascinating machine, made up of two distinct and connected mechanisms, activated by water: the first (hydro-chronometer) measures time, the second mechanism (hydro-ringtone) makes the ringtones work. The only inconvenience is ... the freezing cold!
Typical salami of the Val di Non, the mortandela (not mortadella) has the shape of a flattened ball and is made up of various grinded parts of the pork (the name comes from the use of the mortar in the past).
The doses of spices vary according to different family traditions. The “smoked mortandela della Val di Non” is a Slow Food Presidium.
In Passo di Mendola and Fondo, there are many accommodation facilities.
Casa Pioncla, in Malosco. Tel. +39 347 603 6603
Casa Patrizia, in Malosco. Tel. +39 335 571 2999
Starting point NOT reachable by car.
The nearest location accessible by car is Amblar.
Departure point NOT reachable by bus.
The nearest location reachable by bus is Cavareno, starting from the city of Trento with a change in Cles.
Here the LINK to check the timetables.
Departure point NOT reachable by train.
Va' Sentiero is a grassroot project, thanks to the spontaneous contribution oft housands of people.
Even the most complicated dream, a 7,000km uphill dream,
can be achieved... together.
Grazie!
