CAI Path 1008 Cesèn Loop

From the parking lot of the International Donor Temple in Pianezze, we take the paved road heading northwest and walk about 350 m until a sharp right hairpin where we leave the asphalt and, following the CAI arrows, take the dirt road on the left. A few dozen meters ahead another CAI arrow indicates to continue right into a still open part of the forest. After about 5 minutes of walking, we cross the paved road leading to Mariech, cross it and continue along a series of wooden steps always surrounded by fairly sparse vegetation that will accompany us for about ten minutes.

At about 1200 m, the forest ends and we start climbing a grassy slope with extraordinary glimpses on our left of the Grappa Massif, the Piave River and Montello until we again intersect the paved road at about 1370 m altitude. As we continue, the Malga Barbaria complex with its characteristic antennas appears behind us until, at 1400 m, we intersect path 1012 and in front of us appear the summit of Monte Cesèn and its eastern ridge.

After a very brief flat stretch along the slopes of Mount Orsere, we start descending towards the Val de Maria to reach the remains of an old ski lift.

Along a slight ascent, with a brief passage inside a forest, we reach a small saddle near Malga Forcelletta (about 1370 m, CAI signage) where we abruptly change direction and begin ascending the western ridge of Monte Cesèn; on moderate slopes and with an increasingly open view towards the north we reach the top of Cesèn in less than half an hour, the highest point of the route (1570 m). If the view south is partly limited by Barbaria and Ortigher, the view to the north, east and west is wonderful and embraces dozens of peaks and mountain groups.

Continuing now westward, we immediately lose a few dozen meters then continue on a false flat until reaching the monument to the fallen of the Mazzini Brigade. With Malga Mariech perfectly visible on our left, we descend a few dozen meters until reaching a crossroads (CAI signage) where we turn south and join the paved road. After 250 m we leave the road again and, following the CAI arrows, cross the southern slopes of Colle Ortigher, ignore the dirt road leading to the large antenna, and descend back to the paved road that quickly brings us to Malga Barbaria (1425 m).

To the south, the Croce di Barbaria is clearly visible, another extraordinary panoramic point of this route: ahead, on clear days, the gaze can reach the Apennines, Istria, the Gulf of Trieste and the peaks of Slovenia and Croatia. On our left, instead, we can see the characteristic “Hippo of Cesèn,” a wooded area immersed in pastures whose shape resembles a hippopotamus.

Once past the cross, we start descending towards Pianezze on a wide trail, ignoring the mountain huts and buildings on our sides until entering a small forest where the terrain becomes rocky. At the end of this stretch, we find ourselves at a hairpin bend of the paved road leading to Mariech; without entering the road surface, we take the trail on the left which in a couple of minutes leads us back to the parking lot from where we started.