Route 5 in the 2020 Alps and Dolomites Route Collection is a masterpiece. And I'm not so much talking about the route in MRA, but about the real route: the road surface, the dizzying number of bends, the climbs and the descents and the incredible impressive images that the Dolomites offer you on this ride. This ride is guaranteed to stay with you.

There is also something bad about this route; we are going to give you choice stress ..; are you going to use the foreshortenings or are you going to keep stringing the bends together? Are you indeed going for an 'easy' day or for a further reduction of the pubic area on your tires? In this route we propose a few choices. Fortunately for you, we also include our own advice on whether or not to go through them.

We start in Vigo di Fassa and soon, after barely 24 kilometers, you reach the Passo Sela which continues to give you an impressive view of the Sasso Longo of the Dolomites. Still swallow and realize how small you are on the worldly plane. Majestic, no other words for it. And then you have not yet looked to the right where the Sella massif unfolds before your eyes.
Enjoy while 7 kilometers later you drive up the Sela de Culac which takes you to the equally easy Passo Gardena around the foot of the Sella massif. Instead of already licking your thumbs and fingers, it is best to keep your hands on the handlebars for a while; the descent of the Gardena is super nice, but winding, so pay attention there.

Upon arrival in Corvara turn right towards Campolongo and Arabba. And there is the first choice: will you continue with the Pordoi or not? Our advice, yes, take those 30 kilometers of pure fun there and back. Unless it is super busy there (and there is a chance…), because if you constantly have to queue up, the fun is over very quickly.

In that case you can consider skipping rp 9 and not taking the shortening to Cortina d'Ampezzo at rp 10. If you want to enjoy a low traffic Dolomite ride, the southern dive of this route is highly recommended. It is much quieter than on the so-called 'Dolomite road' from Canazei to Cortina and in terms of pleasant curves, the Passo di Giau (rp17) is certainly not inferior to the rest.

If you don't want to make the long bend around the Civetta (one of the highest Dolomites mountains), feel free to take the shortening that we recommend on rp11. Also very beautiful and you save time, while you do not lose driving pleasure. We only give you a few options.

On rp 19 you will pass Cortina d'Ampezzo, the largest town in the Dolomites. Nice city, absolutely, but beware of the tourist traps that can quickly give you a bit of a wallet if you're not paying attention.

Another, nevertheless advisable, alternative for today is to use one of the many chair lifts or mountain trams that are frequently present along the route. They will take you to one of the peaks while you can look around completely free at the great massifs of the Dolomites.

There is also one on the Lago di Misurina that you can easily reach on foot once you have arrived at the hotel. You can use this to visit the Col di Varda, but - if you prefer this, also at rp 20 you can take two consecutive lifts towards Monte Cristallo with which you go 1000 meters higher. As I said in the beginning… choice stress….

My personal preference is to go through the Passo Pordio and take the shortening on rp 11, after which you make the climb to Monte Cristallo with the Rio Gere / Son Forca chair lift. Please note that the elevator closes at 5 PM. Keep in mind that (without queuing) you will need to spend an hour there and back. The consecutive rides take 6.5 and 7 minutes respectively, + a bit of looking around at the top. But certainly worth it, if you want to leave the mopeds downstairs for a while. Otherwise you park safely at the hotel, change your clothes and take a taxi to rp 20 for the 9 kilometers back.

Finally, a pleasant word about the Misurina lake. The legend about this is nice to know. Sorapiss (the mountain south of the route), used to be a god who, as a single parent, had to raise his daughter Misurina. Due to the lack of motherly care, Misurina became an annoying spoiled brat that had to be served at her beck and call. When Misurina heard that there was an elf living on the Cristallo (north of the route) who had a magic mirror with which you could read someone's mind, Misurina had to and would have it. Sorapiss pulled up to the elf who tacked on the condition that Sorapiss turned into a mountain so that he could shade the elf's flower garden. So it happened.
Misurina was given the mirror and watched her father turn into Mount Sorapiss to meet the elf's demand. She liked it too, because then she had a mountain to play on. So she walked up the mountain (her father) as it turned into an ever higher mountain.
She suddenly became dizzy from the great height and together with the mirror she fell to death into the great deep. Her father - transforming - could do nothing but look on weeping and his tears formed the Lago di Misurina. The multicolored sparkles in the water of the lake are - even today - caused by the mirror broken into thousands of pieces… ..

The route is uniquely worthy of a five star rating. There is hardly any transition, the highlights are reached quickly and smoothly and you can also do something other than motorcycling if you wish.
You can make it a chill day, even if you want to complete the route in its entirety. The only thing that can put a damper on the day is the crowds on the Dolomite road from Canazei to Cortina d'Ampezzo. Every tourist drives on this road.
That is why the loop around the Civetta has been added to the route, should the crowds at the top be disappointing.

Moreover, the route runs almost entirely on green Michelin roads. That should already be enough to be convinced of the quality of this route. We deliberately noticed few pause points, with the exception of the turning point on rp 9. You have many options on this busy route. We suggest that you stop where you feel like it and where there is room on the terraces.

Enjoy to the fullest and empty the container under your mouth in time on this sublime route. You often drive with your mouth open and you may not want it all dripping onto your discs….