The path connects the village of Cembra to Lago Santo and crosses a stretch where the ancient Via Claudia Augusta passed, linking Trento with Tyrol.
The young illustrious traveler Albrecht Duerer passed through here and sketched in 1494, followed three centuries later by Napoleonic troops heading to the Castello di Segonzano. The route develops in the forest, interrupted by clearings where the locals’ "baite" (huts) have been built with porphyry slab roofs according to tradition or more modern ones, and meadows protected by typical dry stone walls. Midway through the loop appears Lago Santo, of immaculate beauty.
THE 10 RULES FOR HIKERS
As you can imagine, the passability of routes in a mountain environment is closely linked to current conditions and therefore depends on natural phenomena, environmental changes, and weather conditions. For this reason, the information contained in this sheet may have changed. Before setting out, get information about the condition of the route by contacting the managers of the refuges on your route, mountain guides, nature park visitor centers, and tourist offices.
From the parking lot located in front of the "Cantina Valle di Cembra", follow the provincial road of the Val di Cembra and head towards the village of Faver until you reach a traffic light. From here, take the road that climbs to the left and soon arrive at the small square of the Fadana district. Once in the square at Fadana near the fountain, take the road on the right that rises between the vineyards towards the overlying forest. After a very steep, paved section, continue until you reach a junction where, ignoring the road descending towards the valley, turn left and continue ascending into the forest. At the third hairpin bend, a trail branching off to the right descends slightly until, at a fork, keeping left, the ascent resumes. As you gain altitude, the path flattens out and takes on the characteristics of a tractor road. At yet another junction encountered, descend along the forest road which, in the last stretch, has a paved surface. At the end of the steep descent, you find a sign indicating Ponciach/Lago Santo and ascend a cobbled road, gently rising towards the forest. Arriving at a house on the right side of the road, there is a small meadow where the trail runs, initially difficult to spot but then clear, which shortly leads to the gates of the small and pleasant hamlet of Ponciach. Signage is now abundant, so following the signs for Lago Santo, you climb into the forest on a beautiful road that for long stretches features porphyry pavement, reaching a fork at loc. Casalini: from here follow the signs for loc. Zise along a cobblestone road until, passing near a large wooden shrine, you see to the left the signs for Lago Santo. The forest road passes, at first, just below the peak of Monte Pincaldo, then at loc. Sach to continue towards the Lago Santo refuge. A small left deviation allows crossing loc. Vegiose with its splendid meadows where here and there several huts are visible. Upon reaching Lago Santo, begin the descent following signs for Cembra (E5 – 410). The path, at times steep, intersects the forest road at loc. S. Antonio; follow this road until the next signs which lead to leave it to descend along the old route of the Via Claudia Augusta towards Fadana and soon back to the starting point. At times, the route coincides with the modern and recent route of the E5 – one of the fascinating European trails – which starts at the Atlantic in France or more frequently at Lake Constance in Switzerland to reach the city of Verona. A variant of the Roman Claudia Augusta and later the medieval Semita Caroli passed through here, alternatives to the Val d’Adige route, which the great river often flooded over millennia, up to the banks of the 20th century. The young illustrious traveler Albrecht Duerer passed through and sketched here in 1494 (www.durerweg.it), followed three centuries later by Napoleonic troops heading to Castello di Segonzano.
Trekking shoes, waterproof jacket, trekking poles, water, snacks, and sunscreen.
