Back to Austria via Sella Nevea (from Moggio) (22.10.2025)

© Helwig Hauser

© Helwig Hauser

Note that this track has been created from memory, i.e., it was not recorded automatically.

Trip Summary

The plan for the fourth (and last) day of our four-days bike ride through the Julian Alps was to bike back to Austria from Moggio. Again, we started relatively early in Moggio to have enough time for the roughly 75km back (including the Selle Nevea mountain pass). This time, we were updated enough to understand that parallel to the main road (SS13) through the valley of Fiume Fella one can find the Alpe-Adri cycling path, which is using an abandoned train line! Using this cycling path, we nicely made it to Chiusaforte without any road stress! :-) Also, we could enjoy some nice sights along the way, including Ponte Peraria and several tall waterfalls. In Chiusaforte, we then said "Good bye!" to the cycling path and entered Val Raccolana towards Sella Nevea further in the east. While it was not raining, the clouds were hanging very low so that we could not see any mountain tops; at least not for the first couple of kilometers. I any way, the atmosphere was quite impressive and cycling up this valley was nice. Once we passed Piani di Qua, the road got quite a bit steeper, again, and it would not get easier again before we eventually reached Sella Nevea. At the end of the valley about ten hairpin curves were also needed to make the required height meters up to the saddle. On Sella Nevea, the impression was almost dystopian: a couple of large hotels, seemingly completely deserted, with hardly anyone around -- not inviting, really. One can only hope that this region is seeing better times during winter. Once on the saddle, we put on several layers of additional clothes, before starting our descent towards Tarvisio. After a very nice ride down from Sella Nevea, we came to Lago del Predil, which really is a very nice mountain lake! Besides the picturesque lake scenery, Fortino Lago Predil reminded us, again, about the violent past, also in this valley. Cycling further in northward direction, we then passed by Cave del Predil, which apparently was a mine for a very long time. The tortured mountain face in the northwest of the village shows very clearly the extensive mining activity in the past. Within not too long, we then arrived in Tarvisio, where we first had to orient ourselves regarding the connection to the other side. We then chose to cross over the Ponte del Diavolo, also enjoying the views from up there, to reconnect with the Alpe-Adri cycling path. Following this cycling path, it was then not too long, before we crossed over to Austria, again. From there, it was then to cycle down to Arnoldstein and from there back to Erlendorf. All in all, we arrived back in Erlendorf highly satisfied after four very nice biking days in the Julian Alps.

Photos

Selected photos are available as Google photo album.

Useful Resources

See also the related FB-page Hiking around Bergen, Norway.
See also another page about this four-(five-)days bike trip.