Passo di Gavia is one of the most beautiful motorcycle mountain passes we have ever had a chance to ride. In our subjective ranking of the most beautiful mountain passes, it ranks at the highest place, together with Timmelsjoch. If we were to make a similar ranking, but the most dangerous, it would be (for now, of course, because we are already planning further trips) number one. Beautiful and dangerous, a bit like a woman with a claw and unpredictable, because the weather changed from minute to minute. This is how you can describe the ride through Passo di Gavia on a motorcycle. Curious? Read more.
Passo di Gavia on a motorcycle – beautiful and dangerous
The road is mostly not secured by any barriers or they are really temporary. In fact, nothing separates us from the abyss, just one wrong move. This is the consciousness that is most terrifying. For the first time, Karolina was tightly squeezing the handles at the back and she didn’t shoot pictures all the time. In addition, in some places, there is a really bad surface, full of holes, sprinkled with gravel and stones. The width of the road also leaves a lot to be desired. It’s narrow, sometimes a little more than the width of the steering wheel, and if you have a bit of bad luck, you can get stuck behind a string of cars that have to figure out how to drive-thru. But! All the inconveniences are compensated for by the views, which are really BEAUTIFUL! Perhaps the view of the route itself is not as spectacular as at the nearby Stelvio, but it will move you to your knees with its diversity of landscapes. Passo di Gavia is an ideal combination of majestic mountains, mountain lakes, greenery, and clouds. You just have to see it. To be, to feel and to see.
Passo di Gavia on a motorcycle – the famous Gavia Vecchia
It’s also worth knowing that the famous Gavia Vecchia – a road that we on our Piggy, wouldn’t even think to cross – starts right in front of the tunnel. Its condition is tragic and the tunnel next to it was built to avoid this section of the road. We suspect that bad fame and reputation came from this section. The road only for the brave.
Passo di Gavia on a motorcycle – what is worth knowing?
- The route is open from May to October. Although there is no rule for this, it is sometimes closed earlier – everything depends on the weather conditions.
- Altitude 2618 m above sea level, max. slope 14%.
- The asphalt surface is quite poor, there are many pebbles and cavities.
- The route is medium-difficult in our opinion. The southern part (from Passo di Tonale), seems to us much more difficult than the descent from the southern side to Bormio. The difficulty mainly consists of narrow climbs, quite sharp and sometimes very poor quality of the surface.
- The route consists of 28 bends at 44 kilometers.
- The entrance is free of charge.
A bunch of useful links at the end
- We have prepared a ready-made proposal for a trip to the Alps and Italian Dolomites, which include Gavia. Take a look at our day-by-day plan – maybe it will help you or inspire you to change your route. The link to the article can be found here.
- Be sure to visit the nearby Queen of the Alpine Passes. Links to our Stelvio entries can be found here and here.
- Practically information about Italy, what to expect and prepare for, you will find in our guide Italy practically.
- Do you go further on the Italian highways? Check in our article what costs you have to prepare for.
- We wrote about the traffic regulations and parking rules in Italy in this article.
