Monte Castellaz Hike

From the Passo Rolle parking lot, cross the road and follow the trail heading due north. After about 500 meters, you'll reach an intersection with Strada Val Venegia, a gravel road. There are two options from there: the gravel road, with very wide switchbacks, leads to Capanna Cervino on a gentle slope, and a hiking trail winds parallel to it, slightly steeper but noticeably more pleasant. In either case, you will reach Rifugio Capanna Cervino (2,082 m) in about fifteen minutes.

A few minutes past the refuge, at a clearly marked intersection, leave the track and turn left toward "Castellazzo." Monte Castellaz is visible from the start of the hike. Its rounded, isolated silhouette, crowned by a white statue, stands out clearly to the north of the track. The trail passes under a chairlift and crosses a grassy hollow before switching to the southwest slope of Castellaz. The ascent first follows a contour path, then climbs steeper slopes on a stony trail with no technical difficulties or exposed sections. You will emerge onto the summit plateau, where the Cristo Pensante statue seems to watch over the peak.

From the summit, the panorama embraces the entire northern chain of the Pale di San Martino, from left to right: Monte Mulaz, Cima dei Bureloni, Cima della Vezzana, and Cimon della Pala (3,184 m), sometimes nicknamed the "Matterhorn of the Dolomites." A plaque recalls that Monte Castellaz was fortified by the Italian Alpini between 1915 and 1917 to protect Passo Rolle, and a few remnants of the Great War remain along the route.

The descent follows the north face of Castellaz on a trail slightly steeper than the ascent, but without any real difficulty. The route then crosses high-altitude meadows and skirts the summit of Costazza before reaching Baita Segantini. The small lake, the mountain hut, and the wall of the Pale di San Martino compose one of the most photographed scenes in the Dolomites. Return to Passo Rolle via Strada Val Venegia, a wide gravel road on a very gentle slope, or the more pleasant parallel hiking trail.