To reach the small village of Cimolais, you can either start out from the Val Belluna or climb up the embedded Val Cellina. From the Belluno area, the A4 motorway will take you from Venice to the Longarone exit; once you reach the village of the same name, you leave the centre on the left and continue across the bridge over the Piave river (Sacro alla Patria), climbing the hairpin bends that lead to the sadly famous Vajont Dam and then to the villages of Casso and Erto (where our friend Mauro Corona lives). We then climb briefly to the Sant'Osvaldo Pass and, climbing up, descend to Cimolais. To the left are signs for Val Cimoliana and the Pordenone Refuge. From Longarone 20 km. For those ascending from the Pordenone area, having arrived at the towns of Maniago and Montereale Valcellina, a spectacular environment will accompany you uphill towards the town of Barcis with its lake of the same name and then to Claut (which remains on the right) and to Cimolais, from where on the right you will find signs for Val Cimoliana. From Montereale Valcellina 30 km. The territory of Cimolais is part of the Friulian Dolomites Park, included in the wider context of the Dolomites, which are part of the Unesco Natural Heritage. Above the town there is a short route with little difference in height, suitable for those who want to enjoy a pleasant and relaxing itinerary without giving up the beauty of the panorama. The Pordenone refuge stands on a wooded ridge in the upper Val Cimoliana at the confluence of this with Val Meluzzo. It is the ideal starting point for excursions or traverses in this area of the Regional Park of the Friulian Dolomites. By car, cross Cimolais in a northerly direction as far as its end, here a narrow asphalted road after 5 km leads to the entrance to the Park where you cross the bridge over the Compol and find the car parks and the toll house for entering the valley by car .

Follow the road until you come to a building on the right and, in a wooded environment, enter the valley, surrounded by a contour of mountain peaks that make the environment spectacular and wild. The Scandoler bridge takes us to the right side of the valley, arriving, after a short climb, at a point where the valley narrows between two high rock walls (Ponte Gotte). Immediately afterwards, a short climb leads to the Ponte Confoz bridge, with a beautiful panorama of the valley floor. Continue on the left-hand side, first over woodland and then over open terrain, as far as an opening with parking spaces (Pian Fontana) quarter. Continue under the wood until you reach the wide, gravelly widening with a ford at Pian Pagnon. Cross the scree that forms the bed of the Cimoliana torrent, taking the left (orographic right) side of the valley, skirting the meadows of Malga Pian Pagnon. Beyond this, on the left, the Valle di San Lorenzo opens out, at the bottom of which the peaks of Cadin degli Elmi and Cadin di Vedorcia tower above. Continue until you reach the base of the scree that descends from Val Montanaia.Here, take the track to the left that climbs up the initial part of the scree (signpost for Rifugio Pordenone) from where, to the east (right), we can admire Monte Ferrara, Cime Postegae, Cime di Brica and Campanile Gambet. To the left we see the spires of the Cime delle Corde, the soaring Punta Pia and Cima Toro, Cima Meluzzo and Cima Stalla. The environment is grandiose. Having reached an esplanade on the scree that serves as a car park, we continue on the path that leads shortly to the Pordenone Refuge. On weekends and in August, the upper car park closest to the Refuge may be full. Please do not park wildly, the lower car parks are convenient and well demarcated. Walking a few extra metres will allow you to better enjoy these beautiful areas and digest our lavish lunches/dinners.