The 52 Tunnel Hike!

We were off to a bit of a slow start this Saturday morning after receiving some much needed rest. We logged the coordinates into our GPS and we hit the Autostrada with swift anticipation. The 30 or so mile drive to the hike destination was smoothly underway until we hit the neck breaking switchbacks as we progressed up the base of Monte Pasubio.

The hard right at Ponte Verde was the point of no return. Literally, after starting that narrow road up the Mountain we couldn’t have turned around even if we wanted to.

Thankfully, we only came across two oncoming vehicles and squeaked by fine. We parked in the Bocchetta di Campiglia parking area at the beginning of the hike trail, unloaded and stretched a bit.
We geared up with some bare essentials: food, water, lights, backpack, extra socks and good hiking shoes.

So there we were, hiking off into the unknown wilderness. The 52 tunnel pathway has become quite a desired hiking destination for many European adventure goers. The route is a 9km mule path along a cliff edge (of course). The tunnels are unlit and rough-hewn from rock. La Strada delle Gallerie as the Italians call it is translated “The Road of Tunnels”. It was actually built During WWI by Italian mountain troops (Alpini) and teams of miners. It is a mountain path cut into Monte Pasubio in the Dolomites of Italy. At a few points, we found ourselves balancing along a 1m wide ledge above a 1500m high precipice. At another point, we entered the base of a pinnacle, performed seven spirals upward before emerging from the cave’s peak exit. Some of the tunnels were only 20-40m in length and a few were over 300m with twist and turns. Yet each one of them were uniquely mysterious in there own fashion. A couple of offshoot passages spurred our curiosity and we would undergo careful investigation with the aid of our new headlamp.

One of the most interesting things we experienced was how the moisture would collect into drops on the ceiling and then drip onto the floor. This was interesting and yet also proved very dangerous as we both had our turn to lose our footing and nearly “bite the gravel”.

We have some friends that previously attempted to complete all 52 tunnels of the hike but were actually defeated at tunnel 32. Our friendly competiveness drove us on through the paths and tunnels of the challenging trek as we passed 32 and on to tunnel 42.


Here we decided to stop and enjoy the “breathtaking” scenery while we replenished our weary bodies with some well deserved picnic time.

We snapped a few pictures and on we went determined to finish out our journey’s half way point strong.

The next few tunnels were spaced fairly close together and we made some great time knocking those off our hit list. As we approached this point our minds began to focus on the feelings of exhilaration that were vastly approaching with tunnel 52.

We began thinking of the little restaurant that awaited at the end of the trail that we had heard about. Thoughts of steaming hot pizzas, pastas and paninis roamed through our heads… that is until we completed # 48. Only four more tunnels to go right? Well, the tunnels 1-52 were all intermittently spread out at random distances on the rock trail, some 30m and others 500m. From what we saw, it appeared as if we still had four or so miles of terrain to cross until we reached our planned destination. We could only see a small portion of a trail across the valley and it wasn’t close enough for comfort.

Knowing that 1700 hrs (5:00pm) was coming up quickly and we weren’t prepared to pitch camp, we were forced to entertain the idea of turning back. We came to quick consensus of “No way!” There was no way that we were about to admit defeat now. So we marched along the ridge and eventually turned the next bend. Wow, #49 was right there! Then next of course was # 50 not too far after. Picking up the pace, we entered in tunnel 50. It wasn’t to long but one of the outlet breather holes in the tunnel caught our eyes. We stepped out in the sunshine and took a huge gasp of fresh mountain air when we laid our eyes on the “Refuge A Papa”.

The little restaurant that we had heard about. It was in plain sight and we could also see our path with only a few hundred meters left to go. How could this be? As we made haste to complete the last two tunnels, we realized that we had mistaken a separate ridge path across the way for our own. What a hilarious mistake to make. At tunnel 52 we experienced a glorious sense of accomplishment and had to take a picture to capture the moment.

The restaurant was a bit of a let down as they had already closed the kitchen and were not serving any hot dishes. We settled for an apple strudel and a bread roll with a slice of hard cheese. Oh well… After our quick bite to eat and some rest for the feet, we made our way down a path called Rispetta La Natura that crossed the opposite side of our ridge. It was a rocky road that only a 4x4 truck would enjoy traversing. This must be the path that the restaurant receives it supplies through. We “beat feet” all the way down the mountain and even got to enjoy taking some “short-cuts” through some of the switchbacks. Finishing the trek without any scrapped knees, elbows or twisted ankles was a great feat. When we finally arrived back at our car, we were ecstatic! The day was an amazing experience as the hike proved to be a memorable occasion that we will never forget!