Tour of Tasédi

The loop presented here is a rather unknown route, still worthy of some credits for the beauty of the remote places it touches. The track draws a loop on the north-western slope of the hill of Cordognè (1,313 m asl). Also, given the low altitude on which it develops, the route is ideal and adventurous throughout all the seasons. Certainly, the strength of this itinerary is the fact that the various farms, meadows and ruins from which it passes often leave the feeling of time travelling straight into the past.

The route starts from the hamlet of Oltra (or Copèra), a small group of houses located in the western edge of the village of Mezzano, at about 640 meters of altitude. The first part of the hike faces a very steep climb on the Signpost No. 728, an old relatively large mule track that climbs from Melai into the forest. After about 20 minutes of ascent, at an altitude of 1,008 meters, you reach a wayside cross; from there, while the first meadows with farms and huts start appearing, the path becomes much less demanding, merging into a paved road that passes through the meadows of Tasédi, continuing to the ones of Taiadói and then reaching Prà dei Dónti (1,049 m asl).

Just by Prà dei Dónti, a beautiful isolated meadow with a wide view of the valley floor and the surrounding mountains (Pale di San Martino / Pala Group and Lagorai), the road ends and one of the most interesting stretches of the route begins. The trail continues on a poorly visible path that follows the coast in the forest heading to the E, until reaching the location of Cadèrne, where it crosses an ancient mule track that climbs towards Falasórni (Signpost No. 728). The route keeps following the contour, without losing altitude, along the path that has now become more visible while approaching a group of old abandoned huts. From the huts, the track continues along an increasingly less visible path entirely in the forest for just under half a kilometer, in absolute silence, until reaching the edge of the forest.

As leaving the vegetation behind, the wide basin of the pastures of Fedài opens up, with the characteristic constructions renowned for their wells. If you do not want to go all the way around by following the main road, it is possible to safely cross the basin in a NE direction until reaching the asphalt road (Signpost No. 726) towards Le Vale / Boia. At the first crossing, keep to the left side, going downhill to Boia (1,051 m asl), a picturesque pasture located above the village of Transacqua with a stunning view on the Pale di San Martino and typical farm houses. From this point, you proceed along the lawn in a W direction, on the top of a gentle ridge that leads to the entrance of a small valley called Val Màrcole. The narrow valley with its stream, once covered by meadows and huts that now lie completely abandoned, is a small paradise of silence. The hike proceeds along the poorly visible track that runs along the bed of the small valley until it reaches a path that goes up to the meadows of Fedài, on the left side.

Once at Fedài, follow the edge of the meadow to the right, where you shortly take a track, which in a short stretch in the forest, leads down to the meadow of Giaza. From Giaza (961 m asl) take the old path that crosses the stream that descends from Val Màrcole and leads to the pasture of Fatana. Once at Fatana, the hike goes along the forest road the heads directly to the main road connecting Mezzano to San Giovanni (Signpost No. 728). From here, the way back to the starting point simply follows the asphalt road downhill, which runs by the edge of the biotope of Val de Castèl and leads directly to Óltra, hence closing this adventurous loop.

Paths

• From Óltra, a hamlet belonging to the village of Mezzano (640 m asl), go up the mule track of the Signpost No. 728 towards the meadows called Tasédi [0h 20],
• From Tasédi, proceed along the road that passes through the meadows of Taiadói and reaches the ones named as Prà dei Dónti [0h 30],
• From Prà dei Dónti (1,049 m asl), follow the small contour path in the forest leading towards Fedài, which crosses, about halfway, the mule track of the Signpost No. 728 [1h 15],
• From the pastures of Fedài, cross the basin until you reach the asphalt road of the Signpost No. 726 towards Boia [1h 40],
• From Boia (1,051 m asl), cut the lawn towards west until you reach the small valley (Val Màrcole) [1h 50],
• Follow the bottom of Val Màrcole until you see the path that climbs south to the meadows of Fedài [2h 10],
• Keep the right-hand side on the edge of the lawn, then take the track that leads, in order, to the meadows of Giaza and Fatana [2h 20],
• From Fatana, take the road until getting to the asphalt road that goes to Mezzano (Signpost No. 728), then follow it downhill until heading back to Óltra [2h 45]. ✓