Forcella Staulanza

The Staulanza Pass at 1,766 metres is the dominant geographical feature above Vodo, climbed by the SS251 road from the village in a series of long looping curves through pine and larch forest. It is one of the great Dolomite passes — less famous than the Falzarego or the Pordoi but in many ways more beautiful — and gives the best road approach to Monte Pelmo.

From the saddle of the pass there are easy walks in both directions: south along the ridge toward the Rifugio Venezia (90 minutes, with the dinosaur footprints en route), or north onto the lower slopes of Pelmo itself. The pass is also a stage in several long-distance routes, including the Alta Via 1. In winter the road is sometimes closed and the area becomes a quiet cross-country skiing zone. The Rifugio Staulanza at the pass serves food in summer and is one of the better places to eat between Cortina and Belluno.

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A story
Dinosaur footprints embedded in the dolomite slabs just below the pass were discovered in 1994 — fossilised tracks of a herd of prosauropod dinosaurs walking through coastal mud some 220 million years ago. A short signposted path from the pass leads to the panel where the footprints are visible.

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