Enjoy Stelvio Valtellina - Ascent to Cancano Lakes

The climb to the Cancano Lakes in Stelvio National Park has become one of the classic climbs to do in Alta Valtellina, whether by mountain bike or road bike. Along the road's many hairpin bends, the gradient is quite low and there are never any excessive tears. At the locality Fior d'Alpe, shortly after Premadio (in Valdidentro), the climb begins with the panorama opening up over Valdidentro. You take a long traverse, pass by a picnic area and start climbing again along countless hairpin bends overlooked by the rocks at the top of which stand out the Torri di Fraele, which you reach after two short tunnels. The ascent ends at Cancano within sight of the two large dams. Before the present road there was a far more direct and difficult route, the Fraele Royal Road. The Towers, dating from the 14th century, served to defend this ancient trade route. It ran through the Fraele Valley to the ancient settlement of St. James, which was submerged after the construction of the dams. From there it continued to Santa Maria, Switzerland, via the Mora Valley. Then the road climbed up the steep rocky valley between the towers. The route was made accessible to beasts of burden and wagons by wooden footbridges projecting over the cliff, the Stairs whose memory remains in the name of the mountain above.