Passo Pordoi - Terrazza delle Dolomiti

Pordoi Pass lies at 2,239 metres on the Trentino–Veneto boundary between Sass Pordoi and Sass Becé. The name “Terrace of the Dolomites” is also associated with the panorama from the summit of Sass Pordoi, above the pass.

Why it matters

The pass is one of the crossings on the Strada delle Dolomiti, built in the early twentieth century to link Bolzano with Cortina. Its high-mountain setting makes it a landmark in both the geography and history of the region.

What to notice

The view from the pass is framed by Sass Pordoi and Sass Becé. From the high terrace of Sass Pordoi, the panorama extends across the Ampezzo basin, the Pale di San Martino, Marmolada, Sassolungo, Ortles and Cevedale, with the Alps of Switzerland and Austria on the horizon. The Sella massif is formed from limestone that originated in the ancient Tethys Sea, where the massif once formed a coral atoll.

Context and history

The pass road belongs to the early-1900s engineering works that opened this part of the Dolomites to travel between Bolzano and Cortina. The area also bears traces of the First World War, including the Pordoi ossuary on the Veneto side. In Ladin the pass is known as Jouf de Pordoi. The cableway to Sass Pordoi, inaugurated in the 1960s, made the summit a prominent part of the pass’s twentieth-century history.