Matajur / Montemaggiore - Monte Mataiur/Matajur (via Dom na Matajure)

Access to the starting point:
a) On the Italian side:
From Goriško direction, take the regional road towards Udine to the exit for Krmin / Cormons.
At the roundabout at the first exit turn towards Krmin/Cormons and Chedad/Cividale and go under the underpass and then immediately turn left. At the large and awkward junction in Cormons, turn right towards Chedad / Cividale del Friuli. We continue driving through several towns on the carefully cultivated Friulian plain, from where, in good visibility, our destination of Matajur, on the flank of Krno, initially appears on our right, but from Chedad straight ahead. In Chedad, we arrive at a semaphore-lit crossroads next to a building that houses first a pharmacy and then a bank. Take a sharp right at the junction (straight ahead is the entrance to the old part of the town and a large free parking lot). The famous Devil's Bridge is only a few minutes' walk away.
Continue to a small roundabout, in front of which there are several direction signs, including a brown sign for Kolovrat. From here, follow the signs for Kolovrat. Follow the river Nadija towards Speter Slovenov / San Pietro al Natisone. Approximately 1 km before Speter, you will reach a crossroads at Ponte San Quirino. Turn right here (straight Speter) and left over the bridge to Chedad on the other bank of the River Nadija, which is the route from Chedad that you can find on Google Maps. Continue following the signs for Kolovrat, but only for about 1. 5 km, where the road for Kolovrat and the former border crossing Solarij / Solarie branches off to the right. We continue straight on to the larger town of Sauodnja / Savogna, also the centre of the municipality of the same name. Here we turn right over a bridge and continue along the main road. You could also go left up after the bridge, but the road is very steep and narrow. On the bridge you can also see the red signs for Rifugio Pelizzo. The path soon starts to climb serpentinely (approx. 3 km and 6 sharp bends). At the top, you reach the next turn-off, where you turn left towards the village of Matajur/Montemaggiore and Rifugio Pelizzo. Straight ahead is the village of Cepletischis and about 6 km more to Livko. From the crossroads, Matajur is about 5. 5 km away on a moderately ascending dual carriageway and Rufugio Pelizzo is 9 km away.

b) On the Slovenian side:
From the Tolmin - Kobarid road, a steep dual carriageway turns off to the left in Idrsko (from Kobarid to the right) towards the village of Livek (approx. 5 km). From here, continue along the narrower and narrower road into Itali. On the other side of the border the road starts to descend slightly, at the village of Polava the road widens again and climbs slightly towards the village of Cepletischische. From here you descend towards a crossroads (0. 5 km), where you continue to the right in the direction of the villages of Matajur / Montemaggiore and Rifugio Pelizzo. Straight on to Sauodnia / Savogna. From Livko to Matajur is about 10 km and to Rifugio Pelizzo 13 km.

Path description:
Park on the roadside above the village of Matajur. There is also a road closure in snow conditions. Mountain signs direct you right up past the weekend house towards Matajur and mountain pasture Gosnach. After a very short climb, cross the road where a mountain sign directs you straight through the forest towards Matajure and the Matajure Lodge. After a few steps, turn left and start the steep, then gentle climb towards mountain pasture Gosnach. The path runs partly through the forest and partly across grassy slopes, from which we can already see beautiful views of the sea. Below a large white farmhouse on your right, the forest thins out completely. Soon we reach the abandoned Rifugio Gosnach, from where, in fine weather, the first views of the Dolomites open up. From here, the path begins to climb steadily up the south-western grassy slopes of the Matajur. All the time we can see the Dom na Matajure and the summit of Matajur in front of us. After a good hour's walk we reach the start of the mountain pasture / Malge di Mersino route, which offers a magnificent view from Dolomites to the Kanin mountains. The path from Rifugio Pelizzo joins from the right at this point.

Those who like steep climbs will head straight up here towards the Matajure Lodge (about 30 minutes), while those who like views will continue along the cart track, which leads to the houses you can see in front of you. The path climbs moderately below the western slopes of Matajur. Above the huts, cart track is laid and leads in a few minutes to the next group of stone huts by an artificial lake. From here, the views extend further towards the Julian Alps. The cart track continues towards the saddle below the northern slopes of Matajur, which can also be reached by the route from Avsa (instead of taking the Veneška cesta, continue straight ahead below the northern slopes of Matajur in the route Sedlo-Mersinska direction). From the saddle, the steepest marked route to Matajur climbs up, which is easy in terrestrial conditions, but in snowy conditions requires a lot of care and the right equipment.

From the lake, a wooden signpost at the stone houses directs you to the path which ascends upwards in a few curves to the right towards the hut of the Slovenian Mountain Family of Veneto - Dom na Matajure. The hut is reached after about 15 minutes of moderate climbing. From Dom na Matajure, it is a 15-minute gentle climb along the wide western ridge to the top of Matajure, where the church stands.

The route from Matajur is particularly popular in winter, when the road to Rifugio Pelizzo is closed. In summer, due to its open southern position, it is very hot and only suitable for very early mornings. From the start of the mountain pasture route towards the lake, the path is more airy and fresh, and in winter it is usually not snow-covered (either it is sinking or it is frosty - so snowshoes or crampons are a must).

The route to the mountain pasture can be shortened by driving to Rifugio Pelizzo. From here, cross the southern slopes of the Matajur in a moderate ascent and reach the start of the mountain pasture in about half an hour.

From the top of Matajur, you can walk to the village of Matajur or Rifugio Pelizzo:
- straight down the former ski slope to Rifugio Pelizzo and continue along the road to the village of Matajur,
- along the northern ridge to the mountain pasture route (the route down the ridge is not recommended in snow conditions).
conditions),
- along the west ridge to the Matajure Lodge and from there to Rifugio Pelizzo,
- then along the eastern ridge (Venetian route), where at the end of the ridge, instead of heading towards Livko, turn right in the direction of Masseris, Cepletischis, Rifugio, then on to cart track (the old route from Livko). After a few metres, a signpost points to the right, towards Rifugio Pelizzo (Rifugio Pelizzo). The path descends first over mountain pasture and then through the forest. You come out of the woods at the house below the observatory. If you have a car at Rifugio Pelizzo, you have to climb slightly uphill, otherwise descend the grassy slope towards the road to the village of Matajur.

On the way: Jezerce na Maršinski planini (1437m), Dom na Matajure (1545m), Rifugio Pelizzo (1320m)

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