Platzwiese / Prato Piazza - Durrenstein / Pico di Vallandro (normalni dostop)

Access to the starting point:
Through the Karavanke Tunnel on the motorway past Spittal, then along the Drava past Lienz and on the Italian side past San Candida / Innichen and Toblach. Continue along the road towards Bruneck, and after Villabassa / Niederdorf turn south along the road towards Lake Prags / Braies. The well-marked turn-off for Prato di Piazza / Platzwiese leads to the Ponticello / Bruckele parking lot. From here, a toll tarmac road (August 2011: € 8) leads to mountain pasture, ending at a large parking lot and a semaphore-lit bus turn-off just a few metres below the Rifugio di Prato Piazza / Berggasthof Platzwiese. The road is closed between 10 am and 4 pm, during which time a bus runs to mountain pasture. In case the upper parking lot is overcrowded, the road may be closed earlier. As there is also a footpath along the road to our starting point, which for many is the final destination of the trip, there may be many people on the road.
Of course, there is also access from the south, via the Trieste - Portogruaro - Pordenone - Belluno - via Cortina d'Ampezzo to Toblach, or from Carniola via Tolmezzo over the Monte Croce Comelico pass. From the west, the access from the Brenner motorway passes Bruneck at the foot of Kronplatz.

Path description:
Between the hut and the Hohe Geissl Hotel, direction signs direct you past the chapel to the pastures to the east. Follow the well-marked trail (red dots, red triangles, red-white-red vertical markings in the shape of a Peruvian flag and signposts). Cross the grazing fence and study the bilingual signposts at the crossroads. The path is slightly eroded in places, but the large amounts of wood alongside show that it is being maintained. Wooden stepping stones here and there prevent erosion. In the steeper sections the path winds upwards, but otherwise it is steady towards the highest point. After about an hour's walk, you cross a ravine with wooden troughs for watering the cattle that graze freely on the wide western slopes. The path, which is a bit boring, is saved by the increasingly extensive and spectacular views. On reaching a saddle in the ridge, to the left of a distinct broad dip visible from the starting point, the path turns down the western slope and continues steadily towards the summit. Just before the summit, the passage over a two-metre high rock is protected by a few metres of chain.

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