Colle Valcavera
Cottian Alps, Italy
The Colle Valcavera is a pass in the west of Piedmont and can be reached from two side valleys: the Valle Stura and the Valle Maira, which extend westward from the Po Plain to the main Alpine ridge. Depending on the starting point, whether in Marmora (Valle Maira) or Demonte (Valle Stura), you will pass two more beautiful passes along the way: the Colle Fauniera and the Colle dell’Esischie.
About one and a half kilometres below the Colle Fauniera lies the Colle Valcavera. One of the most beautiful mountain roads in the Western Alps begins here: the Maira-Stura ridge road, known in Piedmont as the Strada delle Gardetta. The gravel track leads through the impressive Gardetta high plateau (Altopiano della Gardetta). Most of the roads in this region were built in the 1930s as military roads and part of the Vallo Alpino, often on the foundations of older paths and mule tracks.
At the end of September, I photographed along the western section of the Strada delle Gardetta. This image was planned as the final shot of my day. During the day, the landscape glowed in autumn light and the farmers were still letting their herds of cows graze on the high pastures in the mild autumn weather. I had been photographing at Colle Bandia (left of centre) and was on my way back. When I arrived, I set up my camera and waited until the light had almost disappeared — and that is when this photograph was taken.
