Gorge · west of the village
Acquatona gorge
The gorge at the way out of the basin
The Orrido dell'Acquatona is the gorge where the Rio Acquatona meets the Piave, at the western way out of the basin, on the road to Comelico. The river drops in a waterfall that you look at from the bridge, without walking. In 2023 a via ferrata was opened in the gorge, and a landslide damaged it the following year; descending to the bottom of the gorge is forbidden for safety reasons.
- Altitude
- not given by the sources
- Where
- Piave gorge, towards Comelico
- Starting points
- Lerpa
What it is
West of the village the valley narrows: the Piave, which has crossed the whole basin among the meadows, enters a gorge cut in the rock, and there receives the Rio Acquatona. The tourist board speaks of a waterfall of some fifty metres, visible from the bridge, a couple of kilometres from the village. It is the point where you understand that Sappada is a closed basin: on this side Friuli Venezia Giulia, on the other Cadore.
From the bridge
For almost everyone, the visit is this: you stop, you lean over the bridge, you look at the waterfall. There is an equipped picnic area. Nothing more is needed, and there is no path down to the bottom: the tourist board warns that descending to the base of the gorge is forbidden for safety reasons.
The via ferrata of the gorge
On 18 July 2023 the Ferrata della Forra dell'Acquatona was opened, commissioned by the municipality with regional funds: more than three hundred metres of cable and rungs, and three suspension bridges over the water. In the first year it could be done only with a mountain guide, in groups of four. In the night between 5 and 6 August 2024 a landslide at the Rio Acquatona covered the road and swept away part of the equipment and the final footbridge; nobody was involved. We have found no information on its present condition: the via ferrata must not be taken as open, and anyone who wants to do it should first ask the municipality or the mountain guides of Sappada.
Computed on the terrain model
Where you set off from
It is a gorge: it cannot be seen from any hamlet, and the visibility calculation concerns the summits. The nearest hamlet is Lerpa.
Paths, with the figures from the route sheets
Getting there
By car from the village, along the road to Santo Stefano di Cadore and Comelico: the gorge is just beyond Borgata Lerpa, the westernmost hamlet. You look at it from the bridge.
The route sheets, the Italian Alpine Club warns, ‘cannot be regarded as a substitute for the presence of a professional mountain guide’. This page even less so: it helps you choose, not set off.
Frequently asked questions
Can you go down into the gorge?
No: descending to the base of the gorge is forbidden. You look at it from the bridge. The via ferrata of the gorge was damaged by a landslide in 2024: whether it is open again is to be asked of the municipality or the guides.
Do you have to walk to see it?
No. The waterfall is seen from the road bridge, a few minutes by car from the village.
Sources
- Consorzio Sappada Dolomiti Turismo, “Cosa vedere a Sappada”
- Montagna.tv, “Tra ‘orrido’ e sublime la nuova ferrata dell'Acquatona a Sappada”, 25 July 2023
- OpenStreetMap, summit nodes and local names (data © OpenStreetMap contributors)
- il Dolomiti, article of 7 August 2024 on the landslide at the Orrido dell’Acquatona
Facts checked against the sources on 7 October 2026