Source and valley · north of the valley

Source of the Piave and Val Sesis

Where the river rises, at the foot of Peralba

The Piave rises in the upper Val Sesis, at the foot of Peralba, next to the hut that bears its name. From Cima Sappada you get there in summer by car, on a mountain road open only in the warm months, or on foot along the Piave nature trail. It is the starting point for Rifugio Calvi and for the summit.

Altitude: 1,830 mSource 1PromoTurismoFVG, page on the Sorgenti del Piave hut, and Consorzio Sappada Dolomiti Turismo: the two sources agree · 7 October 2026at the hut; the spring lies slightly lower
Where: Upper Val Sesis, at the foot of Peralba
Starting points: Cima Sappada · Puiche

We do not yet have a photograph of our own of this place: this is the basin in the relief computed from the 10 m terrain model.

The valley

Val Sesis climbs north from Cima Sappada, between the Peralba group and the ridge that comes down from Monte Lastroni. After the first hairpins the level ground of Piani del Cristo opens out, where the Piave runs among the deposits left by the glaciers: the name comes from the crucifix at the start of the plain. Higher up come the Pian delle Bombarde and then the head of the valley, with the hut and the spring.

Along the road there are other places to stop: Rifugio Piani del Cristo, the Baita Rododendro and, just off the provincial road, Malga Casera Vecchia, which is already in the municipality of Forni Avoltri. The tourist board mentions the marmots: they are often seen, they are not promised.

The spring

The basin with the stone inscribed ‘Qui nasce il Piave’ stands next to the hut. It is the arrangement, made in the early Sixties, of springs that were channelled together: a river does not rise from a single point. And indeed the source has been disputed for more than a century: the geographer Giovanni Marinelli distinguished a Piave of Sesis and a Piave of Visdende, the one that comes down from Comelico. We say so in one line, as is right, and leave the question to geographers.

From the hut starts Alta Via number six of the Dolomites, known as ‘dei Silenzi’, which goes as far as Vittorio Veneto.

On foot

The Piave nature trail climbs from Cima Sappada to the source in two and a half hours, and the tourist board rates it easy. Those who want a shorter walk stop at Piani del Cristo, an hour from Borgata Puiche. Higher up, the loop of the Great War forts, partly restored, takes an hour. From the junction below the source, path 132 leads to Rifugio Calvi in an hour.

On foot the valley is also linked to Val Visdende, in Veneto, and to the Olbe lakes.

Computed on the terrain model

Where you set off from

The source lies at the head of a side valley: it cannot be seen from the hamlets, and the visibility calculation concerns the summits. Below are the two hamlets closest to the mouth of Val Sesis, where you set off from.

Paths, with the figures from the route sheets

Getting there

From Cima Sappada the Val Sesis road climbs to Rifugio Sorgenti del Piave: it is a mountain road, open to traffic in the summer months. In summer 2026, from 11 July to 6 September, there was also a shuttle to be booked in advance, free with the Sappada Card: whether it returns, and on what terms, has to be checked each year.

Routes: waymark, length, ascent, ascent time and grade
Section	Waymark	Length	Ascent	Time, ascent only	Grade
From Cima Sappada to Rifugio Sorgenti del Piave, on the Val Sesis roadOpen to cars in the summer months.	by car	8.5 km	—	25 min	—
From Cima Sappada to the source, Piave nature trail	132	—	520 m	2 h 30 min	easy
From Borgata Puiche to Piani del Cristo	139	2.8 km	175 m	60 min	T
The loop of the wartime forts of Val Sesis	—	2.3 km	192 m	60 min	T
From the upper Val Sesis car park to Rifugio Calvi	132	2 km	333 m	60 min	T

Source of the figures: PromoTurismoFVG, schede dei rifugi; Consorzio Sappada Dolomiti Turismo, «Escursioni da non perdere»; PromoTurismoFVG, schede degli itinerari firmate dal CAI Sappada/Plodn · 6 October 2026

T tourist path · E hiking · EE experienced hikers · EEA experienced hikers with equipment (Italian Alpine Club scale). The words ‘easy’, ‘moderate’ and ‘difficult’ are those of the local tourist board, where no Alpine Club sheet exists. A dash means the source does not give the figure.

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 drive to the source of the Piave?

Yes, but only in the summer months, on the road that climbs from Cima Sappada. For the rest of the year the valley is walked.

Does the Piave really rise here?

The Val Sesis branch rises here, the one that tradition and the signposts indicate as the source. There is an old dispute with the Val Visdende branch, in Comelico: we report it without taking sides.

Sources

Facts checked against the sources on 7 October 2026