018 Monte Tramontana Castelbello

Course: Naturno – Castelbello – uphill malga Marzoner – Bike Highline Merano – Montefontana – forest road and asphalted street towards Ciardes – Castelbello – Naturno

From the town center of Naturno, we take Via Stazione / Bahnhofstraße which leads us to a bridge, the starting point of the cycle path on the Lungoadige / Etschdamm. We turn right and take the cycle path towards Stava, Ciardes and finally Castelbello, `where` we turn left and follow the signs towards "Uphill Marzoneralm". The hut "Malga di Marzon" (1600m) is the highest point of our tour. We reach this point after a few steep uphill sections leading through the mountain village of "Montefranco" (1200m) and a total of 1000 meters of elevation gain. From the "Malga di Marzon", we take the Bike Highline Merano to get to the Montefontana. The first part of this Highline is quite technical at some points and beginners might have to push their bikes. Arrived at the Montefontana, we start riding downhill towards Ciardes, first on a forest road and later on an asphalt street. Once we reach the bottom of the valley, we find ourselves in the middle of apple orchards. In Ciardes, we cross the bridge over the Adige to get back to the cycle path that takes us back to Naturno.