UPPER SALT ROAD

LIMONE | MONESI


56 KmSuitable for experienced cyclistsElevation Gain: +890 m - Total Descent: 1310 m - Maximum Altituded Reached: 2.250m

The Upper Salt Road is a spectacular unsealed former military road in the Maritime Alps that winds its way along the main Alpine watershed near the border between Italy and France, at altitudes between 1,800 and 2,100 metres. The route begins at the fortifications at Colle di Tenda, which can be reached from Limone Quota 1400 via a tarmac road with hairpin bends. After passing the Forte Alto, Forte Centrale and barracks, head east and you’ll soon reach the Cabanaira toll entrance, located by a ski-lift. Shortly after, you’ll cross the Colletto Campanin, with its fine masonry hairpin bends. The road continues, with gentle climbs and descents, on the Piedmontese side, and just before Colle della Boaria you’ll reach the spectacular, exposed hairpin bend, also known as Zabriskie Point cut out of the rock.

The route proceeds through the desolate Carsene region, with its flat rocky outcrops and meagre pastures, to the Don Barbera mountain hut, at Colle dei Signori, at the foot of Punta Marguareis. Hugging the mountainside, it skirts the grassy pyramid of Cima di Pertegà and enters the vast Bosco delle Navette a thick forest of towering conifers. About 1.5 kilometres after Poggio del Lagone (junction for Case dei Cacciatori), a forest track (no cars allowed) branches off to the left and leads down into the fir-wood, joining the road to Upega, from where it is possible to continue to Viozene and Ormea on a sealed road. For those continuing on the Via del Sale, back among the meadows near Margheria di Loxe, below the Tanarello Pass, ignore the high road on the right, and commence the descent towards Monesi di Triora, where the road is surfaced again.

Those wishing to continue at high altitude on the Via del Sale must climb the gruelling hairpin bends of the Tanarello Pass. Before the pass, you can make a detour to the lookout point at Monte Saccarello, Liguria’s highest mountain, and the monumental statue of Christ the Redeemer.

From the Tanarello Pass head south along the Mount Roja side, descending until the successive Collardente Pass. A short rougher stretch leads to the Bassa di Sanson crossroads, from where you can reach Briga and Tenda via a long and mostly unsealed road through coniferous forest.

REGULATIONS

Access to the Alta Via del Sale is subject to specific Regulations aimed at preserving the road and the surrounding area, and at ensuring the safety of those who access it (walkers, cyclists and motor vehicles). Visitors must be aware of and respect the rules contained within them, determined by the conditions of the route (narrow roadway, lack of protective barriers, etc.) and marked by signage at the entrances to it and along it. The road can be reached by motor vehicle from six different access points: Limone Piemonte, Ormea-Upega di Briga Alta, Triora, Pigna, La Brigue and Tenda; and from the entrances in Valle Gesso and Valle Pesio, exclusively for experienced hikers and mountain bikers (in good physical condition).
Entrance is free of charge for hikers and cyclists, while the road is open to motor vehicles upon payment of a toll, payable here, or at the entrances in Limone Piemonte, Cabanaira, Bosco delle Navette, Ponte Giairetto and Briga Alta.
The stretch of the road between Loxe (Briga Alta) and Cabanaira (Limone Piemonte) is accessible only to motor vehicles (suitable for driving on unsealed mountain roads) in possession of a transit permit. 
The road is closed to motor vehicles all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays and is open every day to walkers and cyclists.
In the case of unforeseen circumstances – including weather conditions – affecting safety, the local authorities may nonetheless prohibit transit even to holders of valid permits.

REGOLAMENTO REV 14 16 NOVEMBRE 2018

ACCESS POINTS

Limone Piemonte, Ormea-Upega di Briga Alta, Triora, Pigna, La Brigue and Tende; these are joined by the access points from the Gesso and Pesio Valleys, reserved for hikers and mountain bikers. The ticket offices where tickets can be purchased on site are located in Limone Piemonte and Briga Alta.

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HISTORIC MOUNTAIN ROUTES CARD
ALTA VIA DEL SALE

HISTORY

While salt may seem a commonplace product today, in ancient times it was highly valued, and indeed for many centuries it was considered a quintessential trading commodity. Citizens were long oppressed by the notorious gabelle because the compulsory purchase of salt from the state monopoly by each family, according to family size and certain other factors, amounted to what we would we now consider a tax. Salt was also the cause of bloody wars, and some Alpine regions of the lower province of Cuneo fought a war to defend ancient privileges that exempted them from the payment of this tax, which continued for decades and ended in thousands of deaths, burned-down villages and the deportation of families that had rebelled against their rulers.
Consequently, it is no surprise that this precious commodity is still commemorated in the name of several of the roads that link the plain with the sea, its natural source.

The name of Upper Salt Road is associated with the ancient mule trains that used to travel along one of the oldest mountain passes in the Alps: Colle di Tenda. Thousands of mule trains (a typical form of transport in ancient times) crossed this pass on the mountain once known as Cornio, 1,870 metres above sea level, laden with salt, oil, cheeses, and wheat for trade between the Cuneo plain and the Ligurian coast, and vice versa. From here the Alta Via del Sale, a high-altitude road that never drops much below 2,000 metres, continues to Monesi, a hamlet of Triora, through an area of incomparable beauty. The landscapes constantly change, from the rugged karst vistas of the first stretch to the shady section through the boundless Bosco delle Navette coniferous forest, skirting towering grim peaks and cutting through sloping mountain pastures adorned with vast expanses of flowering rhododendrons and other Alpine plants.
Today the road bears the traces of the history and the centuries when it was trodden by shepherds, wayfarers and soldiers, all of whom contributed to its heritage, with bridges, embankments and walls built by hand from local stone. At times carved out of the rock, at others almost suspended from the daring bends that soar upwards, twisting in the air, or winding between larch and fir trees, the road is a monument in itself, and deserves to be considered and travelled as such.

CÔNITOURS
Technical information | Toll gate operator | +39.366.6815384
Via Pascal, 7 - 12100 Cuneo
Tel. +39 0171 69 62 06 - +39 0171 69 87 49
VAT No. 02063980045
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