Passo Sella (Canazei)

Start Town	Altitude	Elevation Gain	Length	Gradient	Difficulty	Rating
Canazei	2,244m	684m	11.0 km	6.2%	384	****

Climb Description

Passo Sella from Canazei is the hardest face of the Sella Ronda cycling loop. Although it is rarely very steep, it is quite a steady climb and ascends to a respectable altitude. The scenery opens up spectacularly towards the top, with fantastic views of the Sella Towers rock formation.

Passo Sella has been used many times in the Giro d'Italia race and on various amateur Gran Fondo events. In 2017 the pass was closed on one side to motorized traffic during wednesdays in July and August. This made the whole Sella Ronda loop and, in particular the Passo Sella, an absolute to delight to ride.

Unfortunately, after protests from local businesses on the pass itself, this experiment was not repeated in 2018 and seems unlikely to be in the near future. Although authorities have undertaken other initiatives to try to reduce traffic in this part of the Dolomites.

Passo Sella is best climbed from May to October.

Roads & Traffic

The road surface is in very good condition throughout.

The road can be quite busy with cars in summer and motorbikes in good weather, particularly until the junction with the Passo Pordoi. But it is generally not too bad for cycling.

Alternative Routes

Passo Sella can also be climbed from the north, starting from Plan de Gralba.

Nearby Climbs

Passo Campolongo

Passo Pordoi

Passo Fedaia

Passo Giau

Passo Gardena

Passo di Giau

Passo delle Erbe

Passo Costalunga

Cycling Holidays

Passo Sella is climbed on our Dolomites & Italian Alps cycling holiday, which crosses Northern Italy from Zoncolan to Mortirolo.

In the links below you can find out more about this and some of the other tours that we run in high mountains.