Do you know that unpleasant feeling when your legs slowly run out of juice like a squeezed lemon? You can feel it coming on, but it's too late. A quick bite into the last energy bar, hasty gulps from the bottle - all to no avail. Didn't hotelier Alberto warn us at breakfast? A tour through the vineyards of Valpolicella is comparable to climbing an Alpine pass.
While the northern end of the lake around Riva del Garda is characterised by steep rock faces and steep roads throughout, the landscape in the south is much more varied. Mountainous towards the Alps, undulating in the vineyards, completely flat through the Po Valley. Just as you like it. After a few tours, we all agree that the hilly terrain leaves the strongest impression. Especially in the early morning, when the low sun draws finely hatched patterns in the landscape. Vineyard terraces are stacked on top of each other like staggered pancakes, rows of slender cypress trees enliven the scenery. Although the ascent is only a few hundred metres, the sweeping view over the Po Valley gives you the feeling of looking out of an aeroplane. This is followed by another winding descent and provides some cooling.
You can download the entire article and the GPS data below:
- Tour 1: Breakfast tour (57 km, 950 m elevation gain, max. ten per cent gradient)
- Tour 2: Panoramic road on Monte Baldo (106 km, 2,100 altitude metres, maximum gradient twelve per cent)
- Tour 3: Lonely west bank: (98 km, 1,400 m elevation gain, max. 13 per cent gradient)
- Tour 4: Through the vineyards (78 km, 1,300 m elevation gain, max. eight per cent gradient)
GPS DATA: TOUR offers the tour data for free download. You can download the tracks in GPX format directly onto a GPS device or view them on your computer in Google Earth or Google Maps.
