Waterfalls

Chiusaforte, the Municipality of the Waterfalls

The waterfalls represent a unique feature of the municipality of Chiusaforte and help to outline a special and synergistic link between the environment, water and territory.

An ancient territory that over time has undergone several transformations, many of which are due to the “water dance” that has given rise to spectacular scenery and landscapes capable of captivating the eyes and the senses.

Scenarios of rare beauty made available to tourists thanks to a farsighted project that has put on the net a series of paths designed to reveal little-known glimpses of the area.

Paper supports and digital expansions in which the points of greatest interest in the valley are indicated. All accompanied by a QR code with GPS coordinates to be entered comfortably in the navigator of your car.

If the Fontanon di Goriuda is certainly the best-known waterfall, there are others that deserve to be visited.

Let’s find out some of them.

Cascade of the Queen

How to get there:
Park along the road that leads from Roveredo to Ovedasso before the end of the Municipality sign. Take the path to Stavoli Rauni, at the first crossroads continue to the right and after crossing the stream, go up it for 50 meters. You will find, to guard the waterfall, a travertine amphitheatre with supporting layers. The water jumps on the rock steps creating legends and mysteries that have fascinated man for centuries: if you look closely at the bottom, you can see the remains of the swimming pool and the bronze doors that the inhabitants had built to give refreshments to the queen who sometimes passed there.

Rio Simon waterfall

How to get there:
Park on the side of the road after the bridge towards Roveredo. The path near the picnic area will lead you to the sunny beaches of the Rio Simon. At the end of the path, cross the Rio as soon as possible and start climbing it; be amazed by the emerald pools with the typical mineralization of the Canal del Ferro. You can continue safely until you see the mouth of the canyon overlooked by the waterfall, but without reaching its feet. A wall of dolomite banks, wedged to form a buttress, will be the scenography. End your day with a snack in the picnic area: you deserve it.

Macile Falls

How to reach it:
Take the road to Sella Nevea; after the first bridge over the Raccolana stream, leave the car in an open space on the left. Then, take the small road that descends towards the Fella River. Continue the path at the end of the road until you meet the water. Cross it at the safest point and continue along the riverbed, in a mosaic of multicolored rocks: it will be like taking a trip into the geology of the valley, which goes from the ancient Brecce di Ugovizza to the white limestones of Mount Canin, passing through megalodon fossils. Continue until you see the waterfall flow over the main dolomite; you will be accompanied by legends that narrate the presence of the Aganis, female divinities with their feet upside down and the habit of devouring anyone who gets too close to their home. Attention: the course of the river changes the conditions of access to the waterfall.

Belepeit waterfall

How to get there:
Reach Villanova and park in the lay-by at the entrance to the village, near the “Agli Amici” bar. Enter the welcoming atmosphere created by the symbiosis between water and typical stone houses, until you find the specific indication for Rio Belepeit. The waterfall consists of three jumps of 70 m, 40 and 30 meters respectively. To get a more panoramic view you can go up on the bridge of the cycle path reachable by a simple staircase. While the pool of the low waterfall is immediately accessible, to get closer to the falls it is necessary to take path 425 from Villanova

Cadramazzo waterfall

How to get there:
An enchanting waterfall offers refreshment to Alpe Adria cyclists who can admire it from the belvedere on the bridge or reach it with an adjacent marked path. To reach it by car, park in the pitch along the state road just before the pedestrian walkway of Cadramazzo. Follow the walkway and continue along the path up to the signs indicating the presence of fortifications from the Great War; continuing along the flat path, then turn left to enter the river gorge. Held in a smooth rock basin, the waterfall plunges from a first jump of 40 meters and then plunges, after another bounce, into the blue pool. The vision is spectacular at any time of the year but changes continuously according to the seasons.

Rio Chiout Cali waterfalls

How to get there:
Leave your car in the Chiout Cali car park and continue downhill along the downhill path until you reach the stream near an old mill. Go up the stream for 300 meters, paying attention to a last passage on the rocks on the left. You will find yourself at the foot of the waterfall with its pool immersed in the sun: let yourself be amazed by the voices that the drops of water create, hopping on the dolomite.

Rio di Plis waterfalls

How to reach them:
From Saletto cross the river and take the road to Chiout Cali; after the second bend, turn right with a sharp bend on a dirt road. You can drive under the waterfall to admire its splashes plunging into the blue pool. Adjacent, you will see the trenches of the Great War. In winter and early spring, chamois also come to visit the waterfall.

Rio Montasio waterfalls

How to reach them:
Leave the car at Piani di Qua in the parking lot at the entrance to the town; walk along an asphalted road until you pass a bench, then go up along a trace of the path on the lawn at the edge of the wood, heading towards the waterfall to reach its imposing presence. Inside a dolomite amphitheater, a 70-meter jump into the void will bring the splashes up to you. The characteristic vegetation of beech, hornbeam, black pine and rhododendron will complete the picture making its vision unique.

Lower Goriuda waterfall

How to get there:
Park in the large space adjacent to the Pian della Sega farmhouse and cross the road towards the Fontanone di Goriuda without taking the uphill path. Walk along the large adjacent lawn and in a minute, you will reach Rio Goriuda. On the left you will see the water bounce off decimetric layers in a landscape of wild beauty. The waterfall, descending on the dolomite, will draw a sparkling fan under your eyes.

High Goriuda waterfall

How to reach them:
It is the symbol of the waters of Chiusaforte, loved by the locals as well as by tourists from all over the world. To reach it, park in the parking lot that serves the “Trattoria Fontanon di Goriude” in Pian della Sega. Take the path with the signs for the waterfall and follow it until the amazement will prevent you from continuing for a few seconds. No matter how many times you have already seen it, the Cascata del Sole will continue to amaze you. In the Fontanon di Goriuda the water rises from the darkness of the longest cave in Italy, after a journey of almost 100 km. From the nebulization of the drops in the jump, evanescent water figures emerge in which the sun sometimes catches rainbows.

Cjalderon Falls

How to reach them:
In the direction of Sella Nevea, pass the parking lot of the Pian della Sega Lake and, after a large bend, leave the car in the small clearing in front of a grassy surface with a small house on your right. Take the downhill path towards the Raccolana stream and go up into the stream for about 150 meters, being guided by millenary rocks and pools of green water. Dividing into two twin waterfalls, the water will amaze you in all its sparkling beauty.

The waterfalls can be visited in all seasons of the year: in winter with ice, in spring with the recovery of nature, in summer surrounded by greenery and in autumn surrounded by yellow and orange leaves.

For more information and to download the map with the detailed description of all the waterfalls, visit the website http://www.comune.chiusaforte.ud.it/