Valerian Road - Stage 1 - Fifth Section

Zone - Sedergnò

Italy - Lombardy - Brescia

The fifth section of stage one will take you to conquer the cross of Zone.

To reach your goal you will cross a challenging climb that will lead you to a panorama at 920 meters above sea level. The route ends by descending towards Sedergnò.

4 Km

Difficulty Hiker

How to arrive

There are several free car parks in Zone, where you can park your car.

Here I leave you indicated the parking available near the cemetery (click here for the coordinates).

Via Valeriana Zone Citazione
Via Valeriana Croce di Zone

The way

This is probably the most challenging stretch of stage 1. The route is mainly uphill: the road climbs with a steady and steady pace up to the cross of Zone.

Then start from Zone to start the path that initially has a stretch of asphalt. This stretch will accompany you only for a short time, to be replaced by a path with pebbles that will remain, instead, up to the cross.

Via Valeriana Resti del Triassico

About half way up you will encounter archaeological finds. They are remnants of the Triassic period. You will be able to distinguish the remains that can be glimpsed in the rock and which date back to prehistoric animals.

Take advantage of this stop to take a breath and admire these historical artifacts that nature gives us.

Resuming the way, a little further on, you will meet a small church completely surrounded by greenery. The small building is in fact framed by a small lawn.
If you feel the need, I suggest you stop right here to stretch out for a moment and take a break. Usually this space also offers some shade.

Via Valeriana Croce di Zone

Despite the effort you will have realized how much it was worth facing every single meter. You are completely immersed in a natural paradise.

At this point you will have covered almost 2 km of ascent with a difference in height of about 300 meters.
You will now have reached the very top of the road. Looking out from the fence you can admire the whole valley below! Depending on the time of year, the panorama may be more or less visible. Right in front of the fence grow many shrubs that are periodically cut by volunteers. If you are in the right period you will surely have a wide view of the landscape.

Arrived at the cross of Zone, the next section is all downhill.
Before starting this piece, however, I advise you to evaluate the time and above all the forces you still have available! If you then have to retrace the road back to return to the starting point, then keep in mind that the stretch that awaits you has a difference in height of another 300 meters.
This last stretch ends in an uninhabited point, so it would also be complicated to plan the excursion of the next stretch of the Valerian Road.

In conclusion, my advice is to stop here and recover the stretch not done along the course of the next trek.
As I tell you in this article, you can start the route in Pisogne and from here go back towards Sedergnò or even up to Passo Croce di Zone.