Three countries tour

Have a cappuccino in Italy, an afternoon snack in Slovenia and dinner in Carinthia. Experience and enjoy three countries in one day on a leisurely road bike tour. It starts at Faaker See along the B85 as far as Fürnitz, where you turn left onto the B83 and then just after the motorway underpass branch laft towards Unterfederaun/Unterschütt.

This road has little traffic and leads at the foot of Dobratsch nature reserve through the "Schütt", the landslide area of Dobratsch where in the year 1348 there was a massive rockslide and today is a hotspot of biodiversity in Central Europe.

One soon turns off again onto the B83 and continue via Arnoldstein and Thörl Maglern to Tarvisio, which is known for its vibrant textile market and its varied gastronomic offer. Various bars, cafes and pizzerias invite you to take a first break. From Tarvis you continue in an easterly direction south of the Karawanken towards Slovenia. Here one can also take the cycle path from Tarvisio to Kranjska Gora, which runs along an abandoned rail track and is asphalted throughout. It is also recommended to go on a detour to Laghi di Fusine.

At Ratece one passes the Italian-Slovenian border and after a few kilometres one reaches Podkoren, where the route branches left to Wurzenpass. If time is available, one should take a look beforehand at the Ski World Cup resort Kranjska Gora, an ideal resting place for recharging your batteries. The climb to Wurzenpass is moderate, but with a brief interlude with a small ramp. The descent from Wurzenpass into the valley can be very pacy, as there are some very steep gradients that require carefully riding and good brakes.

Upon arrival in the valley, one continues via Fürnitz to Finkenstein, where one should take the road to the right up the the Finkenstein castle ruins as a crowning finale, definitely worth a visit. In summer, festival performances and concerts take place here with a wonderful view of the surrounding Karawanken and Faaker See.

A brief descent to Latschach and the final eight-kilometre loop around Faaker See, where the road bike World Championships were held in 1987, to end this unique three-countries tour.

Starting point of the tour:
Faaker See

Route description:
Faaker See - Finkenstein - Fürnitz - Unterfederaun - Unterschütt - Pöckau - Arnoldstein - Thörl-Maglern - Tarvisio - (Laghi di Fusine) - Ratece - Podkoren - (Krajnska Gora) - Wurzenpass - Hart - Fürnitz - Finkenstein - Altfinkenstein - Latschach - Faaker See