magnificent julian alps

The Julian Alps extend into Italian territory and partly into Slovenian territory. We can therefore divide them into Western (the former) and Eastern (the latter).

The Italian ones, which are steeper and more inaccessible than the Slovenian ones, rise in the area between the course of the river Fella (a tributary of the Tagliamento) and that of the Upper Isonzo. They are characterised by the imposing limestone and dolomite walls and the wild nature of the area on which they rise. The latter is rich in morphological, fluvial, glacial and karst varieties. The mighty Julian walls are succeeded by summits sprinkled with grassy ledges alternating with compact or, on the contrary, even friable rocky crags.

The main peaks rise above 2500 metres, never exceeding 2800. Four elevations, with the forests of peaks surrounding them and representing as many Groups, tower over the Western Julian Mountains: Mangart (2,668 m.) , Jof Fuart (2,666 m.) , Jof di Montasio (2,753 m.) and Canin (2,587 m.). The latter, moreover, - a carbonate massif - constitutes one of the areas of greatest international interest for karst scholars. Great pages of mountaineering have been written on these mountains.

Another characteristic of the Julian Alps are the valley floors, which, although they do not reach high altitudes in absolute terms (600-800 m), maintain a rather harsh climate in winter. This is due to the thermal inversion caused by the constant influx of cold north-eastern currents (burano wind) that reach the area from the Siberian and Danubian regions. It is precisely the valley floors at relatively low altitudes compared to the peaks that often give rise to considerable height differences, in some cases touching 2,000 metres. This, in the distant past, resulted in a minimal sports-tourist influx and the exclusive presence of more than motivated and willing mountaineers.