Day ride
Stelvio and Ortler
Moderate
48
Up the Stelvio from Bormio, down the 48 numbered bends to Prato, back over the Umbrail. One day, 105 km, 139 hairpins.
Day by day.
1
Bormio to Bormio by the Stelvio
Stelvio, Trafoi, Glurns, Val Müstair, Umbrail
Overnight
Home by lunch
The ride.
You leave Bormio at eight, while the road is still cold and the tour buses are still at breakfast. The first 21 km take you to the top of the Stelvio. Then the road drops off the north side and starts counting: 48 stones, one for each bend, down to Trafoi.
Coffee in Glurns, a walled town the size of a car park. Then the Val Müstair into Switzerland, and the Umbrail, the highest paved pass in the country, back over to Bormio for a late lunch.
It is the shortest thing we do, and the thing most riders book again.
48 numbered hairpins
The stones count down from 48 at Trafoi to 1 at the summit. We ride them the other way, which most people never try.
Coffee in Glurns
Walled town, one square, very good espresso.
The Umbrail
The quiet way back, 2,501 m and hardly a car on it.
Departures
What the price covers
Included
Bike and insurance
Any bike in the fleet
Lead guide and sweep
On comms, first-aid trained
Fuel
A full tank
Coffee in Glurns
We insist
Not included
Lunch
Back in Bormio, around 13:30
Riding gear
Rent a set for 30 euro
Before you book
Licence minimum
A2
Experience
One season on a bike over 250 cc
Group
8
riders at most
Guide ratio
2 guides to 8 riders
Best months
If your plans change
Days before departure against what you get back. Travel insurance covers the rest.
Questions riders ask
How fast is the group?
As fast as the slowest rider enjoys. The lead sets a pace that keeps eight riders together on a pass, and the sweep rides last, so nobody rides alone.
Is the Stelvio open on my date?
The pass usually opens in late May and closes with the first heavy snow in October. If it is shut we ride the Gavia instead, or refund you in full.
What if I have never ridden a hairpin?
Tell us. We run a 40-minute slow-speed session in the car park before we leave, and you ride behind the guide.
Build your price
Which of these will you reach the ground on?
Only the bikes on this tour. Pick one and the price above updates.
Your guide
Elia Bonfanti
Head guide, lead rider
Elia grew up two valleys from Bormio and has ridden the Stelvio in every month it has been open, and two when it had not. Elia leads from the front at a pace the slowest rider can hold without noticing.
24
years riding
guided
Passo Gavia
Narrow, unfenced, and empty before nine.
Italian, English, German
Riders on this tour.
Riding the 48 downhill first thing, with nobody on it, is the best morning I have had on a bike. I booked again from the car park in Bormio.
Dan R.
Yamaha Ténéré 700
Second season on a bike. They ran a slow-speed session in the car park and I rode every bend. I did not stop smiling until Glurns.
Priya N.
Royal Enfield Himalayan 450
Flew in for one day on this road. Worth the flight. Elia told me to shake out my left hand at the top and I laughed. By bend 12 I got it.
Tom H.
Ducati Multistrada V4 S