16.6
PDI
6.5 mi
DISTANCE
2,516 ft
GAINED
7.3 %
AVG. GRADE
FULL CLIMB STATS
INTRO
Most people reach Castelluccio and its great plain from Norcia, on the Umbrian side. Forca di Gualdo is the back way in from the Marche: a narrow road that leaves Castelsantangelo sul Nera, a village still being rebuilt after the 2016 earthquakes, and hairpins up through the woods until the trees give out and the high grassland of the Sibillini opens up. It's 10.4 km (6.5 mi) with 767 m (2516 ft) of climbing at 7.3%.
Don't trust the first kilometer - it rises at under 3% as you leave the village. Then the road kicks up and stays there: from about km 2 to km 7 it holds 7.5 to 10%, through Gualdo and up most of the climb's 17 hairpins, with the steepest kilometer at 11.4%. Past Spina di Gualdo it backs off to 5.5 to 6% across more open slopes, before one last push at 8% to the top at 1495 m (4905 ft).
The pass is open, bare and quiet. Monte Vettore fills the view to the south-east, and just over the crest the road drops onto the Pian Perduto and on toward Castelluccio and the Piano Grande, which turn into a patchwork of color when the lentil fields flower in June and July. The road itself was badly damaged in 2016; ANAS repaired it by 2020, and you ride past the new retaining walls on the way up.
PLAN YOUR ROUTE
We've partnered with Sherpa-Map.com to bring you the best route planning tool. With a PRO Membership you can use this climb as a reference when creating your route. Forca di Gualdo averages 7.3% over 10.4 km (6.5 mi), and almost all the hard work is packed into the middle.
Km 1: 2.7% - an easy roll out of Castelsantangelo.
Km 2-7: 7.5 to 10.0% through Gualdo and the hairpins. This is the core of the climb: the steepest kilometer is 11.4%, the steepest 2 km average 10.4% and the steepest 5 km 9.0%.
Km 8-9: 5.5 to 5.9% on the open upper slopes.
Km 10 to the top: 8.0%, easing to about 5% over the last few hundred meters.
Roadway: Asphalt throughout, but narrow - mostly a single lane with no center line once you leave the village - and cracked and patched in places (Street View, August 2024). The SP136 was rebuilt after the 2016 earthquakes, with new retaining walls on the lower slopes. Snow shuts the upper road in winter and avalanches have cut it before, so treat this as a late-spring-to-autumn ride.
Traffic: Light most of the year - this is the quiet way into the Castelluccio plain. It picks up on summer weekends, especially during the flowering in June and July. On flowering weekends the Province of Perugia has in past years kept private cars off the plain itself while letting bikes through.
Parking: There's a small car park on Piazzale Pietro Piccinini in Castelsantangelo, about 200 m from the start - Map. Visso, a few kilometers down the valley, has more space and more services.
Gear: Five kilometers at 7.5 to 10% call for low gears - a compact with a 30 or 32 at the back. The descent is narrow, cracked in places and full of hairpins, so good brakes and a light touch matter more than speed.
Provisions: Castelsantangelo has a bar or two and Visso has more. Between the village and the pass there's nothing to count on, and the top is open grassland at almost 1500 m (4921 ft) with no shelter from sun or wind, so fill both bottles and carry a wind layer.
Before heading out on any cycling adventure check out our Things to Bring on a Cycling Trip and use our interactive check list to ensure you don't forget anything.
From the pass, the obvious move is to keep going: drop across the Pian Perduto to Castelluccio di Norcia and the Piano Grande, a huge flat basin under Monte Vettore best known for the flowering of its lentil fields in early summer. Castelluccio was badly hit in 2016 and is still being rebuilt, so check what's open before counting on lunch there.
Umbria's tourist board publishes a road loop from Norcia that takes in this climb: out through Visso and Castelsantangelo, over Forca di Gualdo and Castelluccio and back down to Norcia, about 80 km (49.7 mi) with roughly 1900 m (6234 ft) of climbing. Visso is the base on the Marche side, and the whole area is known for its cured meats, sheep's cheeses and Castelluccio lentils.
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