The 2,121 m high Passo Gardena, located in the Dolomites, connects Val Gardena with Val Badia, a side valley of Val Pusteria. Passo Gardena, in Ladin Jëuf de Frea, leads from Selva in Val Gardena to Colfosco (1,645 m a.s.l.), which is part of the municipality of Corvara and is the highest village in Val Badia. In the area below Passo Gardena there have been finds from the Stone Age. The first road over the pass was built in 1915, during the Great War.
The mountain landscape at Passo Gardena is impressive: to the south the massif of the Sella Group, to the north the Cir Group in the Puez Group located in the Puez-Odle Nature Park, to the west the Sassolungo Group and to the east the peaks of Val Badia with the legendary Kingdom of the Fanes. On the pass rise the waters of several streams, one of which is the Rio Frea, which flows into the Rio Gardena.
In the mid-twentieth century Passo Gardena became important for tourism. In 1960 the road was built, followed by lifts and hiking trails on both sides of the pass. Today Passo Gardena is one of the four passes of the Sellaronda (in summer it can be covered by bike, in winter by skis), from here there are also excursions to the Dantercepies Valley, to the Alta Via delle Dolomiti n. 2 or to the Via Ferrata Pisciadù.
