The Passo Gouta is a lovely “there and back” climb…turn left off the main road between Dolceacqua and Pigna, and you are climbing for 14km with a good degree of tree shade up to 1200m. Because the road doesn’t go anywhere at the top (it turns into a gravel track) it is delightfully traffic-free, but whilst the tree shade is welcome on a hot day, it does mean the view is obscured for much of the climb which is a shame given the surrounding countryside. Only towards the top are there a couple of breaks in the trees so you can see just how far you have climbed.
It can be ridden as a prelude to Colle Langan, but with a height gain of nearly 1000m at 7% it’s not to be taken lightly, and probably best suited as a “training climb” rather than as part of a day’s exploration of this part of Italy.
