Lago di Cavazzo, or Lake Cavazzo, in Carnia is the biggest natural lake in the region. Located just right under the Carnic Pre-Alps and surrounded by beautiful mountains, as the Lakes of Fusine it originated from a melted glacier and its waters, though in part provided artificially, spring naturally from subterranean recesses. It's 6.5 kilometres long, two square kilometres wide and 30 metres deep, making it fit for a lot of nautical sports other than bathing.
The sporting association Nautilago's trainers give sailing boat lessons to everyone, including children as young as 8 years old, and kayak and canoe lessons. It also puts on a string of boat races throughout the year: the next one will be the 41st “Armando Gori 2020” Trophy, for young sailors only, on July 26.
The open air sports available on the lake include fishing and windsurfing, and you can rent a “pedalò”, a pedal boat, to enjoy the waters while chilling under the sun.
And beside water sports, one can simply sit and munch on some sandwiches while relishing on the spectacular view in one of the pic-nic areas. And all around the lake there lie walking and biking paths through the lush woods where birdwatching, too, could be the ideal leisure activity. To further immerse oneself into the luxuriant nature, there's also a comfortable camping area.
A Lake of Three Cities
Lake Cavazzo is also known as the Lake of Three Cities, as it laps onto the shores of three towns: Cavazzo Carnico, Bordano and Trasaghis. Despite being small, mountain hamlets, each one of them has peculiar features which are incredibly attractive for tourists.
In Cavazzo Carnico there are a few monuments worth visiting, like St. Daniel church (with a painting by Tintoretto), St. Rocco church and St. Stephen Protomartyr parish church overlooking the lake, and hiding beneath it a mausoleum called the Antiquarium. At a 15 minutes walk from Cavazzo, there's an enchanted, natural spot the locals call "Buse dei Pagàns", or Pagans' Cave: a huge Carsic breach in the mountain, where – as the legend goes – pagans used to hide to escape from Christians haunting them. Also near Cavazzo there's Palude Vuarbis, a swamp which is home to a variety of species, especially amphibians.
Near Trasaghis, in the summer one can bathe into the crystal waters of Torrente Palâr, a quiet creek scattered with three waterfalls where one can cool off the heat wave.
If you fancy butterflies, then you must pay a visit to Bordano's “Mufffa”, a moths and butterflies' museum which features an extensive collection of unusual species on display and the biggest Butterfly House in Italy: it consists of three air-conditioned greenhouses hosting butterflies from three different tropical ecosystems (the African jungle, Asian and Australian rainforests, the Amazon rainforest).
Val del Lago, an open air museum
Lake Cavazzo and its surroundings are part of the Val del Lago Eco-Museum. The territory as a whole has clear borders, defining it as a substantial unit. The valley is two kilometres wide and goes from Cavazzo to Peonis, being encompassed on the West side by the fluvial valleys of three creeks (Palâr, Tremugna and Leale) and on the East side by Brancot and St. Symeon Mounts.
Multiple tour guides are available on request, leading to explore a variety of paths and natural spots all over the area, including the ones we already mentioned like Torrente Palâr, Buse dei Pagàns, Palude Vuarbis, Eolo's Cave and Avasinis' springs in Trasaghis, and many hiking trails to the encircling mountains.
Just send an email to [email protected] or call (+39) 3442345406 / 0432.1636175 for a reservation.
For more info, send an email to [email protected].