GermanLigurian Border-Ridge Road
This special tour leads over the imposing mountain ridges of the Alps, along the border between Italy and France.
From the D 6204 near Tende it is 64 km to Colle della Sella in Italy. The starting point is in France on the D 6204. At the beginning, the tarmac road leads past lightly wooded hills, through numerous hairpin bends it goes steadily uphill. The next section leads over a gravel road in serpentines to the Passo della Tenda with a bunker complex and a beautiful panoramic view. In the further course it is worth taking a break at two old forts worth seeing. You are surrounded by impressive scenery. The gravel road continues at an altitude of 2000 m with a fantastic view of the endless mountain peaks. The path along the slope becomes narrower in parts and the gravel becomes coarser. This is followed by a lightly wooded area. It goes over many hairpin bends to the Passo del Tanarello with impressive views, then downhill towards the Colle della Sella hiking area, where this tour ends. From here, we recommend a walk through the alpine vegetation to Lake Tenarda with its large dam wall.
France
ItalyWe only rode the route on our mountain bikes. We had actually planned to drive it two days later in our VW California T6.1. But then, unfortunately, the weather turned bad. Based on our biking experience, we can say that we would have had no trouble covering the route in our California. There are two or three spots that are a bit rougher with a few small bumps. Otherwise, it’s easy to ride and beautiful. We didn’t have much traffic that Friday either, so passing other vehicles wouldn’t have been a problem. From October 1 until the winter closure on October 19, the route is only open on weekends.
The "Ligurian" - a must for all gravel enthusiasts. The toll is fine for what it offers. Shortly after entering Limone there is a pointless traffic light ... after that it gets fun! The southern passage is much "wilder", so the equipment has to be right. Allow enough time to really enjoy the track. "Once in a Lifetime" 😊
The traffic light is probably pointless for motorcycles. With a larger vehicle, I find it quite useful, provided there’s no oncoming traffic at the narrow sections ahead. By the way, the light turns green every half hour for 10 minutes in the eastbound direction and on the hour in the westbound direction toward Colle di Tenda.
Driven from the south. Everything rideable. Up to Passo Tanarello, some quite narrow and tricky passages. Paid 20 euros. Spent the night at Monte Saccarello. Descent from Tende into the valley closed, as well as the road tunnel.
Hello Roland, thank you for the information. I have a question: Is it possible to drive the tour on the Ligurian border road with T 6.1 (I have 4Motion with HA lock and AT tyres) without any further off-road modifications to the vehicle? Best regards, Michael
To Michael: Yes, the route is doable with 4Motion and the right tires, even without any modifications. I drove a T5 in October 2025 (standard Multivan without locking differentials). You should be careful in some spots; I don’t know what kind of underbody protection the California has.
We rode north from Rifugio Allavena toward Col Tenda. All in all, it was a cool but strenuous adventure. The section between Pas de Colle Ardente and Pas du Tanarel is very rough, littered with lots of large rocks—not exactly a pleasure; you have to ride very slowly. The section starting at the toll booth is fantastic and easy, with only a few isolated spots featuring larger slabs or washouts. Overall, the LGKS is an adventure at its finest.