Matajur
1,642 m
Slovenia, Italy
Also known as Матажур, Monte Matajur, +2Also known as
Матажур · Monte Matajur · Mataiûr · Monte Mataiur
- Elevation
- 1,642 m
- Prominence
- 1,385 m
- Difficulty
- 2/10
- Hike
- Best Season
- May–Jun
- Routes
- 2
Routes
2The shortest way up: from the road-end Rifugio Guglielmo Pelizzo (1,320 m) above Savogna, a 45-minute grassy path climbs about 320 m to the summit chapel of Cristo Redentore on the Italy–Slovenia border, with views from the Adriatic to the Julian Alps.
Elevation Profile
- Distance
- 2.6 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +334 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 1,642 m
- Time Up
- 1h 29m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 1h 04m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Drive from Cividale del Friuli up the Natisone valley to Ponte San Quirino, then follow signs for Savogna and the paved road up the southern side of the Matajur to Rifugio Pelizzo (1,320 m), about 15 km in total. From the hut, CAI path 736 climbs the open grassy south face directly to the summit (1,641–1,642 m), about 45 minutes and 300–320 m of ascent. The chapel of Cristo Redentore stands on the top, with panorama boards; the frontier runs along the summit ridge. A popular round trip (about 4.4 km, 1 h 40 min to 2 h with stops) goes up one way and down via the antennas and the Dom na Matajure hut on CAI paths 749 and 736. A longer loop (5.5 km, about 3 hours with stops) traverses west on CAI 750 to the Mersino pastures and climbs CAI 725 to the west side, with a little use of hands on boulders near the top. In winter the walk is a common snowshoe outing, but the road can be icy.
Start
Rifugio Alpino Guglielmo Pelizzo1,328 m
- Bus from Udine to Cividale del Friuli and San Pietro al Natisone; no regular service to the hut found.
- Parking at the trailhead
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Rifugio Alpino Guglielmo Pelizzo1,328 m
- Summit: Matajur1,642 m
Key Passages
- Open grassy south slopes
- Summit chapel of Cristo Redentore
Equipment
0/3 packedDownloads
Route confidence 75%Overview
A broad, grassy 1,642 m border summit above Kobarid and the Natisone valleys, the last high point of the Julian Prealps before the Friulian plain. A road reaches Rifugio Pelizzo 45 minutes below the top; from Slovenia it is a 2½-hour walk. Views run from the Adriatic to the Julian Alps.
Matajur rises on the Italy–Slovenia frontier between the Soča valley and Venetian Slovenia (Benečija), the Slovene-speaking valleys of the Natisone in Italy. With a prominence of nearly 1,400 m it stands well clear of its neighbours, and from the summit chapel of Cristo Redentore the view takes in the Friulian plain, the Adriatic, the Canin group, Krn and the western Julian Alps. Its slopes are open pasture and beech forest, with no technical difficulties.
On the Italian side a paved road climbs from Savogna to Rifugio Pelizzo at 1,320 m, from where the summit is a short walk; the Slovenian-run Dom na Matajure lies just below the top. From Slovenia the usual approach starts at Avsa above Livek and takes about 2½ hours. Longer routes climb from San Pietro al Natisone (CAI 749, about 4½ hours and 1,470 m) and Montemaggiore.
It is a mountain for an easy half day or a family outing, and a good winter snowshoe objective, although the summit ridge is exposed to wind.
Climbing Notes
No special preparation is needed in summer: 45 minutes from Rifugio Pelizzo or 2½ hours from Avsa, on easy marked paths over grass. Rifugio Pelizzo is open year-round with some closure days (in 2025 Thursday to Monday, and daily from Easter to 31 October) and has 35 beds; call ahead. Dom na Matajure, just below the summit, is a small hut described as unmanaged.
In winter the summit is a popular snowshoe walk from Pelizzo, but the access road can be icy and the ridge is windy; hribi.net recommends ice axe and crampons for the Slovenian routes in winter. Thunderstorms build quickly over the Prealps on summer afternoons.
History
The mountain appears as Mons Regis around 680 and as Monte Majori in 1275; the name derives from Romance 'monte maiore', 'higher mountain'. During the Battle of Caporetto (Kobarid) in the First World War, Oberleutnant Erwin Rommel and his Württemberg mountain battalion captured the summit on 26 October 1917. The summit chapel of Cristo Redentore was struck by lightning and later destroyed in the fighting around Caporetto, then rebuilt.
Season
Best May–Jun- January: Good
- February: Good
- March: Good
- April: Good
- May: Best (best window)
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Good
- August: Good
- September: Best
- October: Best
- November: Good
- December: Good
- Jan
- Snowshoe walk from Rifugio Pelizzo; road may be icy
- Feb
- Winter conditions; windy ridge
- Apr
- Spring snow patches on the north side
- May
- Flowering pastures
- Jul
- Hot and hazy; afternoon thunderstorms
- Aug
- Hot and hazy; afternoon thunderstorms
- Sep
- Clear views
- Oct
- Autumn colours and clear air
- Nov
- First snow possible
- Dec
- Winter conditions
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Rifugio Pelizzo: +39 0432 1840692; booking advisable for overnight stays and weekend meals.
- Rules
- The summit lies on the Italy–Slovenia border (Schengen area, no checks); carry ID
- Parts of the mountain are a Natura 2000 site (Monte Matajur): stay on paths
- Getting There
Cividale del Friuli (Italy); Kobarid (Slovenia)
Trieste Airport (TRS); Ljubljana (LJU) for the Slovenian side
- Italy: from Cividale del Friuli follow the SP54 up the Natisone valley to Ponte San Quirino, then signs for Savogna and the paved road to Rifugio Pelizzo (about 15 km)
- Slovenia: from the Kobarid–Tolmin road turn off at Idrsko for Livek, then follow signs to Avsa and the car park about 300 m beyond the village
- Public transport reaches Cividale del Friuli and Kobarid; nothing regular found to the trailheads
Hazards
- Weather
Huts & Shelters
2- 1,320 m
Rifugio Alpino Guglielmo PelizzoHutStaffed
35 beds · Year-round with closure days (2025: Thursday–Monday, daily from Easter to 31 October)
- 1,550 m
Dom na MatajureHut