Hotel-to-Hotel Hiking Adventure

Arrive at your discretion. Land at Venice airport, and check into your hotel. Receive the trip briefing (self–guided only) and enjoy a welcome dinner at the hotel.

 D… 4-Star Hotel in Val di Fassa

Today is a great warm-up day to wake up your legs after travel and help you acclimatize to the altitude.

After breakfast, take the cable car from Canazei to Pecol and hike to Passo Pordoi. From here, you begin to hike on the "Viel del Pan" ("Way of the Bread") to Passo Fedaia. This footpath stretches right across the mountain and was once used by flour merchants who traded flour for handcrafted goods and other products. It's a wide path, easy to walk, and is one of the most spectacular footpaths in the Dolomites – offering an incomparable view of the majestic Marmolada (3,342m / 10,964'). Often referred to as "Queen of the Dolomites," Marmolada is the highest mountain in this range and home to its largest glacier. When you reach Fedaia Lake, continue hiking along the lake to Fedaia Pass (2,057m / 6,749'), and then transfer back to your hotel in Val di Fassa. Dinner in your hotel 

 (~5 hours hiking 11km / 6.8 miles, 470 m / 1,541’ ascent, 650m / 2,135’ descent).

B,D… 4-Star Hotel in Val di Fassa

Starting at the Ciampac Cable Car parking space in Alba di Canazei (1491m), follow marker no. 602 towards “Rifugio Contrin”. The path proceeds uphill through the forest. Shortly after the "Locia de Contrin" hut, you comfortably hike through the beautiful Val Contrin valley, past the Cianci Hut to the popular Malga Contrin mountain hut (2,020 m a.s.l., 90 minutes walking time from the starting point).

You then follow path no—608 uphill towards the Passo San Nicolò mountain pass. The higher you get, the more impressive the view of the surrounding Dolomites, especially of the Marmolada summits Piccolo Vernel, Gran Vernel, Penia, and Ombretta. In your direction, you have the pyramid-shaped Col Ombert mountain, and beneath you, the Rifugio. Passo San Nicolò mountain hut (2,348 m a.s.l.). After your well-deserved lunch break, enjoy the panoramic view across the Val San Nicolò valley, from the Catinaccio and Latemar to the Val Contrin valley with the Sella and Marmolada mountain groups.

 

From the rifugio San Nicolo, hike down the Val di San Nicolo on trail 608 to Baita Campie (1826mt) and on to Vidor. There is also an option to take the panoramic train. You'll immediately find yourself immersed in a postcard landscape, with green and flowery meadows scattered with picturesque wooden huts and framed by some of the most beautiful peaks (Cima Undici, Cima Dodici, the Monzoni Group, Costabella, Cima Uomo, and Col Ombert). From Vidor, it's a 15-minute transfer back to your hotel. Dinner at Leisure

B, … 4-Star Hotel in Val di Fassa

"Then come the gigantic masses of the Platt Kofel [Sassopiatto] and Lang Kofel [Sassolungo]; the first, sliced off, as by the malice of a Titan, at a single blow; the second, an array of splintered spires, ashy-tinted or pale yellow." – Gilbert and Churchill, 1864

 

Occupying the head of Val di Fassa and Val Gardena is the splendid twin formation Sassolungo-Sassopiatto; the names mean "long stone" and "flat stone." Looking from above, it resembles a horseshoe open at the northwest end and accommodates two tiny glaciers. Legendary sources furnish intriguing explanations for the origin of the mountain. One says the cruel king Laiadro, responsible for the death of his mother, has been buried in the mountain, and his outstretched empty hand is visible from Passo Sella as the Cinque Dita (five fingers) rock points.

This hike offers high-altitude panoramic walking with superb scenery; wildflowers grow in abundance on the grassy slopes and undulate with lazy cows and busy marmots. You will also see small birds of prey hovering for rodents. 

 

From the town of Campitello, take the cable car of Col Rodella (2,180m / 7,152'). From here hike under Sassolungo and Sassopiatto on the famous Friedrich-August-Weg. Following ancient shepherd routes (path n.557), dazzling views take you to Rifugio Sassopiatto (2,300m / 7,546') and onwards past hay chalets and hillsides blanketed in wildflowers. The path is now n.527 and will follow around the mountains, surrounded by clusters of yellow Rhaetian poppies. Option to arrive (path n.525) at a camouflaged stone Rifugio Vicenza (2,253m / 7,391'), surrounded by towering rock peaks and a view north over Val Gardena. A level stretch of trail (n.526) takes you to a rocky pass and on to refreshments at Rifugio Comici (2,153m / 7,063'). This loop hike then turns south through an otherworldly landscape of tumbled boulders – Città dei Sassi ("city of stones") – arriving back at Rifugio Passo Sella, where you'll transfer to your hotel in Val Gardena.  

 (~ 6 hours hiking 15,5km, 710m ascent and descent.) Dinner in your hotel 

The flank of the Odle mountain group, aptly named "needles" in Ladin, has been subject to long-term erosion, revealing the fascinating earth and rock strata underlining the primary pale Dolomite rock. The array covers grey-white chalks dating back 240-250 million years along burgundy porphyry from a relatively late volcanic phase. Ongoing weathering of the oldest, a blood-red variety of sandstone, led to the 1968 discovery of intriguing skeletal fragments belonging to a long extinct porpoise-like ichthyosaurus, now displayed in the museum at Ortisei, a recommended follow-up to the walk.

 

In the morning, depart from your hotel and walk to the Resciesa funicular station. The best way to reach the station is by first locating the 'Seceda' cable car station, and from there, follow the brown-colored signs indicating 'Resciesa.' It is a 7-8 minute walk to Resciesa, from the Seceda cable car station.

 Take the Resciesa funicular (tickets not included) to the top station and the nearby Chalet Resciesa.

 

Begin your hike on path 35 amid low pine trees to an open plateau until you reach Rifugio Resciesa (2,170/7,118'), located on the far left side of the plateau, approx 30min hike from the cable car station. From Rifugio Resciesa, hike a short uphill section on path 10 until you reach a steel cross and viewpoint. Hike path 31, which is gentle and mainly level, with little elevation change, offers beautiful vistas. Reach Forcella di Valluzza and continue straight on trail n.31. You'll soon reach a junction. Join path n.35 and hike the long traverse East to Rifugio Brogles (2,045m / 6,709'), a cozy farmhouse with spectacular views over the jagged north faces of the dramatic Odle Group. Rifugio Brogles offers simple yet delicious traditional dishes, but it is often busy; you may prefer to sit on the grass to consume your snacks and take in the stunning scenery.

 (To Rifugio Brogles: ~3-4 hours hiking, 9.3 km / 5.8 miles, 280 m / 920' ascent, 300 m / 985’ descent.)

 

 When you're ready to depart from Rifugio Brogles, take path 5 and hike downhill through the woods until you meet a river. Cross it and take the path on the left, soon leading to the intermediate cable car station (sign-posted 'Furnes'), from where you'll ride the gondola down to Ortisei (ticket not included) and hike back to your hotel.

 (Total: ~5-6 hours hiking, 13.3 km / 8.3 miles, 350 m / 1,150' ascent, 700 m / 2,300’ descent.)

 

This afternoon, discover the Tyrolean towns of Val Gardena on foot or relax in your hotel. 

 Dinner in your hotel 

 B,D… 4-Star Hotel in Selva di Val Gardena

From Selva, take the cable car Dantercepies cablecar (not included) to Passo Gardena (2,120m / 6,955'), then follow the legendary Alta Via 2, starting with several hair-pin turns uphill for 1½-2 hours, surrounded by the sheer pinnacles of Pizzes da Cir on either side of you. Hike up to the Passo Cir (2,470m / 8,100') on path #2 and follow the gravel path on undulating terrain that leads to the Forcella de Ciampei (2,365m / 7,760') and up to the Rifugio Puez (2,475m / 8,120') where you can stop for lunch.

A longer option adds a one-hour ridge hike from the Passo Cir to the Sass Ciampac (2,673m / 8,770'). From the summit, there is a fantastic panorama of the Eastern Dolomites with the Sella Massif right in front of you! Descend to the Forcella de Ciampei and continue to Rifugio Puez (2,475m / 8,120') on path #2.

After lunch, retrace your steps on trail #2 for about 20 minutes until you reach the intersection with path 3 to Colfosco. A final three-hour hike downhill on a rocky trail brings you to the town of Colfosco, where you have the option of continuing on foot to Corvara or taking the public bus from the main road in Colfosco.

Corvara (1,560m / 5,120') is located in Alta Badia (South Tyrol) in the heart of the Dolomites. Before the First World War, this area was part of Austria, and the Austrian-Italian mixed culture is very well marked in the food, architecture, and language. The local people (called the “Ladini”) speak a language –Ladino – that comes from the Romansh language, one of the four official languages spoken in Switzerland and in northern Italy. The signs in this area are written first in Ladino, then in German, and lastly in Italian.

(5-6 hours hiking 15km / 9 miles, 780m / 2,560' ascent, 1,355m / 4,450' descent).

   

 Dinner at the hotel

B,D… 4-Star Hotel in Alta Badia

In the morning, take a private transfer to Capanna Alpina (1,726m / 5,663'), a restaurant built at the edge of the Natural Park in an incredible setting. From here, begin climbing on trail n.11 for about 1 hour. At the top of the climb, you are at Col de Locia (2,069m / 6,788'), from where you can admire the beauty of Alta Badia in front of your eyes.

 Col de Locia marks the entrance of a fairy tale valley amidst the mountains, with green pastures. At a crossroads, the route on your right continues through the beautiful high meadow and karst formations, climbing to the Forcella del Lago, a narrow and dramatic gap in the mountain with a trail descent through steep talus on the south side. At the base of the slope is the lake called Lago Lagacio' whose green waters are framed by pines with a backdrop of the sheer walls of the Cima del Lago and the Cima Scotoni. From the lake, walk downwards, reach a beautifully placed rifugio Scotoni (1,985m / 6512'), and continue downhill to Capanna Alpina.

 (~4-5 hours hiking, 10km/6miles, 1,301m / 4,268' ascent, 1,307m / 4,287' descent) Dinner in hotel

 B,D… 4 Star Hotel in Alta Badia

Breakfast and departure at your discretion (private transfer available on request).

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