Five Days in the Dolomites

The Alta Via 1 has drawn us back to the Italian Dolomites. We’re here with our walking companions, Marc & Miranda, to explore the spectacular eastern Dolomites before the alpine huts close and the summer hiking season ends. Revered for its grandeur, dramatic peaks, deep mysterious valleys, and pale limestone walls that blush pink at first light, the Alta Via 1 stirs profound emotions in even the most blasé of hikers. 

We walked part of this route earlier in the season on our Dream Way journey and can’t wait to see it in a different light, traverse new paths and while away evenings in rifugios with good friends.

Day 1: Lago di Braies to Rifugio Biella (7 km)

A fine, clear morning. The bus to the trailhead is so crowded we have to stand all the way, but the crush of bodies keeps us upright as the bus sways and swerves along the mountain road. As we exit the bus, we brace ourselves for a torrent of people. Lago di Braies is one of the most visited places in South Tyrol, and we soon understand why: the emerald-green water reflects towering cliffs that surround the lake on three sides. It’s a breathtaking sight. There’s also a large hotel, restaurants, and the much-photographed wooden rowboats. 

According to an ancient saga, every hundred years, on a full-moon night, a princess rows her blind mother, the Queen of Fanes, across the lake, listening in vain for the silver trumpets that will herald a new age for their doomed kingdom. 

Leaving the throng behind, we follow a path that narrows and quietens. Along the tranquil shore, we catch glimpses of water through pines that evoke Japanese woodcuts. There’s a beach strewn with stacks of brittle, bleached white rocks, built by visitors who feel compelled to leave their mark, even if it means disturbing the fragile alpine habitat. 

As we turn away from the lake, a daunting 870-metre ascent confronts us. Climbing, we weave our way between rivers of scree and toppled rocks into the heart of the Dolomites. We pass through patches of dwarf mountain pine, bilberry shrubs and the delicate white flowers of mountain avens. A disintegrating wooden staircase takes us up into a vast rock-strewn amphitheatre. Alpine poppies colour the harsh, grey landscape with daubs of bright yellow. The sheer limestone walls are vertigo-inducing, but with the aid of steel cables set into the rock face, we manage the steep, zigzagging, narrow path. We become breathless, we pause, we go on. The track weaves its way between toppled rocks at the foot of Monte Muro on the final leg to the pass at Forcella So Forno. Rounding a craggy summit, we gasp at the glorious 360-degree view of the Dolomites, taking in the sublime panorama of the Sennes Plateau, the glittering glaciated Marmolada and the Tofane pyramids.

A small shrine shelters a white virgin who guards the path winding down to an alpine hut. It’s Rifugio Biella, our home for the evening. We’re soon basking in the late afternoon sun and celebrating with an end-of-day spritz. Later, we enjoy a lively night over a meal of traditional South Tyrolean dishes as we talk with Alta Via 1 walkers from all over the world. Charlotte and Lucas are from Melbourne, Flores from Belgium and Stacier from California, all with engaging stories to tell. Outside, the last rays of the setting sun light up the peaks until the mountains darken and the earth falls silent. 

Day 2 Rifugio Biella to Rifugio Fanes (13 km)

We wake to rugged peaks coloured silver, pink and pearly white by the dawn light. After a hearty breakfast, we set off on a gentle path, walking across a lush alpine plateau. Marmots abound, grazing on grasses and flowers until a couple of sharp whistles send them scurrying to their burrows. They whistle once to warn of airborne threats (like eagles) and twice or more to warn of ground predators (like humans).  Adding to the soundscape is the chattering of alpine choughs, jet-black against the pale limestone and flitting about in small, highly vocal gangs.

An alpine summer village with a collection of low, lichen-encrusted timber huts. A shingle-roof chapel. An outdoor gallery of quirky folk art, assembled from found objects. Shepherds wearing traditional Tyrolean hats are corralling cows whose bells clang as they trot. Continuing through a forest of dwarf mountain pines and larch, we walk across the high plains, spellbound by the panorama of mountains and rugged limestone peaks, including Mt Pelmo, known as the Caregon del Padre (God’s Armchair). The buzzing of a helicopter attracts our attention, and we stop to watch as it dives headlong into a steep canyon, drops its load, and soars back up again.

At Rifugio Pederu, once a WWI officers’ barracks, we enjoy plates of delicious pasta. As we eat, a herd of horses move through the grounds of the rifugio. We ask our waiter about the comings and goings of the helicopter. He says that it’s ferrying branches of the high-altitude pines to the valley below, where the fresh shoots will be steeped in high-proof alcohol for months to extract the deep, woody, balsamic flavours of the local artisanal liquor. 

A steep wall of scree to scale after lunch. Then onto WWI military paths, wider than we’re used to, and shared with day hikers and mountain bike riders. Along the riverbank, the leaves of the trees are turning golden with the first stirrings of autumn. Our day ends at Rifugio Fanes, a mountain hut that has offered hospitality since 1928. Surrounded by forests, meadows and majestic mountains, we settle in for the evening and again find ourselves sharing a table with two Australians, Talie and Matt, who work in London. (Several weeks later, by some quirk of fate, Miranda and Marc run into Talie in a cafe in Sydney.)

Day 3 Rifugio Fanes to Rifugio Lagazuoi (13 km)

A coral-pink wall of rock. A cross on its highest point. There’s a sense of excitement in the air this morning. Locals in traditional dress are gathering for the transhumance, an ancient tradition in South Tyrol where shepherds guide their herds down from high-altitude pastures to sheltered valleys in autumn (and back up again in spring). The corralling of cows and horses we saw yesterday was a prelude to the main event. Today, the best cows are decorated with elaborate garlands and impressive ceremonial bells worn only for the transhumance. 

As we negotiate our way down a steep stony track, the sound of bells becomes louder. The procession catches up to us. It’s thrilling to be so close to the action, but alarming when cows and horses, decorated to ward off evil spirits, overtake us on the narrow mountain path. A colossus of a horse forces us to make a split-second decision. Risk being trampled by the powerful beast, or leap into the abyss. We take the latter option, and in doing so, Anna aggravates her knee injury. 

At the junction of two valleys, the herders and livestock continue downwards, while we take the steep trail back up into a glacial, grey landscape. Traversing narrow ravines, we scramble from boulder to boulder as we head up high towards Forcella del Lago (2,486 metres), the pass that separates the towering twin peaks of Grande Lagazuoi and Cime di Fanes.

These mountains were the setting for fierce fighting between Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops in WWI. Working in brutal conditions, both sides levelled peaks, opened roads, dug tunnels, built cableways, laid telephone lines, and transported tons of material for combat and the everyday needs of the thousands of soldiers who were living year-round at high altitudes. It’s a place where previously only shepherds, wild herb hunters, and mountain climbers ventured. Of the 150,000 men lost on the Alpine front, only one-third died in battle. The rest were victims of the terrible conditions: avalanches, landslides, frostbite, and illnesses caused by the extreme cold.

Despite the passing of more than 100 harsh winters and glaring summers, debris from WWI still lies where men camped, and bunkers were dug. It’s a chilling reminder of the carnage and suffering that unchecked autocrats leave in their wake.

By the time we arrive at Rifugio Lagazuoi, we’re spent. It’s been an arduous day of sharp ascents, steep descents and rugged terrain, right through to the final push up to the Rifugio. At 2,752 metres, Lagazuoi is the highest alpine hut on the Alta Via 1. As we watch from the terrace, paragliders swoop down into the valley and rise to soar like eagles. We take in the sweeping views as the setting sun transforms the Dolomites into a radiant work of art.

Day 4: Rifugio Lagazuoi to Rifugio Cinque Torri (15 km)

Another stunning early morning mountainscape, lit by the rising sun. Today’s route from Lagazuoi to Cinque Torri follows the WWI Alpine front where Austro-Hungarian troops on the heights of Lagazuoi laid siege against Italian positions at Cinque Torri. Part of the extensive tunnel system excavated by both armies is now open to walkers intrepid enough to descend the mountain through a kilometre-long, cold, claustrophobic tunnel. We favour the overground route, enjoying panoramic views of the Tofane and Numolau Massifs from a gondola down to Passo Valparola. After the solitude of the mountains, the pass is a circus. Crossing the road is a hazardous undertaking given the crush of cars, motorcycles and mountain bikes. We do, however, enjoy a cooked lunch and a decent coffee before setting out across quiet wildflower meadows and, once again, ascending over rocky terrain.

At Cinque Torri (2,200 metres), we walk through trenches carved into rock in an outdoor war museum. Cinque Torri comprises five dramatic rock towers rising from a landscape of massive fallen limestone blocks that we spend the warm afternoon exploring. 

At the base of the rock towers in a sheltered hollow is Rifugio Cinque Torre. From the hut, the views stretch west towards Lagazuoi and south to Monte Pelmo. At sunset, the mountains glow fiery red. There’s a story that once gnomes lived here and red flowers covered the mountaintops. One day, a Prince came by, attracted by the splendour of the flowers. There, he laid eyes on Princess Ladina. After falling in love with her, he captured her. Her desperate father, the King, threw a spell on the mountains, ordering all the flowers that had betrayed their presence to transform into rock. Now, it’s only at sunrise and sunset that you can see the red tinge of the once enchanted flower garden. 

Day 5: Rifugio Cinque Torri to Cortina d’ampezzo

After a string of sun-drenched, blue-sky days, a fellow walker alerts us to a seismic shift in the weather. Plunging temperatures, severe storms, and possible snowfalls are forecast. Rifugio Cinque Torri and the other high-altitude alpine huts are in the throes of closing for the season. Given the risk of lightning strikes, an injured knee, and a challenging 19-kilometre walk if we set out for Rifugio Staulanza, we decide this is as far as we’ll journey on the Alta Via 1 this summer. 

It’s a wrench to leave the immense beauty of the Dolomites and the ever-changing vistas of vertical rock walls, sculptural spires, flower-strewn meadows, deep canyons, and green valleys. Before we take the chairlift to the valley below, we linger, marvelling one last time at the grandeur of the Cinque Torri. 

As we wait in the cold for the bus to the ski resort town of Cortina, a group of Taiwanese walkers engage us in conversation. Their warmth and curiosity are infectious, and soon, a sense of camaraderie springs up, born out of a shared awe of the Dolomites and deep gratitude for the days and nights spent on the Alta Via 1.

That evening, over a fine meal and excellent local wine, we talk of our adventures, the people we met and the magnificence of the mountains. Some declare the Dolomites to be the most beautiful mountains in the world. While that’s a bold claim, there’s a truth to it. 

If you would like to explore more of the Dolomites and the Eastern Alps, please see the account of our walk across the Alps from Munich to Venice on the Dream Way. Or, for more of the European Alps, you can look at our Tour de Mont Blanc.