Il versante nord del gruppo del Catinaccio visto dal Rifugio Bolzano/Schlernhaus, sul gruppo dello Sciliar, meta di una facile escursione dall'Alpe di Siusi, nel mezzo delle Dolomiti di Fassa.

The north side of the Catinaccio group seen from the Rifugio Bolzano/Schlernhaus, on the Sciliar group, the destination of an easy hike from the Alpe di Siusi, in the heart of the Fassa Dolomites.

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6 hikes

Hikes in the Dolomites

The Dolomites are among the most famous mountains in the world, unmistakable for their stern vertical walls, their pinnacles, their wide valleys and the vivid colours they take on at sunset.

If there is one mountain range that needs no introduction, it is the Dolomites. Famous for their incredible vertical rock and the sculptural quality of their mountain groups, the Dolomites are among the most famous ranges in the world. And adding further to their international fame, in June 2009 UNESCO declared them a World Heritage Site.

As if they needed it.

Fame has its downside: incredible crowds. The mountains of Lombardy and Piedmont are still relatively quiet places. The Aosta Valley is already better known and busier. But no Alpine region reaches the crowds of the Dolomites, where on the most famous routes you can find yourself walking in a real queue of people. If you can, visit the Dolomites in early July, in September when the huts are still open but relatively less crowded, or in October, when the larches turn red.

Good to know about the Dolomites

The Dolomites World Heritage property is not a single range but a group of nine mountain systems separated by valleys and spread across five provinces, and since 2010 a dedicated foundation has coordinated the authorities that manage them. At the centre of these groups Ladin is still spoken, a Rhaeto-Romance language found in five valleys: Gardena and Badia in South Tyrol, Fassa in Trentino, Livinallongo and Ampezzo in the province of Belluno. Each valley has its own variety, and the hikes that start from Selva di Val Gardena cross the territory of Gherdëina, which you will read on signposts next to Italian and German; how the language is protected, on the other hand, differs from region to region.

Two of the hikes on this page walk straight into the First World War. On the Lagazuoi the tunnels and emplacements recall the mine warfare of 1917 between Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops, who detonated charges beneath each other's positions until the shape of the mountain itself changed, and the open-air museum can now be visited freely; on the Pasubio the Strada delle 52 Gallerie was dug in 1917 by the 33rd Miners Company. Italian Law 78 of 2001 recognises the historical value of these remains, and the rule, before it is a legal one, is a matter of respect: any relics you find along the path stay where they are, and in the tunnels you will need a head torch.