The Sciliar is one of the best-known massifs in the Dolomites, and its panettone shape is hard to miss. However inaccessible it may look, a rocky tower in the manner of El Capitan, we can in fact climb it very easily from the Alpe di Siusi.
The walk starts from Compaccio on the Alpe di Siusi (m1844), which you can reach either by car (though the road up to the alp is closed to traffic between 9.00 and 17.00 unless you have a booking at a hotel on the Alpe di Siusi) or by cable car from Siusi (20€ return).
On path 10 we climb the slopes of the Alpe di Siusi, with mind-blowing glimpses of the Sassopiatto and the Sassolungo, and of the Sciliar itself with its two distinctive pinnacles (Punta Santner and Punta Euringer). After a series of ups and downs we reach the Saltner Hütte (m1830), ideal for a first stop.
From here the tone changes: no more alpine pastures and meadows, but a steep zigzag path that climbs over the rocky step of the Sciliar, with views of the Alpe di Siusi growing more spectacular as we go. Once on the Sciliar plateau, in a few minutes we are at Rifugio Bolzano (Schlernhaus, m2457, 2.45 hours).
From here an easy path takes us to the summit cross of Monte Pez, the highest “peak” of the massif (m2563, 20 minutes), and on the level to Monte Castello (m2515, 10 minutes). It is a lunar, suspended landscape, made dazzling by the white rock, and it genuinely feels like standing on a raised platform hovering above Trentino.
We return to the Alpe di Siusi by the same route (2 hours).
