Work slowed over the holidays, giving me time to go through photos from a couple of fall trips.

We spent part of September in Northern Italy, including a week (Sept 7-14) in the Dolomites. We Midwest flatlanders enjoy mountains and hiking…and Italy of course, so this has become a favorite destination.

This was part of a longer trip that started in Venice, included some time in Bologna and environs and finished with a brief stop in Rome. This report is only for our time in the mountains—mostly through photos that hopefully that show why we keep going back and, for anyone interested in this area, some of what it offers beyond Ortisei and Cortina.

This was our third trip to the region.

In late July of 2009, we spent a week in the Val Gardena (Selva) with a teen in tow:
Live trip report from the Dolomites and beyond

In late August/early September of 2019, we spent a week in the Val di Fassa (Vigo).
A summer week in the Dolomites, version 2

This year, we chose yet another part of the area—the Alta Badia—with Colfosco (aka Colfosch in Ladin, Kolfuschg in German) as a home base for its proximity to multiple lifts and relatively small size (permanent population of about 500).

We had a car for this portion of the trip, picked up in Venice and dropped in Bolzano. While there are buses between towns and valleys, our visit was during the early stages of winding down from the summer season. We were concerned about reduced schedules, flexibility, and making full use of our limited time.

The appetizer: Asolo

Our transition stop on the way north was the town of Asolo. We spent two nights in Asolo in 1991 as the last stop on our first European trip together. It was a different season (November). The skies were gloomy, not ideal for this town that sits at the intersection of the Veneto plain and the mountains and is known as the “city of one hundred horizons.” It has always been in the back of our minds as a place we’d like to revisit, if our itinerary presented the opportunity. We were pleased to find the center much as we remembered it from 33 years ago—albeit with sun and lovely views this time.


One entry is through this arch near Villa Freya, former home of explorer and writer Freya Stark


Fontanella Zen (1570s)


Hotel Duse, where we stayed in 1991, is right on the main square


One of the many elaborate villas in the area


View from the town center


The area is popular with cyclists because it features the same array of terrains encountered in major races. Here, some riders have paused their training to drink from and take a group photo in front of the winged lion fountain in Piazza Garibaldi


Asolo’s history spans over 2,000 years. Some of it is evident at la Rocca—about 700 steps above town with views across the area and down onto the town, itself


The earliest remnants at La Rocca include mosaics from a 6th century chapel


View from La Rocca


View of Asolo from La Rocca


About 10 km from the center of Asolo is Villa Barbaro (aka, Villa di Maser), conceived by Andrea Palladio in the 1550s and part of the UNESCO World Heritage group of Palladian villas. The inside features frescoes by Paolo Veronese. This is a private home, so only six rooms are open for touring, and there are no photos allowed inside.


The statues outside are of Olympian gods


The Barbaro temple, built in 1580, is practically in the middle of the road


Asolo is about 20 minutes from Valdobbiadene, the heart of the Prosecco region


Osteria Senz-Oste, a self-service tasting venue was a one of many recommendations from the owner of our accommodation. Buy your wine, water and snacks from vending machines, and find a seat among the vines.


The colonnaded Via Robert Browning on the way back from dinner


Accommodation: Villa Trieste M, which is about a 10-minute walk down the hill from the center of Asolo. It has several guest rooms in the barchessa, originally the staff quarters and stable for the villa (now under restoration).


Delicious breakfast on the patio!

To the mountains, but not until the bikes have their day

Asolo to Colfosco is about 2.5 hours. Because the forecast for the week ahead was iffy, we hoped to arrive early enough to start hiking right away. Then we learned it was Sellaronda Bike Day. The roads ringing the Sella Group—which include the Campolongo, Gardena, Sella, and Pordoi passes—would be closed from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm so that cyclists could enjoy the roads without motor vehicles. Great idea, but it meant that the town of Colfosco and our accommodation would be inaccessible until late afternoon. We used our time to enjoy a bit more of the area around Asolo (see above) and then took a less direct route over the Falzarego pass, arriving in the adjacent town of Corvara right around the time the road reopened.

It was a stunning drive. But whatever route you take into the heart of the Dolomites, the scenery just keeps getting better and better and better.


Heading out of the Veneto and towards the mountains
















One of many road construction stops


Between bikes, buses, and trucks on switchbacks, and stoplights for one-way traffic in construction zones, driving anywhere takes longer than expected.


Arrived at our destination in Colfosco--our balcony view for the next week. At night, we could see Rifugio Pisciadù at the top of the Sella Massif in the upper right, twinkling like a star in the dark sky.

Some logistics

Lift passes: Alta Badia has a summer pass good on about 20 lifts, with options for number of days (1, any 3 of 4, any 5 of 7, etc.). There’s also a Dolomiti Super Summer Card that covers about 100 lifts throughout the whole region, also with options. Of course, you can also buy lift tickets on an as-needed basis, but this can add up quickly.

Here was the problem: The weather forecast for our week was anything but clear. How much use would we get from a lift card? And which one? Your guess is as good as ours! We opted for 3-day Alta Badia passes at €68 per person. We certainly did get our money’s worth—our rides just on that card would have totaled €142.90 p/p if purchased individually. Ultimately, though, we would have been better off with the Dolomiti Super Summer Card, as we also used a few lifts beyond our area (e.g., Val Gardena). If you’re spending more than a couple of days in a particular region of the Dolomites and lifts aren’t included on the tourist card (as is the case in some parts), then this may require some research and planning.

Hiking equipment: I like to have hiking poles, particularly for steep or rocky downhills. But we traveled carryon-only, meaning the poles stayed at home. Just as I found in Switzerland a couple of years ago, poles are easy to rent. I emailed a Colfosco sporting goods store prior to our trip to reserve a set (6€ per day), and they were ready for pick-up on arrival.

Along for the hike!

There will be some hiking! Until the big snowstorm, that is.

I wouldn't trust myself to drive while surrounded by those views.

He drove. I enjoyed the views

Sunday: What goes up must come down

Forecast: dry in the morning, but ambiguous after that

We started by taking the Col Pradat lift from Colfosco to the base of Sassongher, the peak that rises from valley on the north side of town.

Our host suggested hiking around the base of Sassongher to Rifugio Gardenacia, where there was some sort of festival that day. This is a serious hike to be sure. About an hour in, we thought about turning back due to building clouds but decided to go a bit further on a different trail that appeared to be less “vertical.” When we reached a marker indicating we were just 40 minutes from Rifugio Puez (we’ve been there before), we decided to go for it.

Ultimately, this became a 7-hour hike, 30,000+ steps, 1,000-foot elevation gain and 2,000+ descent—our most intensive hiking day of the trip. We did end up soaked, but fortunately not until we were down in a flat valley. That walk down from Rifugio Puez would have been significantly more challenging in the rain.

On that note: We’ve hiked in this area and a good portion of this trail before, so we had some idea what to expect. Alltrails rates this as a “hard” hike (although not via ferrata level of difficulty). The trails are well marked, but the weather can turn quickly. Cell signals are not always great. Have a map and a plan and trust your gut. Several days later, there was a death on a trail probably not a kilometer from where we had been. More on that later.


Top of the Col Pradat lift. There's a decent restaurant here, but we never made it back up for lunch.


Signs for understanding what you're looking at


We'd be taking the upper of two trails leading out from Col Pradat




Out of the trees and into the rocky terrain










Approaching Rifugio Puez


Rifugio Puez is remote—at 2475 meters, with no roads in or out. Staff and supplies come in by helicopter.




Not fancy, but it hit the spot


After lunch, we'll be heading down to that valley (Vallunga). The Val Gardena town of Selva is at the far end.


If you look hard, you can see mr_go up against the rock wall


Some "steps" to assist with the descent




Rest break


View back from rest break--those rounded cliff walls in the upper right are where we were a few photos back


An hour later, we finally reached the flat Vallunga


This way to Selva. At this point, it started to rain.


We weren’t sure how we’d get from Selva back to Colfosco. The direct bus only runs a couple of times per day, and our timing wasn’t great. As we passed the Dantercepies lift station on the way into Selva, the lightbulb went on. We could take that lift (different valley—not on our pass, so an extra €17 pp).


From the top station of Dantercepies, it is a 15-minute (flat) walk along the base of the Gran Cir to Rifugio Jimmi and the Plans/Frara gondola lift station, which was on our Alta Badia lift pass and descends back into Colfosco.


A rough drawing map of our day--blue is lifts and green is hiking

Monday: “Recovery” day

Forecast: dry and partly sunny

With only a couple of days of weather “certainty” and a pass that covered lifts across the Alta Badia, we wanted to get as much of a taste of our area’s trails and views as we could—while not being as tough on the legs as the day before.

One of the reasons we picked Colfosco is because there are four lifts from the town, with abundant trails beyond them. Even better, it’s possible to take a lift, hike to another, take it, hike more, and so on. We spent a good part of the day alternating between lifts, views, and some hiking, with a light lunch at Rifugio Col Alt above Corvara.


We made a few friends around Colfosco


The Borest gondola transports passengers 1.3 km between Colfosco and the adjacent town of Corvara


From Corvara, we took the Boè gondola to the top of the Sella Massif--view here from the top of the lift. Corvara is visible in the valley.


From the Boè station, the Vallon chairlift takes you even higher. It was quite windy, and I'm not fond of chairlifts to start with, so mr_go went up and I watched and explored.


View from the top of the Vallon lift


View towards Rifugio Franz Kostner


Taking the chairlift back down


View of the small alpine lake on the way down


We later hiked back up to the lake


Lake flowers


Top of Boè station, looking north


Once back in Corvara, we took the Col Alt lift, which goes up to one side of an expansive ski and hiking area accessible from Corvara, San Cassiano and La Valle.


Top of the Col Alt gondola. That's Colfosco down in the valley below.


Some of the expansive area beyond Col Alt. We explored a bit, and were back up in this area the following day.

Once back in Colfosco, we ended the day with the approximately one-hour (each way) and relatively flat Borest trail to the Pisciadù falls on the north face of the Sella Massif. A beautiful walk, especially at golden hour.












Rough map of today's exploring--blue for lifts, green for hiking

This day was intended to be easy on the legs, but we still managed over 18,000 steps—although none of it as challenging as the day before.

My knees hurt just reading about your first day's hike.

Tuesday: Oh, the panorama

Forecast: dry, mostly sunny

About 30 minutes north of Colfosco is the town of Badia. From here, there is a two-part lift to the base of Sas dla Crusc, where you can access various hiking trails. The first and longer part of the current ride is a chairlift (a new gondola lift is under construction). I’m generally not fond of these—you know, heights and fear of falling—but it was a sunny day with little wind, so up we went.


The first part of the ride up is a long chairlift. A new gondola is under construction.


The upper station at the base of Sas dla Crusc


View from the top


More views


The Sanctuary of Santa Croce sits on a site with a long religious history—once a pagan place of worship in pre-Christian times. Records suggest a church has been on this site since the late 1400s. The church gives its name to the mountain above. It is a popular pilgramage site even today.


Adjacent rifugio is popular spot for coffee and strudel


Views from the beginning of the trail above the church


While the rifugio was busy, the trails were quiet. We encountered just a few people.


Rocky areas of the trail below Sas dla Crusc


View across the Val Badia


We hiked for about an hour before heading down toward the mid-station for lunch


This part of the hike took us through the trees


Well marked trails




Looks a little dry in this area


Many of the mountain huts have very good food. Utia Le, whose kitchen specializes in traditional Ladin cuisine, is no exception.


Ravioli di zucca


Barley soup with tutres (fried bread stuffed with spinach)

After lunch, we took the chairlift back down and drove to San Cassiano, where we took the Piz Sorega gondola to the large plateau that sits above and connects Corvara, La Villa and San Cassiano—providing expansive hiking and skiing opportunities across all seasons. We could have hiked for days around here.

From the upper station, a gravel road with a steady upward grade leads toward Rifugio Alpino Pralongia. While the trail was not especially crowded, we did share it with other walkers, a few mountain bikers, and an occasional motor vehicle. About three-quarters of the way to the rifugio (~45 minutes, because we stopped so often for photos) is Panorama Point. Holy moly, they aren’t kidding. The 360-degree vista from here has it all: Marmolada (and its glaciers), the Sella Group, Sassongher, Puez Group and Ciampani, Sas dla Crusc, Lavarela, Lagazuoi, SetSas. Amazing!

Almost 24,000 steps today.


Top of the Piz Sorega lift above San Cassiano


The large plateau here sits above the towns of Corvara, La Villa and San Cassiano with views across the heart of the Dolomites


Seating for enjoying the view toward Marmolada and its glaciers


The road out toward Rifugio Alpino Pralongia


At Panorama Point




On our way back to the gondola


Today's exploring--blue for lifts and green for hiking

Wow - gorgeous report and photos. Thank you ms_go!

From someone who "plans" last-minute, plays a lot by ear and doesn't document much when she travels, I appreciate your reports. They are so helpful for future trips ...and maybe past? Help me understand: your photos from the Sunday hike--Rifugio Puez, a number of vistas from the trail, the chapel down in Vallunga, etc.--all look very familiar to me but I have only been to the Dolomites once, based in Val Gardena. Is this hike done from Selva too? I did a couple long, mid- to semi-difficult hikes when I was there.

Looking forward to more. I definitely plan to return to the Dolomites one of these days, although I am less keen on hiking solo for safety reasons now that I am in my 50s!

My knees survived, I think. It was my quads that hurt for days.

Thank you, cats53! Glad you are enjoying. We love this area, and I love sharing our experiences there.

Wednesday: Back where it all began

Forecast: mostly cloudy, chance of rain increasing through the afternoon

On the first day of our first trip to the Dolomites in 2009, we took the Ciampinoi lift from Selva di Val Gardena/Wolkenstein to the base of the Sassolungo/Langkofel and then walked some of the path around it. With our Alta Badia lift pass now expired, we decided to drive to Selva, look around for old time’s sake, and then repeat that very first day of hiking (but longer)—complete with lunch at Rifugio Emilio Comici. This is not a terribly challenging hike. It’s relatively flat with the exception of the steep downhill walk from the top station of Ciampinoi, and steep walk back up to catch the gondola back to Selva.

Selva seemed a little more built up and bustling than we remembered, and there were definitely more people on the trails here than we’d encountered the three days before—no doubt due to the popularity of the Val Gardena over other areas.

18,000+ steps today.


Val Gardena from the Ciampinoi top station. The large town at the end is Ortisei.


The walk from the station starts with a brief but steep downhill portion


Once downhill, there's a short portion that goes through a pasture--so be aware


Sure enough, they were on the trail--and one was feeling a little bullish. That sent several of us scrambling into the brush to get around them.


Walking around the base of the Sassolungo. We were fascinated by the small rocks with trees growing out of them.


At one point, the trail branched. We took the route not indicated for bikes or strollers.


Along the trail.


Still some flowers late in the season


Eventually we came to the lift station at Passo Sella, with the famous telecabin gondolas--or as we call them, the flying phone booths. These are a real trip. They go right straight up the cliff face. We did this during our 2009 trip.


Here, our trail connected with the mountain biking trail.


Bikers under the telecabin lifts


Eventually we circled around and headed back to lunch at Rifugio Emilio Comici, which has a massive menu (also known for seafood)


Tagliatelle with mushrooms


Penne with ragu


Even something for the dogs


View from the front lawn of the rifugio


Sassolungo, on the walk back to the lift station


Looking across the valley


Appropriately placed bench on the very steep walk up to the lift station


Resting at the top in the last bit of sun. The weather was about to change.


Road construction on the Gardena Pass, on the way back to Colfosco. Gran Cir in the distance.

Hi Leely2, yes you can do a similar hike from Selva--only the first one-third or so is different. From Selva, you'd take the Dantercepies lift, then from the top there is a trail that goes along and then over the Gran Cir, past Lago Crespeina and then to Rifugio Puez. About 30 minutes before the rifugio, the trail intersects with the one we were taking this time from the top of Col Pradat. We did the hike from Selva in 2009. Not surprisingly, there were far fewer people this time, in mid-September. Our previous trip was the last week of July.

Thursday: Winter comes early

Forecast: cold rain, changing to snow later in the day

Hiking was out of the question, and walking around towns wouldn’t have been enjoyable either. We researched indoor attractions in the region and found The Lumen Museum of Mountain Photography, located (appropriately) on a mountaintop above Brunico/Bruneck. It is accessible via the Kronplatz II lift, the base station for which was about a 45-minute drive from our apartment.

This turned out to be a fantastic, modern museum with four floors of displays combining the discipline of photography and the subject of mountains—mostly these mountains. There are various interactive elements, including a virtual reality film where you’re in a helicopter riding above the peaks. Side bonus: a very good restaurant/cafe attached to the museum.


There’s a long, 4-kilometer gondola ride (12 minutes) to the top of the Kronplatz—elevation 2,275 meters (about 7,500 feet). The man selling tickets at the lower station casually said, “You know it’s snowing at the top of the mountain, right?” That became evident about halfway up.


The Lumen Museum is at the site of the original Kronplatz lift station.


Exhibits start with some of the earliest photography techniques (e.g., daguerreotype) and images produced in the 1800s


Exhibits about some early equipment and how they got it up into the mountains.


This set of photos mounted on ropes all covers images of rope-climbing teams.


Part of the "political mountain" exhibit.


With advances in photography came "mountain marketing" in the form of postcards, advertising various peaks, hotels, etc.


An old postcard from Rifugio Pisciadu, which we can see from our apartment (when the cloud cover isn't too low)


One of the many exhibits


Old book of silver gelatin prints of photos from the Strada Dolomiti (Great Dolomite Road)


One of many sets of old photos, these from around the 1940s



Display on global warming


Room of mirrors


View from the restaurant


The food here was also a pleasant surprise, including this vegetable focaccia

This wasn’t an inexpensive excursion, as the roundtrip lift ticket costs 34€ per person, in addition to the museum entrance fee (some of that may have been offset if we had the right tourist passes, but we were staying in a different valley). There is another museum (Messner Mountain Museum) nearby. A French couple asked us about it as we were getting back on the gondola to go down, but none of us could see it through the snow let alone a way to get there.

We returned to the valleys. By the time we were halfway back to Colfosco, raindrops had turned to snowflakes. By the time we reached La Villa, the snow was sticking to the grass on the surrounding hills. And by the time we reached Colfosco, the snow was sticking to the pavement. We were glad to be off the road and with some extra time on our hands for a load of laundry.

Sad postscript to this day: We learned the next morning that a couple on a hut-to-hut hike from Rifugio Genoa (above Bressanone) to Rifugio Puez was caught in the unexpectedly heavy snowstorm, and one perished from exposure before a rescue team could reach them. They were 2km from Rifugio Puez—only about 1km above the trail we took when leaving there four days earlier.

Friday: Warming up in Bressanone

Forecast: dry, partly sunny

We always have an idea or two for “rain days” in our back pocket. This wasn’t necessarily a “rain” day, but since it had snowed across the region the day before, we knew the hiking trails would be messy, and we didn’t have the right footwear or apparel. On previous trips, we’ve visited Bolzano and Trento. This time, our back-up plan included Bressanone (aka Brixen). We wiped about a half a foot of snow off the car (with our hands) but were happy to see that the road had been nicely cleared. We took the longer route to Bressanone via Badia and the Val Pusteria rather than going over the Gardena Pass. Chains or snow tires are required on the passes during bad weather. We definitely didn’t have the former, and probably not the latter.

Bressanone is in a valley south of the Brenner Pass and north of Bolzano. It is one of the oldest towns in Tyrol. It was a bishop’s seat for 1,000 years, and the oldest district, Stufels, has neolithic origins. Bressanone has more of an Austrian feel, and we found German a bit more prevalent than Italian.

There’s plenty to see, including the bishop’s (Hofburg) palace, with a mind-blowing collection of miniature nativity and other figures—room after room of them. I’ve never seen anything like it!


Hofgarten (Giardino di Corte) dates to 1570


The Bishop’s/Hofburg palace was constructed as residence for the prince-bishops of Bressanone in 1250. It was the seat of the bishops until 1964. The palace houses the Diocesan Museum, the Cathedral Treasure, and the extensive nativity scene collection.


The nativity scene collection includes about 5,000 figurines as well as Christmas cribs from Bressanone, Tyrol, Naples and Sicily. There are literally rooms of these displays, each display in this degree of detail.


Some are a little gruesome.


Yet another one...


This and the next few photos are from the Diocesan Museum.












Cathedral square (we had lunch here). Bressanone Cathedral dates to 980, and the current Baroque structure was built between 1745 and 1754.


Part of the Baroque interior


Across the courtyard/cloister from the cathedral is the more modest St. Michael’s church, with history dating to the 11th century.


Inside St. Michaels


Bressanone is surrounded by vineyards and orchards, so not surprising to see apples in the market.


Medieval arcades under the vaults of the houses.


Statue on the Adler bridge, which connects the old town with the even older Stufels neighborhood.


From the Middle Ages until relatively recently, Stufels was home to small traders, artisans and servants as well as people looking for cheap housing. Today, Stufels has become known as an artists’ quarter.


Ziggelplatz square in Stufles. A draw well has always been located here, but the well has been rebuilt more recently.




You can see the snow on the mountains above the city

Saturday: Departure

Forecast: dry and cold

We bid arrivederci to our lovely hosts (more on that below) and headed towards Bolzano. This time, we took the Gardena Pass, where there was still some blowing snow on the highest parts of the road. Our drive took us through the Val Gardena, including Selva, Santa Cristina and the outskirts of Ortisei and then down through Castelrotto towards Bolzano. It’s a pretty drive, and not a particularly fast one.

Most of the rental car offices in Bolzano are near (but not right at) the airport, a fair distance from the train station. An Avis agent called a taxi for us.

If you have time to kill waiting for a train, as we did, the Parkhotel Laurin a few blocks away has a nice bar/bistro with good small plates.

And that’s it for our latest (but not last) trip to the Dolomites.

The next part of our trip was of a very different flavor: Bologna, Ravenna, Parma and a final night in Rome—some new for us, and some repeat. Not sure I will get around to reporting on these destinations, but they’ve all been well covered here.

I'll add some notes on Colfosco and our excellent apartment in the next few days.

I’ve been on a digital detox diet - but was researching our upcoming NZ trip, and happily found this (or it found me)
I love reading about these destinations, how people put together their hiking trips, how best to accommodate the changeable weather.
Thanks for the report and photos.