Crowning Italy’s northern border, the Dolomites are a pristine alpine playground, where vivid green meadows nestle against enormous limestone peaks. Hiking trails wind between massive peaks offering new vistas at every turn. Charming rifugios (mountain huts) welcome hikers with satisfying strudel and local specialties. Evenings are filled with a delightful mixture of Italian, Austrian, and Ladin cultures, where you can dine on distinctive culinary specialties, and savor fine Italian wines.
On this incredible journey, you’ll experience trails that crisscross these mountains and valleys, offering endless paths for exploration. You’ll stay in mountain rifugios that not only afford noon-time meals, but provide opportunities for a comfortable hut-to-hut traverse of these majestic mountains.
You will see the best that the Dolomites has to offer, including the marvelous rock walls of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo – magnificent sheer faces that turn from pastel pinks and all but flame red towards sundown – and the majestic Sella Massif.
Day 1: The trip begins in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where upon arrival, you will transferred to your hotel for the evening. In four- and five-star accommodations, why not treat yourself to a relaxing massage at the hotel at the end of the day or a tantalizing meal and bottle of wine in the evening?
Day 2: Today offers a superb 5.4 mile hike to the soaring Tre Cime di Lavaredo – probably the most famous landmark in all the Dolomites.
Have lunch in a local rifugio, tasting local specialties such as canederli (a Tyrolean dumpling) and goulash (a beef stew).
Day 3: Today you’ll begin three days and two nights of hut-to-hut hiking – truly one of the best ways to experience these magical mountains. This 7.4 mile hike entails a wonderful range of scenery and habitats as well as two natural parks. You’re likely to see chamois – a native European goat-antelope species, roe deer, marmots, and their trustworthy companions – birds of prey. (A shorter hike is available)
Enjoy the next refugio with a superb view east to the Croda Rossa Massif.
Day 4: Today will be a beautiful 4 mile hike to a mountain inn that sits just beneath the Limo Pass, offering a splendid view of the Tofane Mountains. Once you arrive at the rifugio, there is ample opportunity to do additional hikes from the hut.
Day 5: Hike five hours (7 miles) through the Altopiano di Fanes to Alta Badia, a sunny hollow on the south side of the Val Badia, in the Alto Adige region where you’ll spend the next three nights. Here in the heart of the Dolomites, you’ll enjoy superb panoramas of the Western Dolomites and the Marmolada Massif, the “Queen of the Dolomites.” (A shorter hike is available)
For the next three evenings, A grand 165-year-old resort welcomes you for the next three evenings. Right out the front door is La Varella Mountain, with buttercup lined trails in summer. And despite the glam touches—the Verona marble spa, the Michelin-starred restaurant, two spas, the brand new gym—it keeps a delightful small-town vibe, thanks to its owners, who live right upstairs.
Day 6-7: Over the next few days, you have a choice to hike to the little white church, Santa Croce, consecrated in 1484, experience the thrill of a via ferrata with a professional mountain guide or simply do nothing and relax!
Day 8: The time has come to say good-bye. A private driver will transfer you to the airport for the return flight home.
Cairn Travels 