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We spent a week in the first half of July 2023 hiking in Val Gardena and based ourselves in Ortisei. It is a fantastic area for hiking and the chairlifts and buses make it so easy. This blog provides information gleaned during our stay there.
Contents
1. Planning Hikes in the Dolomites
I found the planning of hikes in the Dolomites to be the most difficult part of organising our 3 month European road trip. Click here to see the blogs of our road trip. It didn't help that most towns in the Dolomites have 2 or 3 names. For example Ortisei is also known as St. Ulrich and Urtijei!
The Dolomites is a large area and it takes time to drive from one area to another on the mountain roads. So I wanted to base ourselves in one area and to hike there.
I bought the Cicerone Guide Book on Day Walks in the Dolomites which costs GBP 13.67 from Amazon. This seems to be the best English guide book on walking in the Dolomites but it didn't help in determining the best area to be based in.
In the end I decided on Val Gardena as a number of websites said it was a good base for hiking in the Dolomites. It turned out to be a good decision and there were plenty of good hikes for our 5 days in Val Gardena.
I then wanted to plan some hikes in Val Gardena which involved using the chairlifts to reach high alpine areas with mountain views. I tried using the Cicerone Guide book and travel blogs.
The maps were confusing as the path numbers referred to meant nothing to me. I should have bought a hiking map from Amazon as the book and blogs would have made more sense.
Once we arrived in Ortisei I bought a map and also got the free map from the tourist office. It was then easier to plan hikes and some other hikers gave us some advice.
The short hikes listed on the reverse side of the free "Summer Hiking Map" provided by the Ortisei tourist office gave me some ideas of where to hike and the time required. I could then modify the hikes and make them longer if necessary.
2. Crowds in the Dolomites
We were in Ortisei from the 9th July to the 15th July. The first hike we did was on Seceda. The start of our hike was delayed so we could buy maps. We didn't start the hike until mid morning. I was shocked by the number of people when we reached the top gondola station.
I thought the number of people would quickly decrease as we hiked away from the Seceda gondola station but that took over an hour.
A lot of people had no hiking etiquette and didn't allow faster walkers to pass on the narrow trail unless asked. I was despairing as I knew I wouldn't enjoy hiking in the Dolomites if it was that crowded.
On subsequent days we left earlier and took chairlifts soon after they opened. This made a big difference as we could get away from the chairlift stations before too many people arrived.
3. When to Go to the Dolomites
Try to avoid weekends as it will be even busier with day hikers from nearby towns and cities and people coming for a weekend break.
The period after the first week in July to the end of August will be very busy and more expensive. The 2nd half of June is a good time unless you intend to hike in areas where snow might linger. September is a good month and all the chairlifts are still open. Some chairlifts close in the first week of October.
4. Weather in the Dolomites
Mountain weather is very fickle and therefore hard to forecast. One morning we decided to risk hiking despite a bad forecast. We took the bus from Ortisei to St. Christina and when we got there it rained heavily. After sheltering for well over an hour we abandoned our planned hike.
The forecast for the next day was for rain at midday. So we took an early gondola from Ortisei up to the Alpe di Siussi and hiked up to midday. It didn't rain all day!
Meteoblue is a good weather website. There is a Radar and Precipitation Nowcast at the bottom of the page. This is a good way of determining if any bad weather systems will hit your location in the next 3 hours. You have to pay to get this information for longer than a 3 hour period.
5. Chairlifts
One of the attractions of hiking in the Dolomites is that you can often use chairlifts to reach the higher alpine areas. This saves slogging up wooded mountains to reach open alpine areas with views. Hiking purists might not agree!
The lifts are expensive. For example a return ticket from Ortesei to Seceda costs Eur 39.50. We decided to buy a Val Gardena lift pass so we wouldn't have to think about the cost each time we wanted to hike.
Lift passes are also expensive, but it does work out cheaper if you hike every day. Val Gardena lift passes cost Eur 103 for 3 consecutive days or Eur 135 for 6 consecutive days. As the lift passes are for consecutive days you lose out if bad weather or sickness prevents use of chairlifts.
Another issue we had is that we were in Val Gardena for 5 days and lift passes can only be purchased for 3 days or 6 days. We ended up buying a 6 day pass as we figured it would be cheaper than buying a 3 day pass and then paying for individual lifts for the remaining 2 days. We were right!
The Val Gardena pass doesn't cover 6 lifts on the Alpe di Siusu. The Val Gardena website doesn't make this clear as it states that the pass covers all lifts in Val Gardena. On another page it states that the 6 lifts are excluded!
6. Maps
6.1. Free Tourist Office Map
You can obtain a free "Summer Hiking Map" from the Tourist Office. It is a useful topographical map which clearly shows forested areas. I try to avoid walking in forests as I prefer open views. It also shows all the summer lift routes including those not covered by the Val Gardena lift pass. There are details of suggested hikes on the reverse side.
It has a few drawbacks:
The major drawback is that north is at the bottom of the map so everything is upside down! So if you buy another map, which you should, it is very difficult to use both maps to plan a route.
The other drawbacks are that you need good eyesight to see some of the path numbers and not all the paths are shown.
We didn't hike any paths indicated as "difficult" on the map. We hiked paths indicated as "easy" or "moderately difficult". None of these paths were at all difficult.
6.2. Tabacco and Kompass Maps
I bought a 1:25,000 Tabacco map covering Val Gardena from the Tourist Office for Eur 7. It is a good map clearly showing the hiking paths and summer lifts. It was torn by the end of our 6 night stay in the Dolomites. It can also be bought from Amazon for GBP 12.99 and this map may be laminated.
The Kompass maps are also good and can be bought from Amazon for GBP 10.33.
I mainly used the Tabacco map when hiking as it was much easier to read and more detailed than the free map.
6.3. Chairlift Map
When we bought our lift passes we were given a map showing all the chairlifts covered by the pass. On the back it states the opening and closing times of each lift and the cost if you don't have a pass. It doesn't show the 6 chairlifts on the Alpe di Siusi that are excluded from the pass.
You can get lift maps at the main lift stations and probably from the tourist office. This map is also on the Val Gardena website.
7. Buses in Val Gardena
Virtually all accommodations in Val Gardena provide a free Val Gardena Mobil card that provides 7 days of free bus transport from the time it is first used. The bus times can be determined from the valgardena.it/en/ website.
The bus service is excellent and the buses run frequently. We didn't use our car at all for the 6 nights we were in Val Gardena. It was a welcome change after 3 months of driving around Europe!
You are meant to tap your card onto a machine when entering the buses but the machines were usually broken. It was only on the final day that we got on a bus that had a working machine!
The free buses for Val Gardena also include the bus that goes to Bolzano if you want to do some sightseeing. At Bolzano you can ride the historic Ritten railway for free with the Mobil Card.
8. Sassolungo Hikes
8.1. The 3 Main Hikes for Sassolungo
The hikes around Sassolungo are very popular as it is a spectacular mountain and the terrain isn't difficult. The paths are mainly out in the open so the views are excellent. As a result the trails are busy.
The 3 main hikes for Sassolongu are:
A full circuit around Sassolungo that takes about 6.5 hours.
A half circuit of Sassolungo. This involves taking the "Coffin" gondola up from Passo Sella up to Forcella del Sassolungo (2,685 metres) in the centre of the massif and hiking down the northern side. If you then hike back to Passo Sella around the eastern half of the mountain it will take about 5 hours.
A hike up to 2,958 metres on path 527 from the south east of Sassolungo. You can go down a different way to meet the path descending from the gondola station. There is a section at the top shown as being for expert hikers. I doubt that this trail would be busy.
8.2. Our Planned Hike around Sassalungo
I decided to do a variation of the half circuit but it turned out to be as long as the full circuit!
My plan was to:
Take a bus from Ortisei to St. Christina.
Take the chairlifts from St. Christina to Monte Pana and then from Monte Pane to Mont Seura.
Walk around the eastern section of Sassolungo on paths 526 and 526C to the "Coffin" gondola station at Passo Sella.
Take the "Coffin" gondola up to Forcella del Sassolungo (2685 metres).
Walk down on path 525 to the junction with paths 526 to the east and 527 to the west.
Walk on path 527 on the western side of Sassolungo until the junction with path 9A. It would probably be quicker to take the earlier turn off onto path 531A instead of path 9A.
Follow path 9A and then path 7A to the Florian chairlift. The Florian chairlift descends to Saltner and is not covered by the Val Gardena pass. It costs Eur 14.
Walk up path 9 to the Sonne to Alpe di Siusi chairlift. It saves a 20 minute uphill walk to the gondola that descends to Ortisei.
Take the gondola down to Ortisei.
8.3. Our Actual Hike around Sassolungo
We set off early and we were the first people on the St. Christina to Monte Pana chairlift when it opened at 08.30.
We then had the choice of either path 526 or 526A along the northern base of Sassolungo. We took the slightly lower 526 path as it looked a bit easier and walked eastward. Initially it descended in to forest but after a while it was very open and we enjoyed great views.
At one point two cows blocked the narrow path. In the UK cows can be dangerous so we were cautious and scrambled up the steep bank to get around them.
We followed paths 526 and 526C until we reached Passo Sella. Everyone was excited about going up in the "Coffin". The attendants were very helpful and friendly.
Two people can squeeze into the gondola. Each person is allocated a separate spot to stand in anticipation of having to individually jump into the gondola. They quickly lock the door and when you reach the upper station they unlock it. You quickly jump out one after the other. It is great fun and nothing to worry about at all.
There is a mountain hut at the top station which is at an altitude of 2,685 metres. There are very good views both to the north and south. It is then a steep descent down the rocky and barren mountainside. It took us just under 2 hours to descend but it can be done a lot faster. Walking sticks definitely make it a lot easier.
From there we turned westward onto path 527, rather than eastward for the half circuit hike. I was conscious that the Florian chairlift down to the Alpe di Suisi closed at 16.00 and time was running out. We rushed along path 527, and then path 9A, and reached the chairlift at 15.30.
The Florian chairlift took us down to Saltner on the Alpe di Siusi. From there it is at least a 1 hour uphill walk to the Sonne to Alpe di Siusi chairlift. That chairlift closes at 17.00 and I doubted we would get there in time. If we missed it, it meant a steep 20 minute walk up to the upper station for the gondola to Ortisei.
As we walked through Saltner I saw a bus stop with a lot of people waiting. It was going to Compaccio and some people told us that this was the gondola station. We were delighted as it would save a tiring walk. We had been walking for 6.5 hours.
The bus soon came and we paid the Eur 3 fare. Unfortunately, on the way, I could see that we were going to the wrong gondola station on the other side of the Alpe di Siusi plateau!
When we reached Compaccio we met a Norwegian couple who had made the same mistake. It seemed from Google that the best solution was to take a bus down from the Alpe di Siusi plateau. Luckily there was one leaving very shortly.
The bus fare was an exorbitant Eur 16 but we had no choice. The bus went part of the way to Ortisei and we then had to transfer onto another bus that was free. We reached Ortisei at around 18.00 which was 10 hours after we had set off.
We could have got back to Ortisei by 17.45 if we had continued walking from Saltner and taken the gondola down to Ortisei. It would have been possible for someone to do this hike faster and get back to Ortisei by 16.30 as:
We spent time watching the "coffin" at both ends.
We were slow descending from the Forcella del Sassolungu.
It would probably be quicker to take the earlier turn off onto path 531A instead of path 9A.
It was a fantastic hike and I highly recommend that you do a half or full circuit hike of Sassolungu. It was busy in sections but that didn't spoil the hike for us.
9. Resciesa Ridge Hike
A funicular takes you up 800m from Ortisei to the Resciesa ridge. In the summer time it opens at 08.30 and it runs every 15 minutes.
At the top there is an easy and scenic circular hike that takes about 3.5 to 4 hours. The route runs through high alpine countryside and there is very little increase in elevation. At the end of the hike you descend to the upper station of the Furnes to Ortisei gondola. If you want more exercise you can walk all the way down to Ortisei!
The first section of this walk is described on the reverse side of the free "Summer Hiking Map" that can be obtained from the tourist office. It is route number 9. As I stated earlier north is shown at the bottom of the map!
We went up the funicular at 09.00 as I thought that was the opening time. There weren't many people and it took 10 minutes to ascend to the upper station which is at an altitude of 2,093 metres.
It was cloudy at the top so initially I didn't take many photos. We walked westwards on path 35 to the small and simple Holy Cross Chapel and then on to the Crucifix at Resciesa di Fuori (2,281 metres). Initially the walk is through forest but it soon opens up.
There are meant to be fantastic views but unfortunately there was too much cloud around when we were there.
From the crucifix we followed path 31 eastwards along the upper part of the Resciesa ridge.
Path 31 eventually joined path 35 and we continued walking eastwards towards the Rifugio Brogles. On the ridge above Rifugio there was a sign saying it was closed for renovation so we didn't descend.
We had a picnic lunch on the ridge and there were fantastic views of Seceda. Luckily the weather had cleared and we could appreciate the views. Unfortunately there were too many cows and they disturbed our lunch.
From the 2,119 metre high ridge above the Rifugio Brogles, path 5 descends steeply through forest down to Ortisei. Half way down at Furnes (1,691 metres) we turned eastwards onto path 8. Very soon afterwards we reached the gondola station and took the gondola back to Ortisei.
It is an easy and scenic half day walk. We weren't tired so in the afternoon we took the gondola up to the Alpe di Siusu and did a short walk there.
10. Seceda Hikes
10.1. Introduction to Seceda Hikes
Seceda is a very beautiful area to hike in, but the area from the upper gondola station to the viewpoint (2518 m) is very popular and busy. The path from the viewpoint along the mountain edge and onto Refugio Pieralongia on path 2B is also very popular. As the path is narrow it is difficult to get past slower walkers.
I found this section to be very frustrating when we hiked in mid morning. The solution is to go early to avoid the casual walkers and sightseers. Then you will be able to fully enjoy the scenery on this fantastic part of Seceda.
10.2. Our Hike on Seceda
Hike number 6 on the Tourist Office's free "Summer Hiking Map" provides details of a 3 hour circular hike. It looks like a good hike. It could be shortened at the end by taking the Fermeda to Seceda chairlift back to the gondola station rather than hiking the 400 metres up.
Our hike on Seceda was a variation of hike 6. We followed the same route to the Refugio at Pieralongia. Quite a few hikers then descended on path 4A but we continued walking eastwards on path 2B.
About 15 minutes after passing Refugio Pieralongia there are 2 very distinctive triangular shaped rocks. It is a good spot to have your photo taken. We continued eastwards along the fairly quiet path 2B until it ended at a junction with Path 2-3
When we reached path 2-3 it was initially signposted as path 2. We turned right and descended northwestwards.
We had to descend a section of scree that had no path. Fortunately a hiker came the other way and we could see that we had to be on the left hand side of the scree.
Path 2-3 descended to Refugio Firenze (2,037 metres). From there we took Path 4 up to Col Raiser (2107m) and descended to St. Christina on the gondola. We took the free bus back to Ortesei
Instead of taking the gondola to St. Christina we could have walked a short distance to the Fermeda to Seceda chairlift. This would have taken us to the gondola station on the top of Seceda which in turn would have taken us down to Ortisei.
The hike took us about 3 hours and I highly recommend it.
11. Alpe di Siusi Hike
11.1. Introduction
The Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm in German) is the largest high altitude Alpine meadow in Europe. It has a spectacular setting, particularly the view towards Sassolungo.
There is some infrastructure on the plateau and there are roads and several chairlifts (not covered by the Val Gardena lift pass). There is even a bus service between Compaccio in the east and Saltner in the south. There isn't much change in elevation across the plateau so it is easy walking with fantastic open views.
A blogger mentioned that it was better to cycle on the Alpe di Siusi than walk as the views are very similar wherever you are on the plateau. The roads and paths are ideal for cycling. As we aren't cyclists we did a 2 to 3 hour walk and really enjoyed it.
There is a gondola from Ortisei to Alpe di Siusi. There are excellent views from the upper gondola station across the plateau to Sassolungo.
11.2. Our Hike on Alpe di Siusi
We did a slightly longer variation of hike number 3 on the reverse side of the Tourist Office's free "Summer Hiking Map".
From the Alpe di Siusi gondola station we walked westwards along path 6A. There are excellent views the entire way and initially the path is very level. The path eventually gently descends southwards to a short section of road (path 6) .
The road isn't busy but is the least enjoyable section of the walk. Fortunately it is a short section and we soon turned eastwards onto a wide track (Path 6B). There were no vehicles.
Path 6B would have taken us northwards back towards the gondola station. We continued eastwards by turning onto Path 19. We walked on path 19 until we reached the junction with path 9.
There is a bench as the junction of paths 19 and 9 and we sat there enjoying the views. Path 9 runs between Saltran to the south and the Alpe di Siusi gondola station to the north. We contemplated walking down to Saltran but we didn't think that the views warranted the effort.
Instead we walked northwards on Path 9 to the chairlift at Sonne.
Since we had a lift pass we took the short ride up the Sonne to Alpe di Siussi chairlift. This chairlift ascends to an area close to the upper station for the Alpe di Siussi to Ortisei gondola. It probably saved a 20 to 25 minute uphill walk.
12. Accommodation in Ortisei
Accommodation is expensive in the Dolomites. In the peak summer months of July and August it is necessary to book early.
We booked a reasonably priced 1 bedroom apartment in Ortisei for 6 nights and we were very happy with it. We booked it through Bookiply.com for Eur 111 per night. It can also be booked through Booking.com for a bit more. I reviewed the apartment on my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2" (number 16).