We just got back after our brief shenanigans in the Northern Italy and must admit that we cannot still get the visuals of the towering mountains out of our heads. When we were planning the trip to Dolomites, we knew we were going to have a helluva time trying the sport of climbing via ferratas. But what we were not prepared for is the scale of these mountains and how they are spread across the entire north in so many mountain groups. Of course the two weeks we set aside were just not enough to explore the grandiose of dolomites.
Every single day we spent in the dolomites was beautiful and all kinds of pretty. We say this despite having many of those days when it was cloudy, grey and wet. We still loved it. From arriving by a train to Bolzano, hopping on to the bus that brought to the foot of the dolomites to our return ride back home, it was wild and exciting. The first sight of the soaring peaks of the dolomites grabbed our hearts in a flash and the magic continued on. So, we thought we should share pictures from the trip and let you sample some of the dolomite goodness, at least in the visual form.
The mountain roads that took us to the dolomites in the Tre Cime national park.
This was one of our first views of the Cristallo range as we got off the bus we took from the valley to get to Auronzo hut.
Dolomites are named after the mineral which make most of these mountains. They are a pale grey and yellow but turn into splendid pink at sundown. Here is one of the peaks glowing in the afternoon sun.
Dolomites were a key during the world war and troops from Austria and Italy were battling each other in impossible situations braving the challenging mountain terrains. Lot of tunnels, turrets, iron cables were put in place to ease the movement of the soldiers. The dolomites are still riddled with such tunnels and we explored a handful of them. This is a view from one such tunnel towards the Tre cime Lavaredo.
All the mountains, towns, villages, inns here have two names(Italian and German) attributing to the fact how this area exchanged hands from being part of Austria before war and then Italy. There was some great light on our day of climbing to Mt Patterno.
Hiking in the Dolomites means having the luxury and warmth of mountain huts after a day of sweating it on the trails. This hiking trail took us to the Lavaredo hut, which is to the right here.
The Principe hut in Rosengarten mountains in dolomites boldly situated at the top of a windy pass saddled between peaks. It was a real struggle getting sleep in this hut that night with howling winds outside.
The high altitude cobalt blue lake Antermoia sits in a remote valley breaking the monotone of the stones and scree.
The sublime experience of having this mountain top all to ourselves and watching the evening light painting the passing clouds over passo principe.
Lake Misurina in the forest clad valley surrounded by the green and rolling mountains.
From the town of Sexten the Fischliental valley is a gateway to the impressive peaks of the Cadini group. There was fog rolling in as we got to this place and it soon started raining. Though we were bummed by the weather thwarting our hiking plans, it was a good break to spend some time idylling here.
We spent a night at the Lavaredo hut that had wild peaks like these filling up the horizon.
The dolomites usually rise straight from the rolling meadows. The most impressive of them can be found at Rosengarten. Here the scale of mountains is huge, the peaks are sharp and the mountain faces assume an impressive red in the sunset glow.
The spires of Rosengarten were the most challenging to navigate and here you can see us floundering one such tough section.
After a day of heavy winds and murky clouds the sun finally broke in the evening and we quickly hiked to the top of the an adjacent mountain for this view over the spires of Rosengarten catinaccio mountain range.
The meadows that took us back to the Val di Fassa after spending few days hiking and climbing in the Rosengarten range.
The views over Sella gruppe seen from Rosengarten range.
The sella group of mountains are characteristically different from the remainder of the dolomites. Sella is one huge flat block of mountain surrounded by flat topped mountains famed as Sella towers. These mountains also have a great advantage location wise , the views from top extend towards Langkofel range, Rosengarten , Marmolada.
While the top of Sella looks almost flat there are a lot of these canyons that run deep into the walls. This hut reachable by a rewarding hike sits on the edge among the rocks and the moraine rib.
The ridges of one of the famed Sella towers.
Val Gardena is a skiing paradise with over hundreds of ski runs and in the summer is a hikers paradise with trails shooting off in every direction. One can spend months walking, hiking or climbing the airy via Ferratas here.
Peak of Marmolada from val di udai, you can see how the north face is a gently rising slope and the south face is just a vertical wall ending abruptly.
The north face of Marmaloda has the largest glacier in the dolomites. This was how it looked like from one of the hiking trails on the Sella mountain.
Most of the dolomites are well connected by mountain roads that go over high passes and tightly cling to mountain sides. Infact, biking is one of the favorite ways to explore around.
The three sisters of Tre Cime Lavaredo national park emerging from the scree are the most prominent rock formations in the dolomites, also a UNESCO heritage site. The sheer faces, the narrow gullies formed from years of erosion draw lot of climbing enthusiasts to scale them. An easy hike circuits the Tre cime and is a great way to appreciate this stunning beauty as well as the vast surrounding ranges.
The pinnacles soaring above the valley resemble massive stone spears. We must admit even the abandoned barns are pretty in this area.
We spent hours studying the majestic peaks and the orange walls in this glaciated valley full of moraine rocks and precipices.
A cable car from Passo Pordoi gets trekkers to the Sella group of mountains, a lot of trails branch off that greet with excellent panoramic views. This one is looking towards the Langkofel range.
We had to show you these mountain goats grazing and plodding the slopes of Val di Fassa.
Mountains dominate most of the Norther part of Italy but there are many beautiful towns that double to ski havens in winter. The town of Canazei in Val di Fassa was our favorite. It has stunning views of the Marmolada and the town center was filled with lot of lively restaurants and boutique shops to drain our evenings in.
The town of Canazei has great view of Marmolada. Here is the peak of Marmolada turning a splendid orange at sunset.
Another town we found beautiful was Kastelruth. Its dominated by a beautiful church in the center and this is how evenings look like with the Langkofel mountains commanding the skyline.
This was a little roundup of our big backpacking adventure in the dolomites. We saw incredible sights, climbed via ferratas, navigated some challenging terrains, stayed at pretty mountain huts, braved bad weather and feasted on south Tyrolean food. This trip was filled with adventure, loads of memories and travel stories which we will right in greater detail soon.
Let us know if this inspires you to go to the dolomites or if you have already been there.
I couldn’t resist commenting. So well written, love the shot of the three mountain peaks!
Wow, I must say the images attract the visitors attention. I also like the beauty of nature and very excited for it. I hope I will spend a great time here.