So we landed up in the small but picturesque town of Bolzano in Northern Italy, in the heart of the Dolomite mountain range (or Dolomiti as it’s known in Italy). The town is the capital of the South Tyrol region. It’s known for its outdoor activities like hiking and cycling in the summers and skiing in the winters.
We had 2 days to spend here and we decided to spend one day on our own, hiking to the well known Seceda mountain. We took the bus from Bolzano to Ortisei, from where we were supposed to take the cable car. Unfortunately the cable car upto Seceda was closed on that day. So instead we took the cable car upto Mont Seus.
Mont Seus turned out to be absolutely spectacular !! You can go for trek to the valley below from here, or simply chill in the restaurant at the cable car station at the top, with views to die for. There are even mountain huts in the valley where you can trek and spend the night.
After descending, we chilled out in Ortisei town for a while. It’s a very pretty little town with everything that you can need for a holiday or for an adventurous break.
Upon returning back to Bolzano in the evening, we decided that it would be wiser to spend our last day in the Dolomites with a professional & experienced guide, who could help us cover a lot more ground around South Tyrol region rather than us roaming around aimlessly.
So we went to Basecamp Dolomites, who have a shop on the railway station itself. They provide several services including guided tours, bikes on rent, equipment rental, luggage deposit etc. We met Lukas, who owns the place and he agreed to take us on a driving tour the next day, which would cover nearly 300 kms. We would also hike around a beautiful lake and drive to some of the highest passes in the area.
Our route for the day was planned as such:
As planned, Lucas picked us in his nice Citroen 7-seater car from outside Bolzano Hauptbahnhof at 8am and we were off. Our first stop for the day was at the beautiful Lago Di Braies lake. It’s a very popular tourist spot, especially after it’s been featured in a popular Italian TV series. So if you want to enjoy this place, get there early morning. We got there by 09:30 am and it wasn’t too crowded.
The hike around the lake is about 4 kms. long and can be easily completed in approx. 90 minutes. You can do it either clockwise or vice-versa. Some pictures we took during the hike.
You can also rent boats for rowing on the lake. But be aware that if are late to get in line, say around noon or later, then the wait for boats can be quite long. So get there early to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the lake, or to get the boats without waiting in queue. As they say.. early bird gets the worm.
After finishing our hike, we skipped getting a coffee here as the cafe was already very crowded and instead we decided to head to a nearby village, a short drive away. It gave us a chance to see a quaint little Dolomiti village as well, and we enjoyed our espressos away from the crowds in a picture perfect village, surrounded by cathedrals and village homes.
Next, we headed towards Lake Auronzo di Cadore, but enroute we stopped at a great lookout point for the Three Peaks. The Three Peaks are a UNESCO World Heritage site and are a popular trekking destination too.
Next we drove to the Auronzo di Cadore lake, which is not as large as Lago di Braies, but is breathtaking nevertheless. Some pictures from the lake:
Moving on, we drove to the Misurina lake, which is a much bigger and popular lake. There are many hotels around this lake and it was crowded with many cars and bikers. Seems to be a very popular area for hiking or just hanging around in the summers. It is also believed that the air around the lake is good for treating respiratory disorders such as asthma.
By now it was mid-afternoon and we were quite hungry. So we stopped for lunch in a quaint little restaurant in the Cortina d’Ampezzo town. Very nice staff and excellent food.
After a hearty meal and a few beers, it was time to move onto some high passes, as we made our way back towards Bolzano.
The first pass that we wound our way onto was Passo Falzarego at 2,117m.
From here we went to ‘Castello di Andraz’, which is a just a few minutes drive from Passo Falzarego. It’s a very old castle, which seems to grow out of the ground. Very beautiful landscape all around and there is also a natural spring close by from which you can drink water 🙂
You can buy tickets to visit the castle and take audio tours inside. We decided to walk around outside to enjoy the scenery and leave in 10-15 minutes as we had a lot of distance to cover.
From here we headed to Passo Pordoi, which is located at 2,239m. By now the weather was turning mean and it was dark and really starting to pour down. The nice sunshine we had enjoyed since morning was all but gone. We could even see the last remains of snow at the top of the pass.
From here, it was onto Passo Sella. Located at 2,218 m, Passo Sella is one of the highest & most picturesque mountain passes between the provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol in Italy. With the weather becoming worse, it was cold and dark by the time we got to the pass, but we couldn’t help ourselves from stopping and taking a few pictures along the way 🙂
We drove back from Passo Sella to Bolzano with heavy hearts knowing that the awesome day was coming to an end, and with that our time in the amazing Dolomiti mountains and South Tyrol region as well. But we know for sure that we will be coming back to this amazing place, cause we haven’t even scratched the surface of this less explored and beautiful region in our brief time spent exploring the Dolomite mountains and South Tyrol region.
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