There’s no question that the Dolomites are most commonly traveled by car, but I’m here to tell you that it is absolutely possible to spend three or more days hiking in the beautiful Northern Italian mountain range with no car. The following is an itinerary for three days, and we even ensured that we experienced different views and types of trails each of the days with no problem whatsoever.
Now, there are two main towns people typically choose as their home base when hiking in the Italian Dolomites: Cortina and Ortisei. We spent the entire three days based out of Ortisei, a town in the South Tyrol province, so that is where this post will focus on.
We went in September, and I firmly believe September/October is the BEST time to go for hiking. The summers are crowded and very warm, but the crowds clear out by September, and the chillier weather is much nicer for full days of hiking in the sun.
A tradition of the South Tyrol region that dates back to the ancient days of the Roman Empire is hospitality, which you can see embodied by the many mountain refugios for wary travelers in the distinctive Tyrolean style with wooden balconies and overhanging roofs to keep the snow away. Every person we spoke to, every local working at the restaurants, museums, and trail heads were as friendly as can be.
HOW TO GET THERE
If you are flying in for this trip, you can fly into Venice, Milan, Verona, or Innsbruck, depending on which is cheaper honestly. From the city you land in, you will want to take the train to Bolzano or Val Gardena and the bus to Ortisei. Our bus from Val Gardena to San Antonio Square, which is the lovely central bus stop in Ortisei, took about thirty minutes and cost three euros. Be warned: this bus ride is not for the faint of heart. There are many, many hairpin turns, but the ride ultimately gets you excited for the days of hiking ahead because you get a taste of the breathtaking views.
Ortisei, or Urtijëi, is an adorable mountain town in the South Tyrol region of Italy with more personality than any town I have ever been in. There are about 4,600 inhabitants, all of whom speak Italian, Austrian/German, or Ladin, a Romance language similar to Swiss Romansh and Friulian. Usually they speak two or even three of those languages. The town’s main industries are tourism from hiking and skiing as well as woodworking.
We stayed in a lovely airbnb about two bus stops outside of the main downtown area of Ortisei, but there are numerous incredible hotels downtown as well. They are a bit pricey, so I would recommend an airbnb or consider staying in a mountain refugio if you are traveling on a budget! These are lovely hostel-like accommodations tucked away into the mountain peaks, often with restaurants attached for hikers to stop and get a bite or a beer. For many of the refugios, you reserve in advance and then pay in cash once you arrive.
We arrived in the morning, and as soon as we dropped our bags off we purchased the Gardena Card, which has a set price of 73€ for three consecutive days or 98€ for six consecutive days and gives you access to all of these lifts. I highly recommend doing this, because not taking the cable cars will seriously limit you. The best hikes are in the valleys and at the tops of the mountains near the peaks. Hiking to the tops of the mountains to get to these trails takes 3-4 hours and will be EXTREMELY steep. I, for one, was not in shape enough for this. You can also buy purchase one lift at a time, one way or round-trip. MAKE SURE YOU PAY ATTENTION TO WHEN THE LAST LIFTS BACK ARE. Sometimes they are quite early, and you don’t want to get stuck at the top!
DAY 1: SECEDA AND RESCIESA
As soon as we got our passes, we took the Furnes-Seceda cable car up to Seceda. The chairlift begins downtown Ortisei, and you can buy your passes there as well. Some of the people we were with hiked to the top rather than taking the cable cars, but as I mentioned previously, this takes around four hours and is EXTREMELY STEEP. Like almost ninety degrees. I attempted it one of the days and had to turn around, although I’m definitely not the model hiker. As soon as you get off the lift, your jaw can’t help but drop. Seceda might be the most breathtaking scene I saw the entire time I was there, just due to the sheer contrast of the rocky cliffs and the hills. We grabbed a quick bite at the cafe right where you exit the cable car, and then we spent about six hours doing the following hike, but honestly you can’t go wrong just wandering around on the paths. There is no shortage of incredible views, so wandering aimlessly is definitely a good option. It’s absolutely breathtaking.
Itinerary: Ortisei > Resciesa (Mountain station) > Brogles Hut > Panascharte > Seceda/Mastlé Hut > Ortisei
Walking time: 6 hours
Difficulty level: easy at “Brogles”; difficult through the “Panascharte”
Trail 35 will bring you to the mostly flat Innerraschötzer Hut in case you want to eat or grab a drink, although as I said there is a cafe right when you get off the cable car. After approximately 1.5 hours along this trail you will reach the Brogles followed by a steep slope called "Eur de Bredles" (path 6) over which you will get to the Panascharte. The walking time for this part of the trail is about 2 hours. Walk along the AMAZING Seceda (probably my favorite part- pictured on the left below), then downhill to Ortisei (path 6). This last part took about 2.5 hours. You can also take the cable car back down, which will cut this time drastically.
We got back downtown Ortisei around four, and I decided to just hop on the Resciesa funicular to check out the top of Alpe Resciesa. This funicular ride is built to almost look like a mountain rollercoaster and is absolutely stunning. It’s also included in the Gardena Card, so you might as well check it out if you purchased the three or six day passes! The funicular begins downtown Ortisei as well, probably a six minute walk from the Furnes-Seceda cable car and brings you towards the top Sella Massif, Marmolada, and Sassolungo. The hiking at the top of Alpe Resciesa is very lovely and more of a foresty vibe than the others we went on, although I didn’t wander too much. I was exhausted, so I simply wanted to check out the funicular itself and the restaurant at the top, Chalet Resciesa, which is a typical mountain restaurant perfect for a quick lunch or afternoon drink. I then came right back down! If you are interested in hiking Resciesa, the following is an itinerary for a 2 hour hike, although I did not do this myself!
Itinerary: Ortisei > Funicular Resciesa (Mountain station) > Außerraschötz > Funicular Resciesa (Mountain station) > Ortisei
Walking time: 2 hours (descent by funicular); 3.5 hours (descent on foot)
Difficulty level: easy
If you walk north-east from the mountain station once you get off the funicular, you will reach the “Costa di Cason”. Take trail 31 from the intersection to proceed towards Außerraschötz. Along this path, you will have a view of the lovely Puez-Geisler Nature Park. Follow path 1 and then 10 until you reach the summit cross. You can then descend down to the Heilig-Kreuz Chapel. Path 35 will take you back to the starting point from here. You may return to Ortisei on foot, which will take about 1.5 hours through the forest, or by funicular, which takes about fifteen minutes. I know I keep saying this, but you can’t go wrong with either!
DAY 2: ALPE DI SIUSI
The second day, we woke up early and took the cable car from downtown Ortisei to the Alpe di Suisi plateau. This day of hiking was probably my favorite full hike of all the days, as it was filled with lovely pastures, wildlife, and a backdrop of striking mountains in the distance. The views just change constantly as you walk around the valley. We did a panorama tour of Alpe di Suisi, which took about five and a half hours at a leisurely pace.
Itinerary: Ortisei > Funicular Alpe di Siusi (Mountain station) > Tirler > Goldknopf > Compatsch > Funicular Alpe di Siusi (Mountain station) > Ortisei
Walking time: 5.5 hours
Difficulty level: medium
The starting point of the hike is the mountain station of the Seiser Alm. Take a left when you exit the cable car and follow path no. 9 to the “Almgasthof Tirler.“ Then, continue along trail no. 8 in the direction of Goldknopf until you reach Compatsch (path 7). This hike takes about four hours. On the way back, you will pass Sanon and Monte Piz , and then you will get to the starting point. You will need about 1.5 hours for this last part to return back to the chairlift down to Ortisei!
DAY 3: SASSOLUNGO
For our final day of hiking, we hiked around the Sassolungo group of mountains. This was an amazingly different hike than the Alpe di Suisi and Seceda, as the scenery you will see on this hike is very rocky and mountainous rather than grassy plains or cliffs. It was just as beautiful, but very different, which is what we were going for. We really liked how the three days provided three very different types of hiking! The beginning of this hike is not accessible from downtown Ortisei like the other two, but we simply hopped on bus 350 from Piazza S. Antonio in Oritsei to Santa Cristina, which only took about ten minutes!
Itinerary: Santa Cristina > Monte Pana > Mont Sëura > Forcella Sassolungo > Passo Sella > Selva Gardena
Difficulty: medium
Total hiking time: 5.5 hours
From where you get off the bus in Santa Cristina (I’m pretty sure there’s only one stop in the town), it’s not even a five minute walk to the Monte Pana chairlift. We took this chairlift up to the mountain station of Monte Pana and hiked to Mont Sëura, which was extremely strenuous because you’re hiking up a ski slope. You can also take the chairlift to the top of Mont Sëura if you prefer. We didn’t use any specific hiking trail, because from what we could tell there was only one option at this point. From Mont Sëura, we walked around the Sassolungo at the foot of the mountain, which you should absolutely do if you are able. It’s stunning. We even saw a glacier….
You can also walk on a trail parallel to the mountain trail that isn’t as high up and provides the shade of the trees. We kept walking around the mountain, past the Passo Sella, and we ended up in Selva Gardena. In Selva Gardena there are some lovely bars for a refreshing beer and yummy dumplings that you have earned at this point, and you also have the option of taking the Telecabin Forcella del Sassolungo to the ABSOLUTE top of the Passo Sella. This cable car is so tiny- it only fits two people standing. They look like floating coffins (pictured on the right). It also takes about twenty minutes to get you to the top. Don’t be an idiot like me and undershoot it, making you miss your train that comes only every hour. This cable car is included in the pass as well! It’s really a lovely, unique view at the top (pictured in the middle). We then took a bus from the Rifugio Passo Sella bus stop to Ortisei, this one taking about thirty minutes.
As I said about a billion times, you can’t go wrong in the Dolomites. Don’t let the fact that you don’t have an international driver’s license or don’t want to pay the money to rent a car stop you from exploring this incredible region! These three days of hiking were absolutely perfect, and we could’ve done more, all from Ortisei. Make sure to eat all of the Tyrolean dumplings (Canederli) you can, and say hello to all of your fellow hikers!
JQ
