The Dolomites are the pale, steep-walled mountains of north-eastern Italy, spread mostly across South Tyrol, Trentino and the province of Belluno in the Veneto. Cable cars lift you to high meadows and viewpoints, roads cross passes between Val Gardena, Val Badia, Val di Fassa and the Val Pusteria, and a dense network of huts serves walkers in summer and skiers in winter.
Skiing at Cortina d'Ampezzo is on Italy's list, and Cortina belongs to the Veneto page. This page covers the rest: the lakes of Braies and Carezza, the loop around the Tre Cime, the lifts to Seceda and Sass Pordoi, the high pasture of the Alpe di Siusi, the Val di Funes under the Odle, the Sellaronda ski circuit, the Alta Via 1 hut route and Messner's museum on Plan de Corones.
Walk round Lago di Braies, with the access rules sorted
Lago di Braies, Valle di Braies
Half a dayBook ahead
A 1.2 km lake under a 2,810-metre rock wall, with a path all the way round the shore.
What it is
Lago di Braies, Pragser Wildsee in German, lies at 1,496 metres at the head of the Valle di Braies, a lake 1.2 km long and up to 36 metres deep under the rock wall of the Croda del Becco, 2,810 metres high. A path runs all the way round the shore, and the lake is also where the Alta Via 1 begins.
How to do it
Its fame brings traffic rules. From 1 July to 15 September 2026, between 9:00 and 16:00, the valley could be reached only by bus, on foot, by bike or with an online booking for parking or access, and seats on the 439 and 442 shuttle buses had to be booked and paid online; when they sell out, that is it for the day.
Good to know
Before 9:00, after 16:00 and outside those dates you can drive in and pay to park.
Time needed
Half a day
Best time
Before 9:00 or after 16:00 in July and August, or after 15 September
Three rock towers on a loop of three hours or more, with their vertical north faces in view from the Forcella Lavaredo.
What it is
The Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Drei Zinnen in German, are three rock towers on the border of South Tyrol and the Veneto, and the classic way to see them is the loop from Rifugio Auronzo, at about 2,320 metres.
How to do it
Walk past Rifugio Lavaredo to the Forcella Lavaredo, at 2,454 metres, where the vertical north faces come into view, go on to Rifugio Locatelli, then return by the Forcella di Mezzo: about 9.5 km and 400 metres of climbing, three hours or more of walking. The 6 km toll road up from Lago d'Antorno, near Misurina, reopened on 23 May 2026 and needs an online booking on the Auronzo site: €40 a car, €26 a motorbike for 12 hours. Without a car, take shuttle 444 from Dobbiaco (mid June to late September, booking required) or a Dolomitibus bus from Cortina or Auronzo.
Ride up to Seceda for the view along the Odle ridge
Seceda, Ortisei (Val Gardena)
Half a dayBook ahead
Green meadows that end abruptly at a row of sharp peaks, seen from about 2,500 metres after two lifts from Ortisei.
What it is
At Seceda, green meadows end abruptly at the edge of the Odle, the row of sharp peaks of the Puez-Odle nature park, seen from about 2,500 metres.
How to do it
From Ortisei in Val Gardena a gondola climbs to Furnes and a cable car continues to Seceda. In 2026 both lifts ran from 22 May to 2 November, from 8:30 to 17:00. A return from Ortisei costs €74 for adults and €49 one way; ages 8 to 15 pay €37 return, and children under 8 ride free with an adult. The Dolomiti Super Summer card is not valid on these lifts. Buy online in advance, because parking in Ortisei is limited.
Good to know
Come early, before clouds gather on the peaks, and bring a warm layer for the top. Keep to the marked paths across the meadows.
Gentle paths link dozens of huts across about 52 square kilometres of high pasture, for a long day of easy walking.
What it is
The Alpe di Siusi, Seiser Alm in German, is a high pasture of about 52 square kilometres between 1,680 and 2,350 metres, often called the largest in Europe, with the Sciliar to the south and the Sassolungo and Sassopiatto to the north-east. Gentle paths link dozens of huts, many serving food in season, so it suits a long day of easy walking.
How to do it
The road from Siusi is closed to private cars from 9:00 to 17:00, and from 29 June 2026 parking at Compatsch had to be booked online, at €30 a day per car. The simpler way up is the cable car from Siusi allo Sciliar: 4.4 km in about 15 minutes to Compatsch, at 1,825 metres, with free parking at the valley station.
Good to know
In 2026 the summer cable car ran from 21 May to 1 November; it then closes until early December, and while it is shut the road is open as far as Compatsch.
A small forest lake whose green and blue water mirrors the peaks on a still day, with a legend about a smashed rainbow.
What it is
Lago di Carezza, Karersee in German, is a small lake at 1,534 metres in the forest below the Latemar, about 25 km from Bolzano on the road to the Costalunga pass, and on a still day the peaks are reflected in its green and blue water. Its level changes through the year: fullest in late spring with the snowmelt, lowest in late October, when it is only about 6 metres deep. Legend says a sorcerer of the Latemar, spurned by the nymph Ondina, smashed a rainbow into the lake, which is why it shows every colour.
How to do it
The car park by the lake is paid; two free car parks, on Via Bellavista and at Paolina, are a 5 and a 20 minute walk away on path 6. Bus 180 runs from Bolzano.
Good to know
You may not go down to the shore, but a path circles the lake.
A chapel of 1744 with the Odle rising behind it, then a path laid out in 1905 below their north walls.
What it is
The Val di Funes, Villnöss in German, runs about 24 km east from the Isarco valley to the foot of the Odle, whose upper slopes belong to the Puez-Odle nature park. Above the village of Santa Maddalena stands the chapel of San Giovanni in Ranui, commissioned by Michael Jenner in 1744, with the peaks rising behind it.
How to do it
For the peaks up close, drive to the Malga Zannes car park, at 1,680 metres, and walk the Adolf Munkel path, number 35, laid out in 1905 below the north walls of the Odle. The loop out on trail 35 past the Geisleralm hut and back on trail 36 is about 9.1 km with 433 metres of climbing, under three hours of walking.
Good to know
San Giovanni in Ranui is privately owned: access is paid, the chapel itself stays closed, and the owners ask visitors to keep out of the meadows, so take the picture from the lane.
More than 700 metres up from the pass, a flat rock summit looks over a wide sweep of the Dolomites.
What it is
From Passo Pordoi, at 2,239 metres on the road between the Val di Fassa and Arabba, a cable car lifts you more than 700 metres to the top of Sass Pordoi, at 2,950 metres: a flat rock summit on the edge of the Sella group with a view over a wide sweep of the Dolomites.
How to do it
The Val di Fassa lift listing gives a season from 14 May to 1 November, from 9:00 to 17:00, and to 16:30 from 19 October, and a return fare of €32 for adults and €19 for juniors. Fit walkers in mountain boots can carry on past Forcella Pordoi to the Piz Boè, at 3,152 metres the highest summit of the Sella, about an hour each way on rocky ground from the top station.
Good to know
Bring warm clothes: it is often cold and windy at the top.
Sella massif (Val Gardena, Val Badia, Arabba, Val di Fassa)
A full ski day, about 6 hoursNo booking needed
About six hours on skis over four passes and through four valleys, circling a single massif on pistes and lifts.
What it is
The Sellaronda is a ski circuit around the Sella massif that links four valleys over four passes, Gardena, Campolongo, Pordoi and Sella, through Selva di Val Gardena, Corvara, Arabba and Canazei. It is about 44 km long, roughly 23 of them on pistes and the rest on lifts.
How to do it
You can ride it clockwise, following orange signs, or anticlockwise, following green ones; clockwise goes from Selva to Passo Gardena, Corvara, Passo Campolongo, Arabba, Passo Pordoi and back over Passo Sella. You need a Dolomiti Superski pass, since the loop crosses several ski areas. Start wherever you are staying: Selva, Corvara, Arabba and Canazei are all on the loop.
Good to know
Dolomiti Superski reckons on about six hours and advises setting off before 10:00 and reaching the last pass by 15:30, because the lifts close in the afternoon.
About 125 km from Lago di Braies to Belluno in 7 to 12 days, with huts lining the whole way.
What it is
The Alta Via 1 is the classic hut-to-hut route of the Dolomites, about 125 km south from Lago di Braies to Belluno, walked in 7 to 12 days. It climbs from the lake past the Croda del Becco to Rifugio Biella, crosses the Fanes high plateau, reaches its highest point at Lagazuoi, about 2,750 metres, and continues past the Nuvolau, Vazzoler and Pramperét huts before dropping to La Pissa, at 448 metres, near Belluno.
How to do it
Most stages are marked paths for fit walkers, but some are graded for experienced hikers and list via ferrata gear. Huts line the whole way; book well ahead for July and August, when they fill, and remember that Lagazuoi sleeps only 69.
Good to know
The season runs from about late June to mid September, when the huts are open.
Visit Messner's museum of mountaineering on Plan de Corones
Plan de Corones (Kronplatz)
2 to 3 hours with the liftsNo booking needed
On a summit with no road, a Zaha Hadid building mostly sunk into the mountain tells the story of traditional mountaineering.
What it is
On the summit of Plan de Corones, Kronplatz in German, at 2,275 metres, one of Reinhold Messner's six mountain museums sits inside a building by Zaha Hadid that is mostly sunk into the mountain. Its subject is traditional mountaineering: its history, its equipment and the climbers who changed it, told by the man who first climbed all fourteen 8,000-metre peaks.
How to do it
No road goes to the top: take a cable car up from the Brunico, Valdaora or San Vigilio side, or walk, about four hours from San Vigilio. Tickets cost €14, €12 for students up to 28 and over-65s, and €6 for ages 6 to 18.
Good to know
In 2026 the summer season runs from 16 May to 8 November and the winter one from 28 November to 11 April 2027, daily from 10:00 to 16:00, last entry 15:30, in step with the lifts.
Time needed
2 to 3 hours with the lifts
Best time
A clear day, mid May to early November or in the ski season
Trains on the Brenner line from Verona reach Bolzano and Bressanone, and the Val Pusteria line continues to Brunico and Dobbiaco; from there buses climb into the valleys. Ortisei and Val Gardena are reached by bus from Bolzano, Dobbiaco is the gateway for Braies and the Tre Cime, and Canazei for Sass Pordoi.
Getting around
Buses and lifts cover most valleys, but several famous spots now cap cars in summer. Lago di Braies needed booked access from 1 July to 15 September 2026 between 9:00 and 16:00, the Tre Cime toll road must be booked online, and the Alpe di Siusi road is closed to private cars from 9:00 to 17:00. Book the shuttle or the parking before you drive.
Where to base yourself
Pick one valley and make day trips: Val Gardena, around Ortisei and Selva, for Seceda and the Alpe di Siusi; the Alta Pusteria, around Dobbiaco, for Braies and the Tre Cime; Val di Fassa or Val Badia for Sass Pordoi, the Sella passes and the Sellaronda. Bolzano works for Carezza and the Val di Funes.
When to go
The summer lifts run from mid or late May to about 1 November and most huts open from June to September, so walk the high routes from late June to mid September. Snow can fall at altitude in any month. In winter the Dolomiti Superski pass covers the ski areas, including the whole Sellaronda.
Questions travellers ask
Do you need to book Lago di Braies?
In high summer, yes. From 1 July to 15 September 2026, between 9:00 and 16:00, the valley could be reached only by bus, on foot, by bike or with an online booking for parking or access, and the 439 and 442 shuttles had to be booked and paid online too. Outside those hours and dates you can drive in and pay for parking.
How do you get to the Tre Cime without a car?
Take bus 444 from Dobbiaco or Cortina to Rifugio Auronzo, booked and paid online before the trip. By car, the toll road from Lago d'Antorno must be booked on the Auronzo town site: €40 for a car and €26 for a motorbike in 2026. Starting on foot from Lago d'Antorno avoids the toll but adds about 500 metres of climbing.
Seceda or the Alpe di Siusi?
Different days. Seceda is a cable car ride to a viewpoint at about 2,500 metres over the jagged Odle ridge, €74 return from Ortisei. The Alpe di Siusi is a 52 square kilometre high pasture with gentle paths between huts, reached by the cable car from Siusi. With two days, do both: they are on opposite sides of Val Gardena.
Can you visit the Dolomites in October?
Yes, until the lifts close around 1 November: in 2026 the Seceda lifts run until 2 November, and Sass Pordoi and the Alpe di Siusi cable car until 1 November. Most huts close after September, days are short and the first snow can arrive, so keep to lower walks and check each lift before you go.
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