The Dolomites are some of Italy’s most picturesque and imposing mountains, a curated wilderness that one can explore by hiking through well-marked trails and sleeping overnight at mountain huts (“rifugios” in Italian). They are a UNESCO site since 2009 and their beauty is breathtaking. We had been meaning to hike through them for some time, and finally we did!

Planning

Planning the trip took some work as several different details needed to be arranged: transportation, booking mountain huts, crafting the right route through several possible trails. We initially wanted to do Alta Via 1, a classic multi-day hiking route that crosses through some of the Dolomites’ most famous peaks: Tofana di Rozes, Pelmo and Civetta. Alta Via 1 starts north near Dobbiaco at Lago di Braies and goes south to Dolomiti Bellunesi. Depending on your pace, it should take 10 days to complete it.

One of the drawbacks of Alta Via 1 is that it does not go through Tre Cime di Lavaredo, admittedly one of the Dolomites’ most iconic spots. Since we had limited time, we settled on a shorter, 7-day itinerary that would cover Tre Cime. We created a multi-day loop that would intersect most of the mountains around Cortina D’Ampezzo: Tofane, the already mentioned Tre Cime di Laverdo, Cadini di Misurina and Sorapis. We missed a few mountains, especially Cristallo, but there was no way around that.

To plan the itinerary, we used the Tabacco Map 03: Cortina d’Ampezzo e Dolomiti Ampezzane. It is available on Amazon for USD 20. The Tabacco maps are in scale 1:25,000. With no doubt, they are the most reliable and detailed hiking maps for the Dolomites.

Itinerary

We settled on the following itinerary:

Day 0: Reach Venice Mestre. Dinner in Venice and overnight in Venice Mestre.

Day 1: Bus from Venice Mestre to Cortina and Passo Falzarego. Overnight at Rifugio Lagazuoi.

Day 2: Hike from Lagazuoi to Malga ra Stua (about 8hrs). Lunch at Utia de Gran Fanes. Overnight at Malga Ra Stua. Highlights: Forcella del Lago, Gran Fanes, Lago di Limo.

Day 3: Hike from Malga ra Stua to Carbonin (3hrs – rest day!). Overnight at Hotel Croda Rossa.

Day 4: Hike from Carbonin to Rifugio Auronzo (about 6hrs). Highlight: Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Lunch at Rifugio Locatelli and overnight at Rifugio Auronzo.

Day 5*: Hike from Rifugio Auronzo to Passo Tre Croci (about 8hrs). Overnight at Hotel Passo Tre Croci. Highlight: sentiero Bonacossa through the Cadini di Misurina.

Day 6*: Bus from Passo Tre Croci to Cortina and then hike to Rifugio Giussani, below Tofana di Rozes. Meeting with our guide for a hike the next day. Overnight stay at Rifugio Giussani.

Day 7*: Hike the Cengia Paolina (12 hrs). Overnight stay in Cortina at Hotel Pontechiesa.

Day 8: Bus from Cortina back to Venice Mestre. Train to Verona. Overnight stay in Verona. Highlight: Opera at the Arena.

Our actual itinerary turned out to be slightly different for days 5, 6 and 7 marked by an asterisk. We had to cancel the Cengia Paolina hike because one of us suffered back pain, and we did not want to overexert ourselves. So the itinerary on these three days changed to the following:

Day 5: Hike from Rifugio Auronzo to Passo Tre Croci. Overnight at Hotel Passo Tre Croci. Highlight: sentiero Bonacossa (only the northern half; 4hrs) through the Cadini di Misurina.

Day 6: Bus from from Passo Tre Croci to Misurina and then hike sentiero Bonacossa (only the southern half; 4hrs). Lunch at Rifugio Fonda Savio. Bus back to Passo Tre Croci. Second overnight stay at Hotel Passo Tre Croci.

Day 7: Early morning hike from Passo Tre Croci to Sorapis Lake (4hrs). Bus back to Cortina. Overnight stay in Cortina at Hotel Pontechiesa.

Day 0: Venice Mestre

Venice Mestre is a suburb of Venice, less touristy and more affordable, but with little to see. So we took the street car from the city center of Venice Mestre into Venice proper. The street car runs frequently. The trip takes about 30 minutes and costs a few euros. Once in Venice, we walked around a bit, hitting the touristy spots such as Ponte di Rialto and Piazza San Marco. We occasionally took alternative routes via secondary allies. As soon as one steps away from the beaten path, Venice’s narrow allies become silent, calm and almost deserted.

We were worried about finding a good place to eat dinner in a city overrun by tourists. We first checked out the popular and highly rated Osteria La Zucca, but it was fully booked for the evening. We then found another place, Osteria al Ponte Storto, located –as the name suggests– next to a crooked bridge (“ponte storto” in Italian). We had a lovely dinner, overlooking a narrow canal and, indeed, the crooked bridge. The food was simple, but excellent.

Day 1: Cortina to Lagazuoi

The next morning we took a Cortina Express bus from Venice Mestre to Cortina d’Ampezzo, and then another Dolomiti bus to Passo Falzarego. We stayed overnight at Rifugio Lagazuoi. Since we had a lot of hiking in the days ahead, we went the lazy way and took the cablecar from Passo Falzarego to Rifugio Lagazuoi. On a clear day, the view from the top is expansive, allowing one to see several mountains in the Dolomites, Pelmo, Civetta, Marmolada, Sorapis, and more.

Rifugio Lagazuoi was busy but orderly run. The atmosphere was not touristy or commercial at all. We booked a room with two beds and a balcony, breakfast and dinner included. We spent about 200 Euros — not cheap! — but surely worth it. The food at dinner was very good. We could taste some Northern Italian specialties: polenta with fried cheese and mushroom and beef cheek with a green sauce. We had three choices of a first course and three choices of a second course, along with a desert. All things considered, Lagazuoi was one of the best accommodations we stayed at during our trip in the Dolomites. They even have a sauna!

Before dinner — served at 7PM sharp! — we explored the trails around. The most interesting trail comprises a system of trenches and tunnels dug up by the Italian military during WW1. It is surprising to think that the peaceful, silent mountains around us were once the theater of a violent war between the Austrians and the Italians.

Day 2: Lagazuoi to Malga ra Stua

We got up bright and early. We had planned a long hike, all the way to Malga Ra Stua, roughly 8 hours away. Unfortunately, right before leaving, one of us suddenly felt a sharp pain in the lower back. This was a stroke of bad luck, but we decided to march on. The beauty of the Dolomites and some extra care during hiking would do the trick. Right after a 6:30 AM breakfast, we were on the trail, almost completely alone. We put on our jackets and gloves as it was a windy and cold, but fortunately no rain was in sight.

Immersed in a rocky, almost lunar landscape all around, we started hiking downhill, first along trail 401 towards Forcella Lagazuoi and then along trail 20 and 20B towards Forcella del Lago (or Forcela dl Lech). We then arrived at a junction: trail 20 went sharply downhill to Rifugio Scotoni, while 20B ascended steeply to a narrow saddle, Forcella del Lago. After stretching out by the lake, we took 20B toward Forcella del Lago. The ascent was demanding but the trail was easy to follow and well-marked.

Once at Forcella del Lago, we took in the views and then gently descended towards Grand Fanes intersecting trail 11, a mostly flat unpaved road amidst green pastures. We had lunch at Utia de Gran Fanes. It was about 1 PM when we were ready to continue our journey, hoping to reach Malga Ra Stua by 5 PM. Little did we know what was to come…

We soon reached Lago di Limo along trail 11 and then turned right onto trail 418 towards Col Bechei. The first part of the trail was steep, but otherwise easy and well-marked. Looking back, we could see a magnificent amphitheater of mountains in the Fanes-Sennes group. Their smooth grey surfaces were somewhat reminiscent of those in Yosemite, California.

After about 2 and 1/2 hours of ascent, we encountered a junction: the trail to the left went up to Col Bechei, a clearly well-marked trail, while 418 traversed the southern side of Col Bechei in the direction of Malga Ra Stua where we had to go. Unfortunately, the trail marks on 418 suddenly disappeared and we soon saw a sign that the trail was closed, dangerous and impassable.

This was the lowest point of the day. It was almost 4PM. We had a decision to make: dare to continue on an impassable and dangerous trail, or retrace our steps and take an alternative, much longer trail to Malga Ra Stua. What were we to do? Was the sign that the trail was impassable and dangerous just a warning for inexperienced hikers?

We decided to play it safe. One of us had a bad back and we preferred not to make things worse. We retraced our steps and went back down to Lago di Limo where we started a few hours earlier. It was now 5 PM. We then took trail 10 along the peaceful Val di Fanes. It was an easy unpaved road, often flat and sometimes downhill.

Time was going by rapidly, and the trail felt interminably long. The moral was low, and we started to get worried it would still take several hours to reach our destination for the night. We reached an area with scenic gorges and waterfalls: Fanes waterfalls. It was an awe-inspiring place. If only we were not in a rush…

Close to the end of trail 10, we turned left onto trail 6 following the directions for Malga Ra Stua. It was about 7 PM. We were both exhausted by the long day, our heavy backpacks pressing on our shoulders. But we marched on. Trail 6 soon turned into an uphill climb in the forest.

We went wondering where Malga Ra Stua could possibly be. All we could see was the very steep side of a mountain covered with trees. We could not believe we had to hike all the way up! In the end, we made it. Before sunset at about 9PM — after hiking for 13 hours — we reached Malga Ra Stua.

The owners, Vittorio and his wife, were kind enough to give us a plate of cold-cuts, local breads and cheeses, which we devoured. They also served us two excellent deserts, an apple strudel and a sachertorte, both with whipped creamed. Unfortunately, the kitchen closed at 9 PM, so we could not enjoy the local specialties!

The room was very well-kept and charming, with wooden beans in the ceiling. It also had a private bathroom. After our adventure, we welcomed a bit of luxury! We paid 150 Euros in total, dinner and breakfast included.

Day 3: Malga ra Stua to Carbonin

The next day was meant to be slow and relaxing. And so it was! Since the back pain was still there, we decided to give up on the challenging hike of Cengia Paolina which we had planned for the last day. With sadness, we wrote to our guide and cancelled the trip planned for Day 7.

We hiked along trail 8 toward Passo Cimabanche. The trail first ascended gently to Forcella Lerosa and then descended toward road SS 51 coming from Cortina. We met an older couple on the way, trekking uphill. They were not the most athletic of hikers. They asked us how long it would take to reach the top, Forcella Lerosa. We responded we thought it would take them still an hour. Which discouraged them a great deal, especially the woman. We tried to be encouraging and after chatting with them a bit we parted ways. But, as we kept walking downhill, we were surprised at how much they had hiked uphills.

After a long way downhill, we finally reached the road. We were back into civilization, greeted by a busy parking lot and the unpleasant noise of cars roaming one after the other. We walked on an unpaved path along the road, partly shielded from the car noise, and then we reached Passo Cimabanche. There we found a busy restaurant, popular with bikers. We stopped for lunch. We were going to take it easy today!

After lunch, we walked on a bike trail along the road. After an hour, we reached our accommodation for the night, Hotel Croda Rossa in Carbonin.

Hotel Croda Rossa has nothing interesting except the location. It is not family-run and it shows. Rooms were renovated –that is, they were patched up with little care or taste. Plasticized furniture abounded. Perhaps as a statement piece, the interior designer put a public-bathroom style soap dispenser in the bathroom. Go figure. Dinner was no better, with dishes that were either bland or excessively salty. The choice of dishes they served was also peculiar. Who would want to eat (a terribly prepared) pasta alla Amatriciana in the Dolomites?

So, if you can avoid Hotel Croda Rossa, please do! It is a clean hotel, to be honest, but nothing remarkable beyond that. A better choice is Hotel Hohe Gaisl in Prato Piazza. One of us stayed at this hotel on another trip a few years ago, but it was fully booked this time. It has a swimming pool and the restaurant is excellent. Curiously, both hotels bear the name of the same mountain, the imposing Croda Rossa (in Italian) or Hohe Gaisl (in German). So the two hotels have essentially the same name, but in different languages. This time German beats Italian no doubt.

Day 4: Carbonin to Rifugio Auronzo

After a relaxing day, we were ready for a challenging hike. Today we would see Tre Cime di Lavaredo! We started early. At 8 AM we were on the trail. We first walked on a bike path next to SS 51 along Lago di Landro, and then turned right onto trail 102 toward Rifugio Locatelli. The trail started as an unpaved road, mostly flat, along Valle della Rienza. The sounds of the water flowing accompanied us for a while. Then, the trail climbed steeply through several switchbacks.

At the end of the steep climb, we were rewarded with undulating green pastures and the towering Tre Cime di Lavaredo on the right. In our opinion, trail 102 from Carbonin affords one of the best and most dramatic encounters with Tre Cime. Most hikers instead walk the popular Tre Cime loop from Rifugio Auronzo, then Rifugio Locatelli and then back to Auronzo, along trails 101 and 105. It is a highly trafficked route, immersed in an admittedly stunning setting. We continued hiking against the crowds along trail 102 toward Rifugio Locatelli. Near Rifugio Locatelli, we were overwhelmed by hoards of loud tourists, enough to ruin even the most stunning scenery.

We had a quick snack at Rifugio Locatelli. Dishes on other tables looked appetizing, but because of an extensive menu and an unhelpful sever, we ordered nothing memorable.

We then hiked along trail 101 toward Rifugio Auronzo, located on the other side of Tre Cime. This was our destination for the night. We reached early, about 3 PM, so we had time to relax, walk around and take in the views.

Rifugio Auronzo has been recently renovated. It is efficiently run, but feel less welcoming, charming and cosy than Lagazuoi or Malga Ra Stua. They do serve good, solid, mountain food, but nothing to rave about, at least by Italian standards.

We did not have a settled plan yet for the next day. We wanted to hike Cadini di Misurina along trail 117, known as sentiero Bonacossa. But we were a bit hesitant. From the descriptions on-line, it was not a proper, full-blooded via ferrata, but had several aided sections with metal cords and stairs. It required some basic climbing skills, along several exposed sections. When we asked for advice, the owner of Rifugio Auronzo was reticent in making recommendations as he did not want to share in any responsibility.

The weather forecast indicated there would be rain in the afternoon on the next day. At our own risk, we decided to hike half of sentiero Bonacossa, from Rifugio Auronzo to Forcella Rinbianco, and then hike down to Misurina along trail 119 and reach by bus our hotel at Passo Tre Croci.

Day 5: Auronzo to Passo Tre Croci

We started early. At 7:30AM we were on the trail facing the imposing, tall and thin Cadini di Misurina, leaving Tre Cime behind . We were scared but excited about hiking sentiero Bonacossa. We soon reached an exposed section with cables on the right for added security.

Suddenly, a woman comes back, visibly agitated. She said, in English, but with a French accent: “This is too much for me. I cannot believe this. The trail ahead is like this, narrow, with a sheer drop, and no cables. There is no room to put your feet. For me, this is unthinkable. I do these things all the time. I am not scared. But this is unthinkable.”

We were shaken. The woman did not seem an inexperienced hiker. Did we hit another, dangerous and impassable trail? We took down our backpacks, and one of us went ahead to see what the trail was like. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary: the trail was narrow along a vertical cliff, but nothing looked impossible to traverse. Two other hikers went by and did not seem to find anything wrong with the trail. So we gathered some courage and marched on.

We are so glad we did!

Sentiero Bonacossa 117 from Auronzo to Forcella Rinbianco turned out to be — in retrospect — fun and exhilarating. It has several exposed sections. From a distance, it might seem you are going to walk on the edge of a cliff — and actually you do! — but when you are in it, things look less scary. The trail is well-maintained and the most difficult sections are aided by cables and ladders. We hiked the trail with no ferrata equipment, just a pair of gloves with good grip to hold on to the cables. The most difficult part is a vertical wall, often wet. The wall is not exposed and aided with cables and metal holds in the rock. A good workout.

The views all around were nothing short of extraordinary. With few people on the trail, we had plenty of peace and silence.

When we reached Forcella Rinbianco, we took trail 119 down to Pedaggio where the tool road to Tre Cime begins. We then hiked along a trail next to the road, enjoyed a sandwich along Lago d’Antorno and made our way to Lago di Misurina. Since we had to wait more than an hour for the Dolomiti bus to Passo Tre Croci, we decided to walk. This was probably a mistake. We first walked along the road SS 48, and then along a bike path, also marked as trail 222. It was long and exhausting. We then got back to the road where the river Rudavoi crosses it. After that, it was an easy half hour uphill on the road to Passo Tre Croci.

In the end, it did not rain. We could have probably hiked the entire sentiero Bonacossa that day. So we felt a sense of regret and lack of closure…

That night we stayed at Hotel Pass Tre Croci, a wanna-be stylish hotel, recently renovated by the commercial hotel chain B&B. Our room was spacious and had a nice mountain view over Monte Cristallo. But both dinner and breakfast were chaotically organized. The cooks must have still be learning their craft as the dishes seemed those of amateurs: the pesto sauce was runny; the panna cotta was awkwardly fluffy and tasteless.

Despite all that, we decided to stay an extra night because we wanted to go back to sentiero Bonacossa and complete the second half we did not cover.

Day 6: Passo Tre Croci to Passo Tre Croci

Since we were at Passo Tre Croci, we had to go back to Misurina to reach the trailhead for sentiero Bonacossa. We took the first Dolomiti bus at 8:30 AM towards Misurina and then got off at the stop Col de Varda. To save time, we took the chairlift up to Rifugio Col de Varda where sentiero Bonacossa, number 117, begins. This is where most people start the trail, but instead yesterday we started at the opposite end, at Rifugio Auronzo. The plan for today was to reach Rifugio Fonda Savio and then Forcella Rinbianco where we exited the trail the day before.

The portion of sentiero Bonacossa we hiked today can be divided into four sections: (1) from Rifugio Col de Varda to Forcella Misurina; (2) from Forcella Misurina to Forcella del Diavolo; (3) from Forcella del Diavolo to Rifugio Fonda Savio; (4) from Rifugio Fonda Savio to Forcella Rinbianco. Each section has its own unique challenges and points of interest.

(1) The trail to Forcella di Misurina is flat for the first part and then climbs steeply with some sections aided with a cable.

(2) The trail then descends steeply with several sections aided with a cable. This is perhaps the most fun part of the trail. A couple of people ahead of us were using a full via ferrata equipment for this section, which seemed to us an overkill. After the descent, the trail ascends again through some ladder and cables. The last stretch before reaching Forcella del Diavolo is demanding, and the terrain is made of loose rocks and is often unstable and slippery.

(3) The trail after Forcella del Diavolo then descends again. Here we lost track of the trail markers, but followed the general direction, which was clear enough. We then merged into the official trail again and reached Rifugio Fonda Savio, very scenically located in midst of the Cadini di Misurina. We had a delicious lunch — both the cheese canederli and the pasta al ragu’ were very good — and then proceeded onwards.

(4) From Rifugio Fonda Savio, we descended steeply via aided cables. At the junction with sentieri Durissimi 112, we stayed on sentiero Bonacossa 117 and soon reached Forcella Rinbianco.

We were both happy to have completed, over the course of two days, sentiero Bonacossa. We descended down to Misurina and then took a Dolomiti bus back to Passo Tre Croci.

Day 7: Passo Tre Croci to Cortina

Our trek in the Dolomites was nearing the end. Today we decided to squeeze in another hike before check-out time at 12 noon. We woke up at sunrise, about 5:30AM, and hiked the trail to Sorapis lake. This is a very popular trail that starts at Passo Tre Croci and reaches an alpine lake, famous for its turquoise color, nested within the vertical walls of the Sorapis mountain. The trails crosses some exposed sections, but is otherwise pretty straightforward.

We reached the lake by 7AM and took a few pictures, enjoying the sound of the water and its unique colors in almost complete solitude. We only encountered two other hikers on the way up. Instead, on the way down, we counted well over 100 hikers, a sign of how busy the trail would become. And it was only 9AM when we got back to the trailhead. We had breakfast, packed up and headed to Cortina.

Back to civilization, we enjoyed some of its comforts. We checked into our hotel — Hotel Pontechiesa — and then strolled around Cortina, eating a slice of pizza and having some gelato. The hotel we stayed at was family-run. The room was meticulously clean, and the wooden furniture was solid and with a lot of character.

The food at dinner was very good. They had a choice of different first courses and second courses, along with a salad and several choices of desert. The procedure for serving dinner was perhaps overly complicated. The server would push a cart from the kitchen toward the table and then transfer the food from individual trays into individual plates. The trays did not seem to serve any function, except adding one extra step to the process. But that elaborate process added a bit of nostalgic, decadent charm to the hotel. And besides that, the service was friendly and the food excellent. So nothing to complain about!

Day 8: Cortina to Verona

This was our last day. Sadly, we had to leave the Dolomites. We took a Cortina Express bus back to Mestre. Our Dolomites adventure had come to the end! From Mestre, we took a train to Verona, our destination for the night.

We decided to spend one night in Verona because of the open-air opera at the Arena. We bought tickets well in advance. After an unremarkable dinner, that evening we enjoyed Bizet’s Carmen, in Franco Zeffirelli’s classic (albeit sometimes vehemently criticized) production. Seeing Verdi’s Aida might have been more fitting for Verona’s Arena, but Aida was not playing that evening.

Sitting on the Arena’s hard steps made of stone for several hours was uncomfortable, but watching an opera immersed in a well-preserved Roman amphitheater was memorable and made us feel connected with the eternity of time, a fitting end to our trip.