Hiking in Alta Pusteria – excursion tips

Mountain & hiking tours for your hiking holiday

Movie sets, wellness spots, 300 days of sunshine a year, sunrise on top of the mountain, natural spectacles and 16,000 km of trails: South Tyrol, an authentic natural paradise, is pleased to welcome you! If you are looking for the perfect starting point for all your mountain tours and exciting adventures, you are in the right place: just 1.5 km from our Trenker hiker hotel lies the "pearl" among the Dolomite lakes, the famous Lake of Braies. Incidentally, almost all of the starting points of the described tours can be reached, from mid-June until late September, comfortably with the public transportation (every half hour). And with a journey of just half an hour in the car, your chances of walking multiply incredibly ...

Choose the degree of difficulty that suits you and
then take a look at the tour overview on this page:

10 mountain huts and restaurants opened:

Malga Foresta

Length: 6.2 km / Change in level: 97 m / Difficulty: easy

... nevertheless with unique highlights. The path winds along the western shore of the famous Lake Braies, with its emerald waters. An impressive panorama awaits you at Malga Foresta. The excellent cuisine of the malga is the icing on the cake of this pleasant trip, also suitable for strollers and small children.

Malga Cavallo

Length: 5 km / Change in level: 660 m / Difficulty: medium

Malga Cavallo is nestled in the Braies Dolomites; it has a beautiful sun terrace, a Tyrolean stube, typically South Tyrolean delicacies and an invigorating Swiss pine grappa that is invigorating for the body, soul, and spirit. And on the way up, nature offers the hiker an impressive mountain panorama of the Fanes-Senes-Braies.

Malga Stolla

Length: 10 km / Change in level: 400 m / Difficulty: medium

Malga Stolla is a very small but unique mountain cabin. It can be reached from the uphill town of Ponticello or, more conveniently, from the Prato Piazza car park to a flat and downhill path. The ascent is accompanied by the thundering Stolla stream. The excursion is suitable for families.

10 easy hikes - walks:

Excursions around Lake Braies

Length: 3.6 km / Change in level: 50 m / Difficulty: easy

Emerald, turquoise, crystalline: Lake Braies is not just any alpine lake - and you will notice. If you walk around the lake, clockwise or counter clockwise, always keep your camera ready! It was here that the hit TV series "Un passo dal cielo" was shot, with Terence Hill as the protagonist (later adapted for the German audience with the title "Die Bergpolizei - Ganz nah am Himmel")

San Vito - Monte di Braies - Ferrara - San Vito

Length: 3.3 km / Change in level: 110 m / Difficulty: easy

This family friendly trail starts in San Vito, a small natural gem, and offers beautiful views of Ferrara, as well as impressions of the Monte di Braies with its ancient farmsteads.

7 excursions of medium difficulty:

Lake Braies - Malga Pra della Vacca

Change in level: 500 m / Difficulty: medium

Malga Pra della Vacca pasture is an authentic natural paradise: colourful butterflies and numerous alpine flowers, such as the mountain yellow poppy, mountain carnation, gentian and alpine stars, have their own habitat here. The excursion starts at Lake Braies Passing next to the Riedl/Novalino block, continue to the hut.

San Vito - Malga Wöggealm

Length: 2.4 km / Change in level: 299 m / Difficulty: medium

On a comfortable gravel road, this route leads us to the unmanaged Wöggealm hut. Starting point: the Steinwandthof farm in San Vito. Along the high way, you have a dreamlike view over the whole Braies Valley. After about an hour you arrive at the Wöggealm hut. Your sandwiches will definitely have another taste if eaten sitting on a blanket amid the fragrant grass!

13 challenging day tours - round trips:

Lake Braies - Malga Casera Vecchia - Capannine dei Colli Alti

Length: 7 km / Change in level: 659 m / Difficulty: medium-difficult

From Lake Braies, this very beautiful but challenging tour takes you through the Val Foresta, passing by the mountain restaurant with the same name to Malga Casera Vecchia. From here you go up a steep path up to Capannine Colli Alti, located in a sunny and quiet position at 2,114 meters above sea level, surrounded by unspoiled nature. Not to be missed: a visit to Lake Colli Alti, just below the Passo Croce, known for its striking beauty.

Lake Braies - Malga Casera Nuova - Monte Nero - Val Foresta

Length: 8 km / Change in level: 650 m / Difficulty: medium-difficult

It starts from Lake Braies, passes through the Riedlhof/Novalino farm and continues on the hiking trail to the Casera Nuova mountain huts, from where you continue on a narrow path up to the Monte Nero pass. To go down, you have to face a rather steep path, with a stretch secured by metal cables, which ends in Val Foresta.

6 challenging day tours - high altitude crossings and routes:

Lake Braies - Sasso del Signore

Length: 4 km / Change in level: 739 m / Difficulty: medium-difficult

A chapter of the history of the Alps was written here in 1897, when after several unsuccessful attempts the first ascent to the Sasso del Signore was succeeded. For a long time this dolomitic peak was considered invincible. From Lake Braies, you will pass the steep and exposed walls up to the Forcella del Grande Apostolo, then continue up to the Forcella di Lavina Bianca and finally along the ridge to the summit.

Prato Piazza - Malga Cavallo - Ponticello

Length: 4.7 km / Change in level: 665 m / Difficulty: medium-difficult

Set off conveniently from Prato Piazza. Heading west you walk towards the Gumpa Plain (Gumpalboden), passing under the Croda Rossa d'Ampezzo, up to Crodetta (Gaislleite). In the distance, below, you can see the Malga Cavallo hut. To face this excursion, you must not suffer from vertigo and be sure-footedness.

Bagni di Braies Vecchia - Monte Serla

Length: 14.2 km / Change in level: 1,107 m / Difficulty: medium-difficult

Where do you start? From the old baths of Braies Vecchia! From here you climb a nice path to Malga Putzalm, then continue on Alta Via No. 3. It's very scenic, but - watch out! - the ground is often uneven! On a partially exposed path you reach the final destination, which is the summit of Mount Serla with a 360° panorama.

11 peaks:

Monte Pra della Vacca

Length: 3.4 km / Change in level: 640 m / Difficulty: medium

North of Braies there is one of the most panoramic elevations: Monte Pra della Vacca. The not too difficult ascent to the summit starts on the forest road to Lake Braies in the direction of the Riedl / Novalino farm, then goes up to the Casera Nuova huts and, from there, with a last uphill stretch, up to the summit.

Cima dei Colli Alti

Length: 5.8 km / Change in level: 1,202 m / Difficulty: difficult

From Cima dei Colli Alti, you will enjoy an extraordinary view of the surrounding mountains. The excursion starts from Lake Braies. We pass through the Riedl / Novalino farm, continue towards the Casera Nuova hut, from where the challenging climb to the Forcella di Braies begins. The top is reached on partly grass and partly rocky slopes. The effort will be rewarded with breathtaking views!

Monte Specie

Length: 9.5 km / Change in level: 310 m / Difficulty: easy

Starting from Prato Piazza, a very picturesque and popular plateau, we head towards the panoramic top of Monte Specie. On gravel road No. 34, you can climb without difficulty to Forcella del Monte Specie, and from here in about half an hour to the summit cross. Already during the climb there are impressive views of the Braies Dolomites. Once at the top, there is a 360°view of the most beautiful Dolomites, such as Tre Cime, the Cadini Group, Monte Cristallo and the Marmolada.

 

Hiking in the World Heritage Site

The Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with the Fanes-Sennes-Braies Nature Park, fills people with enthusiasm with its virtually unlimited opportunities for hiking, walking and climbing around Braies in the Alta Pusteria Valley. The walking trips that start right in front of Hotel Trenker, your hiking hotel in Braies, range from easy to difficult, from high alpine to family-friendly hikes for young and old alike.

Keen hikers climb up to Croda del Becco with its impressive vantage point, pay a visit to Picco di Vallandro and Monte Specie or put Alte Vie delle Dolomiti (Dolomite High Altitude Trails) 1 and 3 under their belts. The walks in the valley are more relaxed - barefoot walking and Kneipp exercises in a rushing mountain stream, an excursion to Lake Braies, Prato Piazza or a ski lift up to the rustic Malga Cavallo restaurant. Walk along well built and clearly marked paths from one mountain pasture to the next, enjoying wonderful views and spoiling your palate now and again, which is also part of the pleasure of a hiking holiday in Braies.

The refuges and Alpine huts of the Braies Valleys, where you can also stay the night, take care of your bodily comfort. Back down in the valley, recover from your exertions in the wellness area of Hotel Trenker - no reward without effort! - or mull over your experiences with a nice glass of wine. The next day, fully rested and with rucksacks and walking sticks that we at Hotel Trenker are pleased to provide hiking guests with, you again follow the call of the mountains and nature.

State approved guides

You prefer to be guided on your experience-rich hikes through the Dolomites in the Braies Valley? By all means. The mountain and Alpine guides of South Tyrol's Alta Pusteria Valley will guide you and your friends and family in summer and winter everywhere and make hiking in Braies an unforgettable holiday experience - regardless of whether you enjoy conquering Alpine peaks or just enjoy walking.

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