My wife and I took a week trip to the Dolomites, both Ortisei and Cortina d’Ampezzo. I’ve been to NZ, Patagonia, Switzerland, Banff, etc and I’m not sure I’ve seen landscapes as beautiful as the Dolomites.
We spent 3 nights in Ortisei and 2 in Cortina.
Day 1- We did the Sassolungo loop, Sassolungo is the highest peak of the Langkofel group, it was a 10 mi loop that was had 750m of elevation gain.
Day 2- We took the Mont Seuc cable car up to Alpe di Siusi which is a plateau that gives you great views of all the surrounding mountains of Ortisei, we only hiked/ walked 3-4 miles but was incredibly peaceful up there, I highly recommend.
Day 3- My favorite hike of the trip was Seceda. We took the Seceda cable car from Ortisei, it was incredibly expensive at 70 euro a person but as soon as you get off the cable car you are hit with breathtaking views all around you. We did a 6 mile loop, towards the end we heard screams from a hiker coming from one of the mountains and actually called in a helicopter to do a rescue, was crazy to see it live in person. The Seceda ridgeline is very unique and as you descend you are rewarded with incredible up close views of the surrounding mountains, I can not recommend enough.
Day 4- Drove up to Lago di Braises and did a short 2.5 mile loop around the lake. Was beautiful. We also wandered and went to Vista Panaramica Tre Cime Di Lavaredo and wandered/ found an amazing stream with peaks all around us.
Day 5- Tre Cime Di Lavaredo. This is the most famous hike in all of the Dolomites, and it is incredibly frustrating to get there. The car parking was sold out at the lot so we had to park near Lake Misurina and then take a Dolomiti Bus up to the Refugio at Tre Cime, we arrived there at 745 am for a 810 bus and there was already 90 people in line in front of us, the first bus showed up at 830 and it took us 2 hours to get on a bus to get up there. That being said, it really is breathtaking up there, not only the 3 peaks but you’re surrounded by incredible mountains and get to see it all from different vantage points.
Since Tyrol was owned by the Austrians there is tremendous German and Austrian influence in the towns which I wasn’t really expecting to be honest. The food is not traditional Italian and honestly some of the worst I’ve had in Italy but luckily I didn’t go there for the food! If you’re a hiker, the Dolomites is a must, the mountains are otherworldly, they have shades of orange/ red/ pink and when the sun hits them you really see them shine. They are very jagged and look like coral because they actually are coral which is mind blowing!