Day Trips in the Dolomites

DAY TRIPS IN THE DOLOMITES by ALEX AND JANINE GRAY I n 2012 we travelled to Italy and as well as doing the traditional tourist sites like Rome and Florence Janine and I wanted to get into the mountains and away from the tourist hordes. I had briefly visited the Dolomites many years ago and remembered the spectacular scenery so we decided to drive from Venice and go there for a few days.

The drive north of Venice was fine while we were on a motorway but once we reached the mountains the motorway shrank to a narrow two-way road with no shoulders, multiple hairpin bends and a left hand drive car. A bit stressful for Janine and fun for Alex! That said we found most of the Italian drivers were very competent and understanding of foreign tourists who regularly get lost and make lots of unintentional mistakes.

As we didn’t know the area we looked for accommodation that included the option of guided walks. Several of the firm’s offer four or five day overnight trips but this didn’t appeal to us and we eventually found a UK firm called Colletts who offered a variety of guided day walks ranging from wild flower walks to fairly strenuous all day walks. They also offer a unique climbing experience called ‘via ferrata’ which involves climbing up fixed wire ropes.

Every evening we met before dinner and discussed options for the next days walks. This gave us the opportunity to find out which trip suited us best. The food at the main guesthouse was excellent and believe it or not they operated a house bar which had an honesty book to fill in if no one was behind the bar! In addition they provided a packed lunch every morning for the days walks.

There were about 30 others from an English Rotary club staying in the main guesthouse and we enjoyed their company on the walks and during the evening meals and drinks—in many ways it was similar to staying in the club Ruapehu lodge but without having to cook or do the dishes.

We stayed in an apartment in a village called Pedraces in Badia which is 200 km north of Venice in the South Tyrol. The village was quite small with one mini-mart, a bakery and a few small restaurants/bars. The view from our apartment as the sun went down was stunning.

There is a lot of history in the Dolomites and most people don’t realise they used to be part of Austria but was ceded to Italy after the 1st World War. Consequently the inhabitants of the village we stayed in actually spoke three languages—Italian, German and a local dialect called Ladin.

We were very lucky with the weather while we were there as it was fine every day. We all know how fickle the weather can be in mountain areas and we found out the week before we arrived had been very wet.

Next day we joined the Collett’s group and did a day trip to a mountain called Sas to Putia. Compared to NZ the first thing I noticed was the hard surface of the track—no soft bush tracks here! We walked for a couple of hours up a wide track to the first Refugio on this trip. While we stopped for lunch we were joined by about 100 army personnel on and exercise which caused some amusement when we wanted to borrow their machine guns for a photo opportunity. These are mountain lodges scattered throughout the Dolomites where you can stay or buy food and drink including a beer for lunch.

After lunch we returned via the same route downhill to the start of the track. I thought this might be a tad boring but of course you’re looking in the opposite direction when you go down hill.

The next day was the guides day off so we planned our own day trip using the excellent 1:25,000 map we had been given. The guides also gave us the Search and Rescue emergency number if we go lost or needed evacuation. All the tracks are individually numbered and well marked. In the forests were marked with signposts, but once we were above the bush line the route number was painted on rocks. We planned to climb Mt Ciampani a 2,700 metre high peak behind the village. Thank goodness Pedraces village was already at 1,350 metres altitude!

We walked uphill in brilliant sunshine through pine forests for about two hours before the walk became serious. The route narrowed and fixed wire ropes were provided to help us climb a steep cliff over the escarpment. Over the top we encountered lush grass and beautiful wildflowers and stopped to catch our breath and enjoy the scenic views. We pressed on and as we climbed further we saw marmots from a distance before they scurried into their burrows.

As we climbed further the vegetation became sparser until we were climbing on bare rock with the occasional patch of snow. We reached the summit after four hours of uphill climbing and took in the 360 degree vista. The temperature on the summit was a bit cooler and windier so we didn’t linger too long once the photos and videos had been completed.

We carried enough food for our day trip but ended up short of water as we passed no streams on most of the trip. I managed to fill my water bottle with snow as we neared the top which helped quench my thirst.

The walk downhill on a different route was a challenge and as expected going down 1,400 metres is probably harder on the body than going up and it took us a further four hours to get home but the scenery made up for our aching limbs. Also we found yet another refugio on the way down to have a break at. They had a little cable car which was used to transport the food and drink up to the refugio from the village below.

Our last walk was in a different area called Fanes National Park about a 30 minute drive from Pedraces. We did a day circuit around spectacular towering peaks. The tracks this day were quite varied—some were rocky and narrow and others were wide as they passed through alpine meadows. As usual there we stopped at a Refugio for lunch but I have to say walking after a large beer is not good for the digestion.

When we returned to the car-park there were about twenty Ferraris parked at an adjacent restaurant—not something you would ever see in NZ! After we left a number overtook us at high speed on the way home downhill. The throaty roar of a Ferrari is unmistakeable.

The Dolomites were a highlight of our trip and we would recommend them to anyone wanting to enjoy magnificent mountain scenery, good food and very friendly locals.