Alta Via 1 Dolomites
Self-Guided Walking Holiday
Holiday Type:
Hut to Hut
When:
July to September
Start:
Dobbiaco, Italy
Finish:
Belluno, Italy
Distance:
120km (75 miles)
Length:
5 to 12 nights
Grade:
Easy to Moderate
2025 Price:
from £ 845.00
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Hike through the spectacular limestone towers of the Dolomites
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Enjoy amazing Italian food and hospitality
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Travel at your own pace through a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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Stay at charming Rifugios in remote and breathtaking locations
There are few sights as awe-inspiring as the towering limestone peaks of the Italian Dolomites, deservedly designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Alta Via 1 takes hikers on a grand tour of this mountain range, following its spine from North to South. Starting in South Tyrol, a former part of Austria where the majority still speak German, you will discover an area of stunning scenery and a fascinating history. Along some of the trail, the trenches and tunnels of WW1 are still evident and recall a tumultuous past. End your trip in the Venetian town of Belluno, with mountain memories aplenty.
Although not to be underestimated, the AV1 involves less ascent than most Alpine hut to hut tours. You will also find the AV1 to be enjoyably remote - staying high up in the mountains for the duration of the hike. Accommodation is therefore in refugios, where you can enjoy Italian cuisine in often breathtaking locations.
Curious to know more? Check out our blog post: Everything you need to know about the AV1.
Photo Gallery
Alta Via 1 Dolomites - Itinerary & Price Options
We offer four suggested itineraries on the Alta Via 1, which are set out below. However, we are also happy to create a tailor-made itinerary based on your preferences - please just get in touch. From solo walkers to groups of friends, we are happy to help with all requirements.
AV1-1 Itinerary
Length: 10 Days / 9 nights
Difficulty: Moderate
Price: from £ 1,170.00 per person (GBP)
▼ Find out more...
2025 Prices in GBP (for 2 persons sharing a room)
Basic: £ 1,170.00 per person
Classic: £ 1,490.00 per person
Basic: £ 1,390.00 per person
Classic: Not available
Please see accommodation section below for details on our different accommodation levels.
Day 1
Arrive Dobbiaco
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Day 2
Bus to Lago di Braies. Hike to Rifugio Pederü
14km & 940m ascent (8.5 miles & 3080ft)
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Day 3
Rifugio Pederü to Rifugio Lagazuoi
17.5km & 1610m ascent (11 miles & 5280ft)
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Day 4
Rifugio Lagazuoi to Rifugio Averau
6km & 415m ascent (3.5 miles & 1360ft)
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Day 5
Rifugio Averau to Rifugio Passo Staulanza
16.5km & 560m ascent (10 miles & 1830ft)
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Day 6
Rifugio Passo Staulanza to Rifugio Vazzoler
15km & 860m ascent (9.5 miles & 2820ft)
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Day 7
Rifugio Vazzoler to Rifugio Passo Duran
11km & 680m ascent (6.5 miles & 2220ft)
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Day 8
Rifugio Passo Duran to Rifugio Pian de Fontana
15.5km & 1130m ascent (9.5 miles & 3720ft)
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Day 9
Rifugio Pian de Fontana to La Pissa. Bus to Belluno
11.5km & 480m ascent (7 miles & 1590ft)
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Day 10
Depart Belluno
AV1-4 Itinerary
Length: 13 Days / 12 nights
Difficulty: Moderate
Price: from £ 1,580.00 per person (GBP)
▼ Find out more...
2025 Prices in GBP (for 2 persons sharing a room)Basic: £ 1,580.00 per person
Classic: £ 1,950.00 per person
2025 Prices in GBP (for 1 person)
Basic: £ 1,760.00 per person
Classic: Not available
Please see accommodation section below for details on our different accommodation levels.
Day 1
Arrive Dobbiaco
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Day 2
Bus to Lago di Braies. Hike to Rifugio Sennes
9.5km & 940m ascent (6 miles & 3080ft)
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Day 3
Rifugio Sennes to Rifugio Fanes
10km & 570m ascent (6.5 miles & 1860ft)
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Day 4
Rifugio Fanes to Rifugio Lagazuoi
12km & 1100m ascent (7.5 miles & 3620ft)
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Day 5
Rifugio Lagazuoi to Rifugio Averau
6km & 415m ascent (3.5 miles & 1360ft)
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Day 6
Rifugio Averau to Rifugio Passo Staulanza
16.5km & 560m ascent (10 miles & 1830ft)
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Day 7
Rifugio Passo Staulanza to Rifugio Coldai
6.5km & 520m ascent (4 miles & 1715ft)
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Day 8
Rifugio Coldai to Rifugio Vazzoler
8.5km & 340m ascent (5.5 miles & 1100ft)
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Day 9
Rifugio Vazzoler to Rifugio Carestiato
9km & 675m ascent (5.5 miles & 2215ft)
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Day 10
Rifugio Carestiato to Rifugio Pramperet
12.5km & 590m ascent (8 miles & 1930ft)
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Day 11
Rifugio Pramperet to Rifugio Pian de Fontana
5.5km & 545m ascent (3.5 miles & 1790ft)
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Day 12
Rifugio Pian de Fontana to La Pissa. Bus to Belluno
11.5km & 480m ascent (7 miles & 1590ft)
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Day 13
Depart Belluno
AV1-NH (Northern Half)
Length: 6 Days / 5 nights
Difficulty: Moderate
Price: from £ 845.00 per person (GBP)
▼ Find out more...
2025 Prices in GBP (for 2 persons sharing a room)
Basic: £ 845.00 per person
Classic: £ 1,130.00 per person
Basic: £ 1,105.00 per person
Classic: Not available
Please see accommodation section below for details on our different accommodation levels.
Day 1
Arrive Dobbiaco
▼
Day 2
Bus to Lago di Braies. Hike to Rifugio Pederü
14km & 940m ascent (8.5 miles & 3080ft)
▼
Day 3
Rifugio Pederü to Rifugio Lagazuoi
17.5km & 1610m ascent (11 miles & 5280ft)
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Day 4
Rifugio Lagazuoi to Rifugio Averau
6km & 415m ascent (3.5 miles & 1360ft)
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Day 5
Rifugio Averau to Passo Giau. Taxi to Cortina
3km & 80m ascent (2 miles & 260ft)
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Day 6
Depart Cortina
AV1-SH (Southern Half)
Length: 7 Days / 6 nights
Difficulty: Moderate
Price: from £ 860.00 per person (GBP)
▼ Find out more...
2025 Prices in GBP (for 2 persons sharing a room)
Basic: £ 860.00 per person
Classic: £ 960.00 per person
Basic: £ 1,115.00 per person
Classic: Not available
Please see accommodation section below for details on our different accommodation levels.
Day 1
Arrive Cortina
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Day 2
Taxi to Passo Giau. Hike to Rifugio Passo Staulanza
13km & 470m ascent (8 miles & 1540ft)
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Day 3
Rifugio Passo Staulanza to Rifugio Vazzoler
15km & 860m ascent (9.5 miles & 2820ft)
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Day 4
Rifugio Vazzoler to Rifugio Passo Duran
11km & 680m ascent (6.5 miles & 2220ft)
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Day 5
Rifugio Passo Duran to Rifugio Pian de Fontana
15.5km & 1130m ascent (9.5 miles & 3720ft)
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Day 6
Rifugio Pian de Fontana to Pissa Bus Stop. Bus to Belluno
11.5km & 480m ascent (7 miles & 1590ft)
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Day 7
Depart Belluno
What’s Included?
✔ Accommodation each night
✔ Breakfast every morning
✔ Dinner on nights in Huts
✔ Detailed Itinerary, Map & Guidebook
✔ GPX Waypoints and online mapping
✔ 24/7 Emergency Phone Number
What’s not Included?
X Travel Insurance
X Flights to and from the trail
X Lunches
Optional Extras
? Luggage Transfers
? Rail Transport to and from the trail
? Taxi Transfers to and from the trail
Alta Via 1 Dolomites - Itinerary Detail
The below is based on our most popular itinerary on the Alta Via 1, AV1-1 (10 days / 9 nights).
▼ Day 1: Arrive Dobbiaco
Easily Accessible by Train & Bus
Accessible by train and bus and sitting at the northern edge of the Dolomites, Dobbiaco makes for a convenient launching pad for the Alta Via 1.
Accommodation:
Guest House or Hotel in Dobbiaco
▼ Day 2: Bus to Lago di Braies. Hike to Rifugio Pederü
14km & 940m ascent (8.5 miles & 3080ft)
Begin with a 30 minute bus ride from Dobbiaco to the picture-perfect, turquoise waters of Lago di Braies, starting point of the Alta Via 1. From here it’s a fairly sharp ascent to begin, before you break out onto high plateau. Some flat walking is followed by a short descent to Rifugio Pederü.
Accommodation:
Rifugio Pederü (if available)
▼ Day 3: Rifugio Pederü to Rifugio Lagazuoi
17.5km & 1610m ascent (11 miles & 5280ft)
Further good track through Alpine meadows makes an easy start to the day. Gradually the climb gets going, and the Alta Via 1 heads up into more mountainous terrain, finishing atop the dramatic Lagazuoi mountain, where Rifugio Lagazuoi sits near the summit with unbeatable views. All around the remains of WW1 are evident - trenches, tunnels, and even small, ruined encampments.
Accommodation:
Rifugio Lagazuoi (if available)
▼ Day 4: Rifugio Lagazuoi to Rifugio Averau
6km & 415m ascent (3.5 miles & 1360ft)
Starting high up, there are two options today. Either head down through steep, WW1 era tunnels to Passo Falzarego, and then back up the other side to Rifugio Averau. Or take a longer way round, visiting the spectacular Cinque Torri limestone towers along the way.
Accommodation:
Rifugio Averau (if available)
▼ Day 5: Rifugio Averau to Rifugio Passo Staulanza
16.5km & 560m ascent (10 miles & 1830ft)
A day of stunning mountain landscape. From Averau head down to Passo Giau, before making a gradual climb up to the Forcella Giau pass. Here you enter a vast and other-worldy basin, strewn with boulders the size of houses. Views towards the mighty Pelmo mountain begin to open up ahead. A short descent through forest and boulders brings you to Rifugio Passo Staulanza.
Accommodation:
Rifugio Passo Staulanza (if available)
▼ Day 6: Rifugio Passo Staulanza to Rifugio Vazzoler
15km & 860m ascent (9.5 miles & 2820ft)
Another day dominated by a giant limestone tower of a mountain - this time the Civetta. A zig-zagging climb up to Rifugio Coldai comes first, with amazing views back to the Pelmo. From here, you begin your part-circumnavigation of the mighty Civetta peak, with gradually rising and falling over a series of small passes at the edge of the treeline. The whole day, and especially the end at Rifugio Vazzoler, feel incredibly remote
Accommodation:
Rifugio Vazzoler (if available)
▼ Day 7: Rif Vazzoler to Rifugio Passo Duran
11km & 680m ascent (6.5 miles & 2220ft)
Leaving the Civetta behind, today the Alta Via 1 skirts around the Moiazza mountain group. The trail drops in and out of the forest - the view of the rock towers above changing each time. A climb over the Forella del Camp pass is followed by a fairly flat stage to Rifugio Carestiatio, and finally a gradual descent to the road at Rifugio Passo Duran.
Accommodation:
Rifugio Passo Duran
▼ Day 8: Rifugio Passo Duran to Rifugio Pian de Fontana
15.5km & 1130m ascent (9.5 miles & 3720ft)
From Passo Duran you’ll enter the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park, an area of almost untouched wilderness. You’ll pass a WW1 barracks gradually being reclaimed by nature. After the Rifugio al Pramperet, it’s a long but spectacular climb high above the treeline over the rugged Forecella di Zita Sud pass, with unforgettable views back to the peaks northwards. Here nature abounds, with wildflowers, Chamois and Marmots a near certainty to spot.
Accommodation:
Rifugio Pian de Fontana (if available)
▼ Day 9: Rif Pian de Fontana to La Pissa. Bus to Belluno
11.5km & 480m ascent (7 miles & 1590ft)
The final stage of the Alta Via 1 is mostly in the wild and wooded Val Vescovà, and is almost entirely downhill. The trail ends at La Pissa bus stop, where you can catch a bus into the historic town of Belluno, with its cobbled streets and charming market square.
Accommodation:
Guest House or Hotel in Belluno
▼ Day 10: Depart from Belluno
Easily Accessible by Train
Well connected by train, it’s a mere 2 hour journey from Belluno to Venice by rail.
Alta Via 1 Dolomites - Route Map
Alta Via 1 Dolomites - Elevation Profile
Accommodation Levels
Generally, accommodation in villages will be booked on a Bed and Breakfast basis, whilst accommodation in huts and refuges will be Half Board (Dinner, Bed and Breakfast). There may be exceptions to this, which will be detailed in your proposal.
Examples of accommodation we use are detailed in the itinerary above, and will be included in your proposal.
Basic
When staying in villages, accommodation will be in private rooms in a mixture of 2* Guest Houses and Auberges. In huts and refuges, accommodation will be in shared dormitories.
Classic
When staying in villages, accommodation will be in private rooms in a mixture of good quality, comfortable Guest Houses and 2* to 3* Hotels. In huts and refuges, accommodation will be in private rooms (dependent on availability).
Comfort
Not available on the Alta Via 1.
FAQs
Do you take bookings for solo hikers? (spoiler - of course we do!)
What is a self-guided holiday? When is the best time to travel?
For all answers please head to our FAQs page. Alternatively, please don’t hesitate to send us an email or give us a call with any questions about our holidays.
