Highlights of the Dolomites

▼ Day 1: Arrive in Cortina
Easily Accessible by Bus

Arrive in Cortina, a busy resort town of many shops and restaurants, which makes a great base for exploring the area. Cortina is easily accessible by bus, a mere 2.5 hours direct from Venice.

Accommodation: Guest House or Hotel in Cortina

▼ Day 2: Cinque Torri and Nuvolau
12km & 719m ascent (7.5 miles & 2358ft)

From Cortina it's a 30 minute bus up to Passo Falzarego, a convenient launch pad for many walks. The limestone mountain of Nuvolau is immediately visible ahead of you as you start off uphill through sparse forest and grassland. What looks to be an impregnable peak from a distance is actually a straightforward walk up, and from the top the panoramic views are amazing. This being the Dolomites, there is also a rifugio offering food and drink perched on the summit. Then it’s down to the Cinque Torri, a group of jagged rock towers rising inexplicably from the ground. Return to Passo Falzarego to catch the bus back to Cortina.

Accommodation: Guest House or Hotel in Cortina

▼ Day 3: The Lagazuoi Tunnels
6.1km & 622m ascent (3.8 miles & 2040ft)

Returning again to Passo Falzarego, you will head northwards this morning, up a mountain some consider even more spectacular than the Nuvolau - Lagazuoi. From the pass it’s either a 2 hour walk or a 10 minute cable car up to Rifugio Lagazuoi, which is just short of the eponymous summit. This was a fiercely contested area in WW1, and many of the trenches, tunnels and caves remain. One of these tunnels is an optional descent route to take back down to Passo Falzarego.

Accommodation: Guest House or Hotel in Cortina

▼ Day 4: The Old Railway
19.5km & 131m ascent (12.1 miles & 430ft)

A much gentler valley walk after two mountainous days. Take the bus to Lago di Landro (30 mins) and then make the leisurely walk back to Cortina through forest, meadows and past small lakes, along the route of a long-decommissioned railway line. Various cafes and restaurants are waiting along the way, inviting you to take one - or more - culinary breaks.

Accommodation: Guest House or Hotel in Cortina

▼ Day 5: Travel from Cortina to Canazei
By Bus

It’s a 2 hour bus ride from Cortina to Canazei in the Val di Fassa, where the mighty Sassolungo massif looms above. The town is also a centre of Ladin culture and language - the vast majority of the residents of Canazei speak Ladin, rather than Italian, as their first language.

Accommodation: Guest House or Hotel in Canazei

▼ Day 6: Circumnavigation of the Sassolungo
17.3km & 777m ascent (10.7 miles & 2549ft)

A short bus or cable car takes you up to the Sellajoch pass, from which you can begin one of the classic walks of the Dolomites. A straightforward and well-marked trail follows ancient shepherds' routes and farm tracks as you circumnavigate the many spectacular spires of limestone which make up the Sassolungo. Whilst the road is out of sight the whole time, multiple rifugios dot the route, offering refreshment. On the north side of the route, snowy Alpine peaks can be seen in the distance.

Accommodation: Guest House or Hotel in Canazei

▼ Day 7: Piz Boe and the Sella Group
8.5km & 637m ascent (5.3 miles & 2090ft)

From Passo Pordoi, a gondola whisks you up to almost 3000m above sea level, to your start point in the midst of the Sella Group of mountains. Dominating views of the area, the Sella Group is a massive collection of rocky peaks - but from your start point at Sas de Pordoi, the tops of this group can be explored on good paths with limited ascent. The landscape is rocky and mars-like. Just a few hundred metre’s worth of ascent will take you up to the Piz Boe, the high point of this group, at 3151m.

Accommodation: Guest House or Hotel in Canazei

▼ Day 8: Depart Canazei
By Bus

From Canazei there are regular buses to Trento (approx 2 hours 45) from which there are regular train connections to Venice (2.5 hours), Milan (2.5 hours) or Innsbruck (3 hours).