Dolomites High Altitude Trail 1

The only high altitude trail in the Dolomites that is accessible by foot without a via ferrata is the Dolomites High Altitude Trail 1, which includes a map, GPS track, altitude profile, stages, huts, travelogue, and experiences. This iconic trail offers breathtaking views of the Dolomite mountain range and takes hikers through stunning alpine landscapes. It is a challenging but rewarding adventure for experienced trekkers seeking an immersive wilderness experience in Italy.

Trekking tour claim

	Difficulty	easy, medium
	Length	65 km / miles
	Ascent	2.920 m / feet
	Descent	2.920 m / feet
	Highest point	Paso del Viento 1.428 m / 1111 feet
	Lowest point	Lago Viedma / 250m / feet
	Circular route?	yes
	Can be walked in both directions?	yes

Best season for the tour

Tour description

One of ten Dolomites High Altitude Trails is the Dolomites High Altitude Trail 1. In the 1960s, it was made or marked. It’s also known as the “classic path” because of this. Depending on your mood, it goes from Pragser Wildsee in South Tyrol to Belluno in Veneto in 9–13 stages, or even more if you choose the other option. The route can be with or without a via ferrata. The trail goes through beautiful mountain areas like the Fanes Group and the Civetta. It is between 1,500 and 2,800 meters above sea level.

The standard trail is the easiest and longest of the Dolomite high trails. It can be walked without any via ferrata at all, except for the last part. Hikers, on the other hand, can cut the high trail short by one step and skip the via ferrata.

There are still signs of the First World War on the hike and in many other places in the Dolomites. Placements with barbed wire, caves, and shelters carved into the rock can be seen over and over, especially in the northern part.

These remnants serve as a reminder of the intense battles that took place in the region during the war. The historical significance adds an extra layer of interest and depth to the hiking experience in the Dolomites.

The GPX track was edited in Garmin Basecamp. I have added signposts indicating the following.
– 27 possible water sources
– 14 huts
– 8 potential places for camping
In the store you get .csv, .GDB, .GPX, .kml, .tcx, .txt – buy now

Paper maps

• Brunico, Dobbiaco; Compass 57, 1:50.000
• Cortina d’ Ampezzo, compass 55, 1:50.000
• Alpi Bellunesi, compass 77, 1:50.000

OSM maps

• OpenandroMap Alps
• Recreational map Alps

Tour description

• Route: 115 km / 71,5 miles
• Altitude difference: 9,535 m ascent, 10,520 m descent / 31,282 feet ascent, 34,514 feet descent
• Stages: 9-13, many huts so that you can easily vary the stage length
• Mountain groups: Braies Dolomites, Fanes Group, Nuvolàu, Pelmo, Civetta, Moiazza, Schiara
• Starting point: Braies Lake (Pragser Wildsee)
• End point: Belluno, without via ferrata La Muda / Val Cordevole
• Difficulty: easy-medium (optional difficult variants)
• Arrival: By public transport from Dobbiaco with bus line 442 of the South Tyrolean Transport Association to Braies Lake. If you come by car, it is best to leave your car in Dobbiaco as well and change to the bus. There is free parking and for the return trip Dobbiaco is easy to reach.
• Marking: Blue triangle with a 1 in the middle
• Best season: mid June – mid September
• Drinking water: hardly any drinking water along the way, so always fill up with enough water at the huts
• Overnight stay: Wild camping prohibited, but sufficient huts

Altitude profile

Here is the altitude profile of the 110km long “hiking variant” without via ferrata of the Dolomites High Altitude Trail 1

Stages

1. Pragser Wildsee – Seekofelhütte (↑ 900m ↓ 70m ∅ 4h)
   1. Pragser Wildsee – ▲ Seekofel – Seekofel Hut (↑ 1,511m ↓ 685m ∅ 6h)
2. Seekofelhütte – Faneshütte (↑ 850m ↓ 1,110m ∅ 5h)
3. Faneshütte – Rifugio Lagazuoi (↑ 1,240m ↓ 645m ∅ 5.5h)
   1. Variant: Faneshütte – ▲ Lavarela (T5) – Rifugio Lagazuoi (plus ↑ 1,140m ↓ 1,040m ∅ 5h).
4. Rifugio Lagazuoi – Rifugio Nuvolau (↑ 830m ↓ 982m ∅ 5.5h)
5. Rifugio Nuvolau – Rifugio Città di Fiume (↑ 640m ↓ 1,230m ∅ 6.5h)
6. Rifugio Città di Fiume – Rifugio Sonino al Coldai – Rifugio Vazzoler (↑ 1,255m ↓ 1,455m ∅ 9.5h)
7. Rifugio Vazzoler – Rifugio Carestiato – Passo Duran (↑ 1.180m ↓ 1.298m ∅ 8h)
8. Passo Duran – Rifugio Sommariva al Pamperet (↑ 595m ↓ 832m ∅ 4.5h)
9. Rifugio Sommariva al Pamperet – Rifugio Pian de Fontana (↑ 595m ↓ 832 ∅ 4,5h)
10. Rifugio Pian de Fontana – La Muda / Val Cordevole (↑ 550m ↓ 1,700m ∅ 6.5h)
    1. Rifugio Pian de Fontana – Bivaco Marmol – Refugio VII Alpini (via ferrata! ↑ 780m ↓ 920m 8h
    2. Rif. 7 Alpini – Bolzano Bellunese – Belluno (↑ 140m ↓ 1,090m ∅ 4h)

Difficulty rating based on DAV trail categories; before the tour, you need to get the current condition or rating of difficulty.

You can see that many of the steps are pretty short. Most of them are half-day tours, especially in the north of the High Trail. The best conditions for people who like short rounds. But in the same way, some stages can also be summed up in terms of good weather and training.

Huts

Camping in the wild is illegal in Italy, and the rules are even stricter in the Dolomites. Because of this, you should only camp in the wild on the Dolomiten-Hohenweg 1 in an emergency. But there aren’t many campsites close that have clean water anyway.

The best way is to stay the night in one of the many huts:

Tour report and experiences

I fell in love with hiking when I did a few sections of the Dolomites High-Altitude Trail 1 on my way from Munich to Venice across the Alps. I wanted to see more of the Dolomites, and there was only one way to do that: start the high trail right away.

Prager Wildsee to Seekofel and back to Seekofel Hut

When it gets to the Pragser Wildsee, it first goes through the busy lake with day walkers. He is just so pretty and easy to get to that there is a lot of business here in the summer. These days, Instagram and Co. probably go to the lake even more often.

Before I get to the lake, though, I jump into the quiet woods. A simple mountain trail leads from the Nabige Loch to the Seekofelhütte. Since clouds cover the Seekofel, I wait until the next morning to try my luck. After setting up my bivouac hut next to the main hut, I enjoyed a delicious meal of polenta in the hut to end the night.

Overall, the stage is pretty easy, and the short distance makes it perfect for the start on the day of arrival. From the city to the mountains right away. The top would be easy to put off until the next day. After all, the next step isn’t very long either.

Seekofelhütte – Faneshütte

The first full day of touring takes me from the Seekofelhütte to the Seekofel, then to the Faneshütte via the Sennes Hütte and the dip to Pederü in the middle.

After a very peaceful night in the hut, I decide to climb the Seekofel even though it is still foggy. So what can I say? You can’t always be lucky. I enjoy the hike to the top, but I don’t get a view. The climb itself is a little rough in some places, but overall it is well-built and safe. It takes me just under an hour to get to the top, which is still foggy.

The next part of the route alternates between mountain paths and roads. The roads go down to the Perdürhütte and then back up on the plains of the Fanes Nature Park. It’s pretty easy to get to the Kreuzkofelgruppe.

Fanesgütte – Lavarela (T5) – Rifugio Lagazuoi

I choose to climb Piz de Lavarella (3,055m), even though the “normal route” for this day calls for a shorter daily stage and less elevation gain. When I wasn’t on the hiking highway, I hated the climb, but I liked the top in the end. The view from Piz de Lavarella was absolutely breathtaking, making the challenging climb well worth it. From the summit, I could see the stunning peaks of the Kreuzkofelgruppe and the vast expanse of the Fanes Nature Park below. It was a truly rewarding experience that I will never forget.

Piz d’Lavarela / Monte Lavarella (3,055 m)

The climb up Monte Lavarella (3,055 m) is one of the most memorable mountain trips I’ve ever been on. I was going by myself and was ready for a normal hike in the mountains. But it was clear to me that I was just about at my limit when I thought I wouldn’t want to go down a certain part of the road again…

I took path 12 east from the Faneshütte to get to the Forcella de Medesc. At first, the way is pretty easy, but it gets very tough, especially after the saddle. First it was easy to scramble up and down a lot of steps. Then it was on small, clear rocky ledges. Finally, it was just on worn-down rocky ledges the whole way. I haven’t seen any dirt paths in a long time. Just before the top, you can see the path markers again through the scree, boulders, and broken rock. After some meters kraxelei I stand fully pumped with adrenaline on the top.

On the way down in the south, I meet two Wegwarte, who look at me with confusion. A few years ago, the road from the north would have been left behind. Because of how hard it is. It wasn’t on my map yet. Today, the road is correctly shown on OSM maps with a T5 difficulty level.

So far, the only thing that was really hard for me was the climb to the Schusterplatte at the Three Peaks a few days later. Hikers should go up Piz de Lavarella by first going through the big Fanes alpine field and then going up from the south to the top.

On the way back to the main trail, the path goes through alpine fields and scree to get to the Forcella del Lago. From there, it goes down a steep scree gully to the Lech de Lagacio (Lagazuoi Lake). The road to the Refugio Lagazuoi goes through the beautiful, empty Dolomites and past many old battlefield positions from the First World War. I get to the shelter just in time for the summer thunderstorm to start.

Lagazuoi – Rifugio Nuvolau – Rifugio Città di Fiume

I get up early, so after a quick breakfast of cereal on the deck of the Lagazuoi hut, I’m on top of the small Lagazuoi by myself before 7:00 am. A treat on a hill that can later be reached by cable car as well. The view of Marmolada, Monte Pelmo, and other mountains is beautiful, so I enjoy it. Over Falzargo Pass I go down on trail 402 and then walk across the Averau area on trail 436 to get to Passo Gian and then to Rifugio Città di Fiume.

Today, you can see the Puez Group, Geisler, Sella, Monte Pelmo, and Marmolada. This part of the Dolomites High Altitude Trail 1 might be the most beautiful.

Città di Fiume Refugee Camp – Tissi Refugee Camp – Vazzoler Refugee Camp

I’m about to go through an easy stage. Around Monte Pelmo and to the base of the Civetta on roads and easy mountain paths, and then around the Civetta. If you like, you can spend the night at the Tissi hut. I passed this simple but very cozy hut on my way from Munich to Venice across the Alps. It really caught me off guard.

But this time, it should go straight to Rifugio Vazzoler.

Vazzoler’s Refuge – Passo Duran

The tour is over for me today. A simple road is all I walk on to get to Passo Duran. Before this, it goes on my tour in the Sextener Dolomites.

Conclusion Dolomites High Trail 1

While I was crossing the Alps from Munich to Venice, I had already walked some parts of the Dolomites High-Altitude Trail 1. It was quickly clear to me that I also wanted to hike the more northern parts. And it was worth every penny. The most exciting parts of the tour for me were crossing the Fanes group and going up Monte Lavarella and the Civetta.

The Dolomiten-Hohwenweg 1 is a popular hiking trail because it is pretty easy to follow. Lastly, trips with paid guides are now also available here. If you want to get away for a while, you can always add beautiful, if sometimes tough, sections to your route, like the ones on Monte Lavarella.