Hiking to the Best Views of the Dolomites: Lagazuoi

After spending a great night at Rifugio Kostner, who could be blamed for not wanting to leave such a cool spot? But, that is the trekking life, not staying in one spot.

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Red arrow points to our destination: Lagazuoi

Destination: Lagazuoi

So off we went to get to Lagazuoi, a mountain known as much for WW I history as for its beautiful setting. Lagazuoi sits at 9,301 ft – 2,835m, a short 18 kms from Cortina d’Ampezzo. The mountain had many tunnels dug by both sides (Italians and Austrians) as a way to protect themselves and/or try to surprise the opponent. All this land was part of the Austrian Empire until Italy attacked it early in WW I. You can read a little more about it here.

Starting the hike; bye Pordoi

We began the day with a great breakfast as is to be expected in these mountain rifugios (photo on my prior day’s post). Then, for the sake of getting to our next rifugio before sunset, took a little shortcut to come down from Pordoi: we took the chair lift down. Personally, saving a downhill is kindness to my knees so no complaints. And, like the day before, an easy start to a long day is nice.

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Headed up to the chair lift.
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One final look back at R. Kostner (middle left)

A different trail ahead

The start of the actual hike was very different than the rocky / pebbly trails of the prior day. I don’t know the technical terms for the landscape but low grasses and lots of green ruled the start of the day.

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Beautiful trails
sunrise, mountains, Dolomites, hiking, Italy, Italia
Time for a break and absorb the views!

Many spots offered a view back to Pordoi (and Rifugio Kostner, if I zoom into the photo). It is a neat way to see where we’d been. Later, we would be offered another, even better viewpoint to watch the sun set.

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R. Kostner marked by the red circle

OK, some rocks

We still encountered rocky terrain but no massive downhill covered with scree. But the paths, hugging the rock walls, were simply enjoyable.

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dolomites, hiking in italy, lagazuoi, trekking,
dolomites, hiking in italy, lagazuoi, trekking,
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A few steps and rope were involved here but not too technical

Approaching Lagazuoi Mountain

We concluded the hike by approaching the Funivia Lagazuoi which would take us to the feet of our next lodging: Rifugio Lagazuoi.

My feet were pretty beat and I was in need of taking my boots off. When we reached the top, we still had a steep hill to climb but, guess what? That just made the big beer I got that much more savory!

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The view down from the ride; and the rifugio almost at hand…

Majestic views of the Dolomites

Lagazuoi also offered an outdoor deck with majestic views. This rifugio was bigger than the last one and the one from day 1. Many more rooms, a larger deck, and a much larger dining area. Our floor only had 2 showers for a large number of rooms so we took a number and just let each other know when their number was getting close to not lose the spot. Thankfully, no lack of hot water!

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Part of the deck; my room was one of those balconies
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We would reach the top of the mountain on the right to watch the sun set

Just a little more hiking at sunset

But the one thing that set this rifugio aside was fantastic vantage point to watch the sunset a short up-hill walk away. The sun would set over the Pordoi massif where we had hiked and stayed the day/night before.

dolomites, hiking in italy, lagazuoi, trekking, sunset
Looking back to the rifugio on the way to the spot
dolomites, hiking in italy, lagazuoi, trekking, sunset
And now further away – what a setting!!!
dolomites, hiking in italy, lagazuoi, trekking, sunset
At the top – what a beautiful spot
dolomites, hiking in italy, lagazuoi, trekking, sunset
The cross and the background made for a great photo!
And now posing the in the other direction! I look tired…
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This photo almost looks eerie… what do you see? I see an old woman’s head & hair
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A fellow trekker just soaking it all in…
dolomites, hiking in italy, lagazuoi, trekking, sunset

It was a peaceful place and it was well worth the walk up to the spot, despite tired feet. I am sure you will agree after seeing the sunset pics.

Oh, wait, but the food…

Yes, the food was really good. The double-carb first plate was absolutely perfect. The main dish was a little less impressive but the dessert made up for it!

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First dish
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The main entree
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Perfect picture to end this post!

Stay tuned for the final posts about this trek in the Dolomites!

Hiking to the Sassolungo, an Impressive Massif in the Dolomites

On day 2 of my hike in the Dolomites, we left the Rosengarten to reach the Sassolungo, an impressive massif in the western Dolomites. Mt. Sassolungo (also known as Langkofel in German, or Saslonch in the local language) is the tallest peak in the massif at around 10,400 ft (3,180 m). Mt. Sasso Piatto (Plattkofel or Sas Piat) is another famous peak in the group of five peaks. Sassolungo seems to lord over the valley below and was the backdrop to the rifugio I would stay that night.

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The Sassolungo

The day started with departing Rifugio Passo Principe. From the rifugio’s deck, while I was waiting for the group to leave, I noticed along that along the peaks next to us, there were trails that were pretty steep and rocky. I could not believe when I spotted a couple of hikers far along that trail on a zig-zaggy uphill. But then, it completely shocked me when I was told that we were going on that trail ourselves! This is the western flank of the Catinaccio d’Antermoia.

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Can you see the trail? It ends at the top right of the photo.

We took trail 584 to head towards the Antermoia Pass. The trail was challenging but, actually, it was a lot of fun to take the challenge and get through it successfully (a few slips included but no falls for me!).

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Looking back towards the rifugio

We got to the Antermoia Pass (Pas de Antermoa) at close to 9,100 ft (2,770 m). It was a great feeling to reach it and pause for a moment to absorb the view of peaks close and far.

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Soon thereafter we began a downhill that led us to different terrain. I don’t know how to describe it, really. Maybe the photo can convey this better…

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Headed towards Antermoia Lake

The trail would become flat and we would pass Lake Antermoia and Rifugio Antermoia (where we would stop for a short break).

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Antermoia Lake
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Rifugio Antermoia
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The path we took from R. Principe to R. Antermoia

From there we walked along beautiful terrain along 578 to Val Duron. Eventually we got our first glimpse of Mt. Marmolada which holds the only glacier in the Dolomites. We would see this mountain from different angles over the next few days.

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The tallest mountain is the Marmolada, with the glacier not too visible from this angle

Somewhere there we switched to 532 to stop for a nice lunch at Baita Lino Brach restaurant where many dishes were polenta base. The polenta was pretty bland but that is only to be expected of polenta. In any case, it was a very nice place to stop and eat outdoors.

Sassolungo, Dolomites, Langkofel, hiking, trekking, baita lino brach, val duron

After lunch, we walked down a flat path up until a point where a ride waited to take us to Campitello di Fassa (Campiedel) where we would take a lift from Campitello di Fassa to Col Rodela (at 2,484m). Campitello di Fassa is a small town about 70 km from Trento where most people speak Ladino, a unique language of these mountain valleys.

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Campitello from the cable car
Sassolungo, Dolomites, Langkofel, hiking, trekking, campitello di fassa, funivia

From Col Rodela we would finish our hiking day along trail 557 and Passo Sella to arrive at our lodging for the night: Rifugio Carlo Valentini, a very nice place!

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One of like 30 paragliders flying above Campitello
Sassolungo, Dolomites, Langkofel, hiking, trekking, campitello di fassa, funivia
Sasso Piatto (L) and Sasso Lungo (R) from the rifugio

I greatly enjoyed my meal of spaetzle and pork tenderloin, right after a delicious and humongous salad (the photo shows also my breakfast the next day).

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My two meals at the rifugio

We started the day at 8:30 AM and finished around 5 PM, covering around 8 miles. The meal above (and the wine I enjoyed) set me up well for a good night’s rest!


Missed day 1? Click here to see how the trek started in the Rosengarten (“Rose Garden”) massif.

Or move head to day 3 where we reached Rifugio Kostner over some of the more challenging terrain of the trek.

Challenge in the Dolomites: Hiking the Rosengarten

My first day of hiking presented a neat challenge in the Dolomites taking us from Carezza / Karersee to Rifugio Passo Principe (Grasleitenpasshütte). There we would spend the night after traversing the iconic Rosengarten Massif, near Bolzano, Italy. The massif contains several peaks with its highest elevation being at 9,849 ft (3,002 m).

The trek started with our early AM departure from Trento, where we had spent a few days performing service projects with Trekking for Kids, to Carezza / Karersee where we would catch a ski lift (the Paolina lift) to the start of our trail.

Hiking route in the Rosengarten

The trails we followed were: 539 (from exiting the lift to the Christomannos Monument) to 549 (to Rifugo di Vael) to 541 (to Rifugio Vajolet) and then, finally, to trail 584 on to Rifugio Principe at Passo Principe. I could not show it as well in one single map so here I broke up the day’s hike into two maps.

Started on the lift on the bottom left and made our way upwards…
Starting from the bottom we ended at the top of the blue line

Where to stay: rifugios!

By the way, rifugios are mountain inns or lodges that offer basic accommodations and can provide dinner and breakfast for an additional cost – which I may add, is well worth it.

Some rifugios offer double rooms, some offer group rooms, and some offer both. Also, they may offer shower facilities with some of the places having very basic ones and charging a euro for a few minutes for their use, and some having very nice rooms and bathrooms.

However basic they can be (or not), I have to say all my meals were phenomenal and I will share those along the way in these posts!

Rifugio Principe, Passo Principe, lodging in the Dolomites
Dining area is cozy – and now Covid-ready
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My dinner: speck with fried eggs on a bed of potatoes!

At Rifugio Principe (re-built/renovated around 2008), our group of 15 split into two group rooms of eight people each. The setup was not the typical bunk beds but four mattresses laid side-by-side: one set on the floor and one set above those. It was hard to sleep with so many people around but a little harder being so close to each other. Our room was the “outside” room which was supposed to be colder but was actually warm enough (they provide you some serious blankets but I actually did not use them and, instead, just used the sleeping bag liner I had brought with me and warm clothing).

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Facing the “outside” room from the sun deck

The landscape & views around the Rosengarten Massif

Trekking Dolomites, chair lift in Italy
It starts with a chair lift!
Rosengarten, hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy
The best shot I have of the Rosengarten has me semi-posing…
Christomannos Monument, hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy, Rosengarten massif
The Christomannos Monument
hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy, Rosengarten massif
Beautiful trails; flat for this little stretch…

Uphill and Downhill ‘R Us

hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy, Rosengarten massif
Slight ascent but still beautiful!
hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy, Rosengarten massif
Sometimes the trails were the ones below and others up by the peaks!
hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy, Rosengarten massif
The trails got steep and rocky at places – massive uphills on this day!
hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy, Rosengarten massif
Always good to hike with friends! I think these were The Beatles
hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy, Rosengarten massif
And those massive uphills became massive downhills…
This must be after conquering an uphill due to my smile!
hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy, Rosengarten massif
One serious downhill (but no scree on this one, mercifully)
hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy, Rosengarten massif
And back on up. You get the drift.
hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy, Rosengarten massif
Despite the uphill ahead, the view was spectacular!

Let’s get technical

This day did offer a surprise: needing to cross a small section via steel cable. While it looked scarier than it actually was, I still paid attention to where every one of my 4 extremities was at every moment!

The ladders or cables were pretty new and sturdy. Some of the fighting in World War I took place around the Dolomites and, back then, cruder ladders and cables were used by the soldiers to move around – grateful things have improved since then (and are more peaceful!).

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From the top: Going down the rope-assisted path
hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy, Rosengarten massif, technical hike
From the middle: The steel cable was well anchored and the “rope” pretty thick
From the bottom: The drop was not too big – but glad no one had a mis-step!

A mirage or our rifugio?

Well, along the way, it is not uncommon to pass rifugios which are not our destination. Normally OK as it means we are taking a break. But not always… Sometimes you pass them like passing ships at sea… After a long, long climb, the rifugio on the photo below would have been a GREAT stop. However, and thankfully unbeknownst to me, we had a lot longer to go so a leisurely stop would have place our arrival at our rifugio at dark… So on we went with more uphill terrain as you can appreciate from the picture… No matter how tired I got, the view was always magnificent!

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Rifugio Vajolet
hiking Dolomites, trekking, Italy, Rosengarten massif, technical hike
This was the uphill BEFORE that rifugio we didn’t stop at 🙂

End of day 1 hike at Rifugio Principe

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This one was OUR rifugio for the night!! Happy to arrive! (Photo credit: K. Sundin)

We covered around 7.5 miles after a mid-morning start and around 6 hours of hiking. The group took a little longer than expected, likely the change in altitude from where we had woken up (Trento, at slightly more than 600 ft elevation) to where we ended (at around 8,600 ft). But, I for one was ecstatic about finishing what was a hard last 2 hours of that day’s hike!


Read about day 2, its tricky start and getting to the Sassolungo!

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