Travel with respect
The mountains around the Zoldo valley are part of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the southern part of the route lies in the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park. Please stay on marked trails, take all litter home (tissues and fruit peel too), leave flowers where they grow, give grazing animals and wildlife space and keep dogs on a lead. That way this landscape stays as we love it.
The Alta Via 1 crosses the Dolomites hut to hut in about ten days, from Lago di Braies in South Tyrol to Belluno. It is the best known and also the “easiest” of the Dolomites high routes. For Val di Zoldo it is special: in its second half it runs all the way around our valley, below the Pelmo, along the Civetta wall, over Passo Duran and through the lonely Pramper mountains.
Key facts
- Start and finish: Lago di Braies near Dobbiaco/Toblach to Belluno.
- Length: about 120 kilometres, a little more or less depending on the variant.
- Elevation gain: roughly 6,500 to 7,500 metres of ascent, depending on the source.
- Duration: usually eight to twelve days, depending on how you split the stages.
- Accommodation: mountain huts (rifugi), a different one almost every night.
- Season: roughly mid-June to mid/late September, while the huts are open.
How the Alta Via 1 came about
The idea of crossing the Dolomites on one continuous high route dates from the 1960s. In 1966 Mario Brovelli presented routes through the Dolomites in the mountaineering magazine Lo Scarpone. Piero Rossi from Belluno built on this and made the route famous with his guidebook “Alta Via delle Dolomiti”, which carried the number 1. Since then the trail has been waymarked with a triangle and the number 1, and hikers from all over the world walk it every summer.
The route in brief
The first half crosses the Fanes plateau, passes the Lagazuoi with its First World War positions and the Cinque Torri near Cortina. Via the Croda da Lago and Rifugio Città di Fiume you reach the foot of the Pelmo. This is where the part we know so well in Zoldo begins.
The Zoldo section stage by stage
Below the Pelmo to Passo Staulanza
From Rifugio Città di Fiume the trail runs below the north face of the Pelmo to Passo Staulanza (about 1,770 m) and down to Palafavera. Here you are in the heart of upper Zoldo, just a few kilometres from Pecol. If you only want to walk part of the Alta Via 1, this is a good place to join or leave it.
Coldai, Tissi and Vazzoler: the Civetta stage
From Palafavera the path climbs to Rifugio Sonino al Coldai (2,132 m). Just beyond it lies little Lago Coldai, a favourite resting spot on hot days. Then comes probably the most famous stretch of the whole Alta Via 1: the trail below the north-west face of the Civetta, which Italians call “the wall of walls”. Rifugio Tissi (about 2,260 m) sits right opposite on a rocky knoll, and the evening light on the wall is unforgettable. Then it is down to Rifugio Vazzoler (1,714 m) below the climbing towers Torre Venezia and Torre Trieste.
Carestiato and Passo Duran
From Vazzoler the trail winds through forest and dwarf pine around the Moiazza to Rifugio Carestiato and down to Passo Duran (about 1,600 m). The pass links Zoldo at Dont with the Agordino. There are two huts at the top: Rifugio Passo Duran “Cesare Tomè” and the privately run Rifugio San Sebastiano.
Through the Pramper mountains to Rifugio Pramperet
Now things get quieter. The stage from Carestiato to Rifugio Sommariva al Pramperet (about 1,850 m) is around 13 kilometres and takes about five hours. The hut stands on the Prà de la Vedova pasture below Monte Pramper, in the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park and within the municipality of Val di Zoldo. From the valley you can also reach it from Forno di Zoldo through Val Pramper.
Pian de Fontana and the finale on the Schiara
Over a col you reach the small Rifugio Pian de Fontana (1,632 m). The last stage crosses the Schiara group and descends towards Belluno; most hikers finish at the La Pissa bus stop on the road to Belluno. The classic route over the Schiara has cable-protected sections. If you would rather avoid them, take one of the easier descent variants.
Tips from the valley
- Book huts early: in July and August Coldai, Tissi and Vazzoler in particular fill up fast.
- Just the Zoldo section: from Palafavera via Coldai, Tissi and Vazzoler to Passo Duran makes three beautiful days. With more time, continue to Pramperet and descend to Forno di Zoldo.
- As a day hike: from Passo Staulanza or Palafavera to Rifugio Coldai and Lago Coldai. Sure-footed hikers continue to Rifugio Tissi for the view of the Civetta wall.
- Gear: sturdy boots, rain and cold protection, a hut sleeping bag liner and cash. Not every hut takes cards, and summer thunderstorms often roll in during the afternoon.
GPS data to download
The route of the Alta Via 1 is available as a GPX file for your phone or GPS device, for example on Traileasy with map and stages.
Please check hut opening times and trail conditions directly with the huts or the CAI before you go. Distances and heights vary slightly between sources.