South-Tyrolean Dolomites
IN THE EARTH OF GERANIUMS AMONG NATURE, HISTORY AND ART
The human being has softened the territory of the South-Tyrolean Dolomites, through work and agriculture. In this way, a unique landscape has been created in the Alps, which is researched and appreciated by the most demanding tourists. There is nature and there are many events, but there are traditions as well; the landscape presents cities with the fascination of Middle Europe, mediaeval castles, gothic churches, isolated huts, historic and design hotels, luxury spa and restaurants. In the summer, the most fascinating characteristic of these territories are geraniums. Every balcony has plenty of them. A peculiarity. From the capital, Bolzano/Bozen, you can reach every valley by bus or by train. On every mean of transport, you can take your bike, until the passes, which have represented the history of international cycling. Let us pay attention to accommodation: there many luxury hotels (4 o 5 stars), but you can find complete offers in wellness centres as well, for families, for elderly people, entertainment for young people. Each valley offers safe excursions at high altitudes and mountaineering.
TREKKING AND GUIDED EXCURSIONS
Suggestive itineraries to discover peaks and valleys
South Tyrol is the paradise of hiking. Are we going to Badia Valley? On the Sass dla Crusc, through the meadows of Armentara, you get to an uncontaminated place, with many old huts and conifers ruined by precipitations and several high altitude biotopes and peat-bogs. Do you want to enter the “cosiness” of a tree? In Sesto Pusteria, you can make this experience in a luxury camping with wellness centres. Tree houses are situated next to a stream, which is going to disseminate precious dialogues to the guests. The route Oclini, with view on the Latemar and on the Weißhorn, is soft. Thanks to the observatories Max Valler and Peter Anich, here you can enter the magic of stars. The Bletterbach offers an adventurous excursion, which enters the history of the Dolomites: in only two hours, you can read the geologic tour of these wonderful places. We cannot forget the Odle. Thanks to the Adolf Munkel Weg, you go under the most amazing peaks, which come up from the scree, looking for the sky, for the unknown. Just below them, an atypical vegetal world, firs and larches, which have been wiped out by the wind. Alders along streams, until the black forest “Grossgrube”, rich of sources. The Three Peaks of Lavaredo offer an easy way. These are the places of the Great War, and for this reason, here you can admire the biggest open-air museum towards Monte Piana, a real memorial monument. Walking in the Dolomites, you cannot forget the Langkofel. From the Passo Sella, you get to the refugee Toni Demetz, by cable car, in the pass Langkofel (2680 m); this is a strategic place, because from here you can easily reach the refugee Vicenza (2250 m) and then you can go either to the Plattkofel or to the refugee Comici.
A PARADISE FOR HORSES AND TO EXPLORE BY BIKE
Adventures on a saddle and by bike in the mountains
Half an hour by car from Bolzano/Bozen, you get to the Seiser Alm, one of the paradises for bikers. You can go through pastures or go up until you reach the forests, in order to find a quiet place. Even in Grödental or starting from the Badia Valley, you can go up by cable car and find paths for bikers. From here, you can go down until the valley floor. In Pustertal, the bikeway is amazing: from Brunico/Bruneck to Innichen, until Lienz, a city in Austria, and you comfortably go back by train. South Tyrol offers all the guests a Bikemobil Card; with it, you can use busses, trains, cable cars (without limits), and you can rent the bikes wherever you want. From Selva di Val Gardena to Plan de Gralba, you enter the city of stones. You reach the Sella Pass by bike, and you will look at the massif, until the far away Marmolada. Eventually, you will stay on the towers of Langkofel, and you will go around them. Cycling is a sport at a high level: on the 19th of June, the Sella Ronda Bike Day is going to be a Green Event. On the 3rd of July, the event par excellence: the Marathon des Dolomites, an event which is transmitted live on TV, over 9,000 participants, and which has a partnership with the Marathon of New York. South Tyrol is also a horses land. In many places it’s possible to practice this exciting sport.
GASTRONOMY
Every bite a surprise
In South Tyrol, over 10,000 people live in farmsteads at high altitudes and breed cattle, taking care of the landscape. Many quality cultivations are at 1,500 m and more, habits and culture are transmitted from one generation to the other, thanks to the hospitality and ability to adapt. South Tyrolean Dolomites represent a lifestyle: a union of nature, entertainment, relax and wellness. The local cuisine is unique. The typical Alpine cuisine has been connected to the Italian one. You have to try at least three products: Speckknödel (boiled dumplings with speck), Zelten (fruit bread with oriental species) and Apfelstrudel, with shortcrust pastry and cinnamon. Wines come from the Southern part of the region. 98% of the wines in South Tyrol have the quality label “controlled designation of origin”. Grapes are simple and fragrant: Lagrein, Schiava, Gewürztraminer. There are also wine bars where you can drink the best Italian organic wines.
CULTURE
Harmonies characterised by art and the majesty of the landscape
Music represents a very important part of South Tyrol. More than 200 local bands perform during the whole year. In Toblach there is an event that cannot be missed: since 1981, the music weeks dedicated to the composer and conductor Gustav Mahler. The most important events are in the Grand Hotel Toblach and these weeks offer concerts, conferences, movies and Round Tables. From the 16th to the 28th July, you are going to have the possibility to do a music full immersion close to one of the most beautiful lakes of South Tyrol, surrounded by huts with the typical food specialities, which you cannot find elsewhere. The “Colloqui di Dobbiaco” (Toblach’s Meetings) do not have any impact on the environment: a historical event founded by the researcher Haus Glauber in the 80s: some meetings about the most important environmental emergencies of the Earth and of the Dolomites. There are several cultural offers as well: museums in the cities and in the mountains. There are many thematic museums. In Bolzano/ Bozen, we have the Ötzi Museum, in San Martino di Badia the Ladin museum is a landmark for the territory of Ladinia. In Ortisei we have the Museum Gherdëina, with the natural history of the valley, sculpture, the explanation of the origin of the Dolomites, the life and the works of the director Luis Trenker. In San Leonardo in Passiria, in the hut Sand, you have to visit the museum “Eroi e noi” (Heroes and us), dedicated to the hero of South Tyrol Andreas Hofer, a myth. In Brunico/Bruneck and in Plan de Corones two museums are dedicated to the famous mountaineer Reinhold Messner.
INFO : www.suedtirol.info