Trip notes
If you are going yourself
Everything practical for Dolomites, Italy in one place — where it actually is, where to sleep, how to move, what to eat, what the weather does, and what to put in the bag. The story itself follows.
Travelled
With friends — Two of us, booked in February, still speaking by Belluno.
The route
6 stops · 4 slept in · 4 nights
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Lago di Braies
Passed through · 1,496 m
Reached 5 Jul, 09:30Good with kidsDogs welcome
The trailhead, and a day-trip lake. Start walking at dawn to beat the coaches.
Good signal — 4G at the lake and the hotel. The last strong signal for days.
Rifugio Biella
1 night · 2,327 m
Reached 6 Jul, 15:10Not one for kidsDogs welcome
First hut. A hard climb out of the lake basin and then the Croda del Becco.
Patchy signal — One bar out on the terrace. The hut wifi is for the guardian, not guests.
On foot
Rifugio Lagazuoi
1 night · 2,752 m
Reached 7 Jul, 16:20Not one for kidsNo dogs
War tunnels in the rock and the best terrace on the route at sunset.
Good signal — Unexpectedly good — the cable-car station carries a mast.
On foot
Rifugio Nuvolau
1 night · 2,575 m
Reached 9 Jul, 14:50Not one for kidsNo dogs
A hut on a summit, barely wider than the building. Book this one first.
Patchy signal — Signal on the summit, gone as soon as you step inside.
On foot
Rifugio Pramperet
1 night · 1,857 m
Reached 10 Jul, 15:40Not one for kidsDogs welcome
Quieter southern half. Fewer walkers, more chamois, longer days.
No signal — Dead ground. The hut has a landline, and it works.
On foot
Belluno
Passed through · 389 m
Reached 12 Jul, 13:20Good with kidsDogs welcome
The end, six days and 120 km south of the lake. Train onward from here.
Good signal — Back in a town with 5G and a station café to use it in.
On foot
Cortina d'Ampezzo — roughly the midpoint of the Alta Via 146.5405° N, 12.1357° E
Open route in Google MapsOpen in OpenStreetMapDay by day
8 days, start to finish · 5–12 July 2025
Day 15 Jul
Lago di BraiesSaw: The lake before the coaches arriveStaying Lago di Braies
- Rain, 22°/13° · 1.6 mm
Day 26 Jul
Starting from Lago di BraiesOn foot toRifugio BiellaSaw: Croda del BeccoSaw: The first hut dinnerStaying Rifugio Biella
- Rain, 13°/4° · 17.4 mm
Days 3–47–8 Jul
Starting from Rifugio BiellaOn foot toRifugio LagazuoiSaw: The Fanes plateauxSaw: The Lagazuoi war tunnelsSaw: The Lagazuoi terrace at sunsetStaying Rifugio Lagazuoi
- Rain, 14°/7° · 9.9 mm
- Snow, 9°/0° · 22.1 mm
Day 59 Jul
Starting from Rifugio LagazuoiOn foot toRifugio NuvolauSaw: The Lagazuoi cable carSaw: The summit hut at NuvolauStaying Rifugio Nuvolau
- Snow, 5°/-2°
Days 6–710–11 Jul
Starting from Rifugio NuvolauOn foot toRifugio PramperetSaw: Cinque TorriSaw: Città di FiumeSaw: ChamoisStaying Rifugio Pramperet
- Partly cloudy, 16°/2°
- Rain, 14°/2° · 9.1 mm
Day 812 Jul
Starting from Rifugio PramperetOn foot toBellunoTravelling home
- Rain, 22°/13° · 2.6 mm
What to pack
Nine kilos total, because dinner is someone else's job
- Clothing
- Waterproofs
- Shoes
- Ankle boots
- Money
- Cash for huts
- Medicine
- Blisters, ibuprofen
Where to stay
Rifugi on the route
Mountain hutNot one for kidsNo dogsLittle for vegans
The whole idea. Dinner, bed and breakfast for roughly €60–80 half-board, which is why your pack can weigh nine kilos.
Cortina or Dobbiaco
HotelGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
For the night before and after. Both have gear shops for whatever you forgot.
Lago di Braies
Hotel at the trailheadGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
Lets you start walking at dawn before the day-trip crowds reach the lake.
Getting around
Getting thereGood with kidsDogs welcome
Fly to Venice or Innsbruck, then bus or train to Calalzo/Dobbiaco and a local bus to the trailhead.
On the routeNot one for kidsNo dogs
On foot, roughly 120 km over 8–11 days. Cable cars can shorten several sections if weather or knees demand it.
Local busesGood with kidsDogs welcome
Dolomiti Bus links the valleys well in summer and makes bailing out from most stages straightforward.
Booking
Reserve rifugi from February for a summer walk, and carry cash — many are card-shy and all are remote.
Food stops
Rifugio dinner
Half boardNot one for kidsNo dogsLittle for vegans
Soup, pasta or polenta, meat, and something with apples. Enormous, and included in the bed price.
Canederli
Mountain stapleGood with kidsDogs welcomeLittle for vegans
Bread dumplings in broth — Tyrolean rather than Italian, and exactly right after 1,200 m of ascent.
Speck and cheese
LunchGood with kidsDogs welcomeLittle for vegans
Buy at a hut in the morning and eat it on a pass. Better than anything you carried from a supermarket.
Water
Refills
Huts sell water and most have a tap. Streams are frequent but glacial silt clogs filters fast.
Main attractions
11 in 8 days
The lake before the coaches arrive
Day 1
Croda del Becco
Day 2
The first hut dinner
Day 2
The Fanes plateaux
Days 3–4
The Lagazuoi war tunnels
Days 3–4
The Lagazuoi terrace at sunset
Days 3–4
The Lagazuoi cable car
Day 5
The summit hut at Nuvolau
Day 5
Cinque Torri
Days 6–7
Città di Fiume
Days 6–7
Chamois
Days 6–7
The story
Alta Via 1, about 120 km from Lago di Braies to Belluno, hut to hut. No tent, no stove, no sleeping bag, no food to carry. Nine kilos.
What the huts change
- Nine kilos instead of eighteen is almost a different sport — faster up, finished by three.
- You arrive to a terrace, a beer, and a wall of limestone going pink.
- The trade: you must book ahead, and you must arrive.
- Book rifugi in February for a summer walk. The good ones fill fast.
- Cash. Many are card-shy and all are remote.
- Silk liner, required and weightless. Earplugs — the snoring is Alpine in scale.
The via ferrata question
- AV1 requires none, but it passes several and the temptation is real.
- If you want one, hire a guide for the day: harness, rated lanyard, done properly.
- The cables are old war infrastructure and the exposure is honest.
Someone else is making dinner tonight. Walk like it.
Six days across the Alta Via 1 carrying nine kilos, because someone else is cooking dinner.
- #hiking
- #europe
- #alps
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