Hiking in the Italian Dolomites is sure to be on every hiker’s bucket list and for good reason. 

The Italian Dolomites are well known for their impressive jagged peaks and kilometres of picturesque hiking trails.

It’s a haven for hikers with well-marked and maintained trails and plentiful mountain huts along the way for food, cold drinks, and a place to sleep.

The trails are also very diverse as they traverse valley after valley underneath soaring mountain peaks; meander down to turquoise alpine lakes, and weave through thick, green forests and flower filled meadows.  

I’ve seen a lot of mountains but the scenery in the Dolomites is among the best I’ve ever seen – it really is jaw droppingly beautiful. The mountains have to be seen to be believed – they are much more impressive and larger in real life than they look in photos.

When to go?

Hiking activities in the Dolomites are available over a short season due to snow, which can last until late June.

It’s best to plan your hike between the summer months of July and September to ensure all sections of your hike are accessible.

Getting there and around

The Dolomites are located in northern Italy, roughly between Bolzano and Cortina D’Ampezzo, and close to the Austrian border. To reach the Dolomites, you’ll likely come by train from Austria or bus or train from elsewhere in Italy, such as Venice or Milan.

I made my way to the Dolomites from Innsbruck, Austria – arriving into Bressanone (also known by its German name of Brixen). Here my friends and I were able to arrange to store our bags at a hostel for a week while we went hiking.

Bressanone is a beautiful town and it’s worth wandering around for a day or two if you have time.

From there, you can catch buses around the Dolomites – although you may have to catch a few buses to get where you want to go. You’ll need to do some research to make sure you can get to and from where you need to go dependent on your route.

The hardest part though is choosing which trails to take.

On the Alta Via 1

The Alta Via 1 can be done in its entirety or in sections, and it will likely be wholly dependent on the rifugios (mountain huts) you can book. The whole trail is 120 kilometres long and typically takes nine days. If you’re doing it in its entirety, you’ll start in Dobbiaco and finish in Belluno.

You can book the hike through a tour agency who will book the huts but the hike itself is self guided.

My friends and I opted to organise the hike independently and do a six day version of the hike. If you do it this way, you‘ll need to book the rifugios well in advance to secure a bed – usually between 6-9 months before when bookings open. The tricky part is there is no central location to book the huts and you have to book each hut individually either through their website or by email.

This is complicated by each hut opening their bookings at different times. Some open in October the year before, while others may only open around February. Start researching early and figure out which huts you need to book and the best time to contact them to secure your spot.

In some locations on the trail, there are mountain huts within close proximity to each other so you have a few options on which one to stay at depending on where you would like to stay and how long you want each day of the hike to take. At times, we went off the usual route to stay in specific huts where the views looked good.

Because of the rifugio choices and time we had to do the hike, my friends and I did a variation of the Alta Via 1 and this is what our route looked like.

Our hike started near Rifugio Passo Valparola, which technically isn’t on the Alta Via 1 but is very close by and is a short bus ride to part way through the usual fourth day of the trail.

This was the nicest of the refugios I stayed at in terms of rooms and amenities as it’s located on a road, traversed by public buses, so it has all the creature comforts owing to this easy access. This was the only rifugio I stayed in that included hot showers for free. 

Day 1

After departing Rifugio Passo Valparola, my friends and I started the hike from Passo Falzarego (2,109 metres) and headed up towards Rifugio Cinque Torri. We stopped here for lunch before slowly negotiating a very muddy slope leading to a lovely valley. After this valley, it was up another pass to Rifugio Croda de Lago. The hike took about six hours in total.

We stayed the night at Rifugio Croda de Lago (2,046 metres) which sits next to the picturesque Federa Lake and offers stunning mountain views. Hot showers are available for a fee – but try to get there early in the afternoon to ensure the water is still hot as it can run out.

Day 2

The next day’s hike was a short, but beautiful one across to Rifugio Citta di Fiume, located at 1,917 metres.

It takes about 2.5 hours to hike between the two rifugios, heading over Forcella Ambrizzola and then descending.

Citta do Fiume has beautiful rugged mountains surrounding it, which light up at sunset. Hot showers are also available here for a small fee. 

Day 3

From Rifugio Citta de Fiume, you traverse a valley for an hour or two before heading steeply uphill over another pass to reach Rifugio Coldai, which sits at 2,135 metres.

Not going to lie, this was a hard, steep and hot stretch.

But this day’s hike was one of the highlights of the Alta Via 1, as you traverse several valleys in a short time and all of them are very different. It felt like I did three different hikes in one day. However, this day’s hike was also the hardest of the six days. 

After stopping at Rifugio Coldai for lunch and a cold Radler, my group continued past the sparking alpine lakes below the rifugio, tackled a scree slope and even a snow patch, then headed very slowly up a very steep trail to Rifugio Tissi (2,250 metres).

This day’s hike took about six hours.

Tissi was my favourite mountain hut of the trail, and the tiring hike was worth it for the views.

Rifugio Tissi sits near the edge of a cliff that rises at least 1000 metres from the town below. 

It’s a very dramatic location and a great spot to see both sunset and sunrise as you get a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains. 

This rifugio also has hot showers available for a fee, but time is limited to five minutes.

Day 4

From Refugio Tissi, it’s mostly downhill to Rifugio Mario Vazzoler (1,714 metres) – a relaxing spot with towering spires surrounding it.

There’s also showers here for a fee.

The hike here took about 3-4 hours, and was relatively easy especially compared to the previous day. We arrived in time for lunch and then spent the rest of the day enjoying cold drinks out the front of the rifugio admiring the mountains.

Day 5

Up, over and down another pass brings you to Rifugio Carestiato, which was the last rifugio of our multi-day hike. 

This hut sits at 1,834 metres and has a modern common area and amenities.

It‘s a steep hike up scree over Forcella del Camp (1,933 metres) to get to the hut but we moved quickly as storms started to form around us. We had been lucky with the weather up to this point, with beautiful, sunny days. But our luck ran out and we were caught in a storm about 45 minutes out from the next hut.

We tried to wait it out for a bit under trees as the rain poured down but then we all got too cold, so we kept moving crossing swollen rivers with the help of a human chain of hikers. Eventually we made it to the hut, very glad to strip off sodden clothes and getting dry and warm in front of the heater and the help of hot drinks.

This section of the trail takes about 4-6 hours.

Refugio Carestiato has hot showers for €1 per two minutes. This was the only one where you didn’t have to buy a token to use the shower and could use coins.

This rifugio had many nice areas to sit and enjoy the mountain views.

Day 6

You can end your Alta Via 1 hike in a few locations, however my friends and I opted to walk out to Agordo and catch several buses back to our starting location at Bressanone.

The hike out took about three hours.

Meals & showers

Each rifugio offers meals and they are hearty and filling.

With a half board option available when booking, you will be provided with a bed to sleep in, with dinner and breakfast included in your stay.

Beds are in a hostel dorm style and you can typically expect each room to have between 4-8 beds, so you’ll likely get to know other hikers.

Dinner consists of three courses – usually starting with a soup, followed by a main meal of a pasta or meat dish and then dessert. All rifugios offered you a choice of main meal.

Dinner starts at a set time, usually around 7pm and you eat in a common dining area with everyone else.

The provided dinners are delicious, offering up hearty, Italian style dishes that will satisfy your hunger after a long day of hiking.

Breakfast is in buffet style. Every rifugio had a slightly different offering but you can expect cold meats, eggs, bread and cereals at a minimum.

You can buy lunch along the way at rifugios. You might also want to bring along a few snacks such as muesli/granola bars to tide you over in between meals.

Not all water at rifugios is drinking water. You may have to buy bottled water on the trail at rifugios.

Hot showers were available at each rifugio I stayed at. For the most part, these were not included in the half board price, and were around €5-6 on top of the accommodation cost. Some showers were timed, others were not but you couldn’t really linger anyway as other hikers would always be waiting for a shower.

If you want a guaranteed hot shower, try to arrive mid afternoon at your rifigio otherwise the hot water may run out. 

How much does it cost?

Prices vary from rifugio to rifugio and is dependent on their location. The more remote they are, the higher the cost.

Budget around €60-80 per rifugio per night for half board (bed and dinner/breakfast). If you’re planning on taking showers, buying alcohol or eating meals outside of breakfast/dinner, you’ll need to budget at least €20-30 more each day. You’ll also probably need a few euros each day to buy drinking water.

When booking rifugios, you’ll likely have to pay a deposit of around €20-30 and then pay the rest when you arrive.

Some rigugios allow card payments, however it’s advisable to bring some cash as several rifugios are cash only.

What is the terrain like?

The terrain in the Dolomites is ever changing and ranges from scree slopes, to rocky hills, muddy paths and even snow patches.

There are several steep sections both up and down.

Hiking shoes and hiking poles are recommended.

Things to know

• Blankets and pillows are supplied at each rifugio so there’s no need to bring a sleeping bag. However, blankets aren’t washed every day so a sleeping bag liner is required.

• Bring your own soap and a towel to shower.

• Make sure you pack a few changes of clothes in case you get wet or muddy. A raincoat is essential, as well as dry bags and some warm layers. There’s a high chance of storms or bad weather in the mountains – and the weather can change very quickly.

• Limited charging stations are available at each rifugio, and you’ll be competing with everyone else who needs to charge their phone, camera or battery pack. This is another reason to arrive mid-afternoon before everyone arrives. Don’t forget a battery pack to keep your phone charged on the trail.

• Rain and storms are highly possible, but also sunny days. Make sure you bring a hat and sunscreen. 

• Make sure you bring cash. You’ll need this for some rifugios to pay for accommodation and any extra meals on top of breakfast and dinner, as well as any drinks. Showers may also need to be paid by cash.