Adolf Munkel Trail: “For me, this is the most beautiful hike in the Dolomites. This loop is almost six miles long and isn’t that steep. While hiking, you can see the Geislerspitzen (Gruppo delle Odle), these 250-million-year-old rock formations that poke out from the mountains.”
Gschnagenhardt Hut: “This is my favorite rifugio. It’s on the Adolf Munkel Trail and sits below the Geisler (Odle) peaks in Val di Funes. I always have a plate of fried eggs, bacon, and roasted potatoes. For me, that’s the ultimate mountaineer’s meal. It fills you with energy after a long ascent.”
Reinhold Messner Haus: “We turned a former cable car station into this center that covers sustainability and the environment. It opened in September, on my birthday. We hosted a concert and a discussion with politicians and scientists about the local wolf population.”
Learning Ladin: German and Italian are the two most popular official languages, but you may hear a third: Ladin. Today this ancient local tongue is spoken in areas around the Sella massif, Belluno province, and northwestern Trentino. People in the Dolomites don’t expect you to know it, but saying bun dé instead of hello and de gra instead of danke or grazie is a sign of respect that goes a long way.
Hitting the Road
The Bolzano Airport connects the western Dolomites to European capitals like London and Berlin via the regional airline SkyAlps, but it’s best to get a car. Rent one in Brescia or Innsbruck for easy access into the ski resorts of Val Gardena; start from Venice to reach Cortina in two hours. For public transportation, trains from Venice, Verona, Munich, and Innsbruck can get you into the centers of Bressanone, Bolzano, Brunico, and Merano. The region’s gondolas, chairlifts, and funiculars bring you atop the mountains for summer hikes or winter snow shredding. New ones include the Sonnen gondola, reaching altitudes of over 6,500 feet in just six minutes, in the Klausberg ski area; a 10-seater at the Ladurns ski resort, close to the Italy-Austria border; and a cable car (pictured) that links Castelrotto with the Marinzen Alp hiking area.
This article appeared in the December 2025 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.
