Tour Ratings

We categorize our hiking tours according to their difficulty from Level 1 to Level 4, with Level 4 being the most difficult. Several factors influence the ratings including the profile of the itinerary, terrain, altitude, daily cumulative ascent and descent, quality of the trails, presence of lightly maintained trails and secured trails, distances between huts, and remoteness of the area.

Level 1 Village-Based Hikes

Level 1 describes village-based hiking tours with easy day hikes of 3 – 4 hours. The walking distances typically vary between 5 and 8 km. The cumulative ascent does not exceed 500 m. You will hike on well-maintained trails only. Level 1 itineraries reach the meadows above the tree line but do not climb higher into rocky terrain, so the maximum altitude does not exceed 2200 - 2300 meters. You will carry a minimum set of things – just what you need for a 3 to 5 hour hike.

Our Level 1 hiking trips feature accommodation at base camp hotels, usually in small alpine resort towns and villages in the valleys. Level 1 hikes are good for any fit person. Families with small children can join Level 1 hikes.

Level 2 Easy Hut-to-Hut Hikes

Level 2 describes multi-day hut-to-hut hikes with moderate distances between huts, typically requiring about 5 hours of hiking. Such itineraries run along well-maintained trails only. On a Level 2 hike, you will walk through non-challenging terrain, primarily meadows above the tree line, i.e. mostly at an altitude of 1700 – 2300 meters. Forest descents are normal on Level 2 routes, while ascents into rocky high-high altitude areas are limited to a minimum. Exposed trails on Level 2 itineraries, if any, must be regularly maintained and properly secured so that they are safe for little experienced hikers and for children, such as on Val Gardena and Alpe di Siusi itinerary. Typical daytime treks on a Level 2 hut-to-hut trip range from 8 to 13 km with an average total cumulative ascent around 500 – 600 meters. Occasionally, daytime treks may feature a cumulative ascent of around 800 m as a maximum. When designing Level 2 itineraries, we tend to avoid long continuous ascents – they rarely exceed 300 meters.

Level 3 Moderate Hut-to-Hut Hikes

Level 3 trips are multi-day hikes with daytime treks of 5 - 7 hours. This is net hiking time, at a normal pace, without rush. In exceptional cases, when there are no huts within a 7-hour hiking distance or no availability at such huts, we plan 8-hour crossings between huts. Level 3 itineraries run along well-maintained trails that are well marked and equipped with direction signs. You may reach rocky high altitude areas on a Level 3 hike as well as high passes and peaks accessible on normal hiking trails. There may be short or extended crossings through rocky terrain on Level 3 hikes. There are exposed trails on many Level 3 routes but no via-ferrata. Exposed trails are properly secured and maintained on Level 3 routes and do not require ferrata gear or are not at all equipped for use of ferrata gear. Guided Level 3 hikes may include glacier crossings: we provide gear for glaciers. Level 3 hikes are characterized by daily cumulative ascent of 600 – 1000 meters and daytime treks of 10 – 15 km. Continuous ascents do not exceed 600 meters. Relatively harder Level 3 itineraries include 1 or 2 crossings between huts with a cumulative ascent that exceeds 1000 m. Such crossings can take up to 8 hours.

An example of an average in terms of difficulty Level 3 trek is Alta Via 1 of the Dolomites. There are just a couple of short ascents to rocky terrain above 2500 meters of altitude. On the harder end of our Level 3 category are Fassa Dolomites and Pale di San Martino treks. You will hike at high altitude in the groups of Sella and Pale with challenging terrain. In addition, the Fassa hike features a couple of long daytime treks, as does another relatively difficult Level 3 hike, Cortina Dolomites.

Although Level 3 hikes are suitable for hikers with a normal level of fitness, you must be in good shape to be comfortable on a Level 3 hike. Self-guided Level 3 hikes require some hiking experience, preferably in the mountains. Be prepared to hike from around 8 am to 4-5 pm at your normal pace and with reasonable breaks for lunch and photography. We have had families with children starting from 6-7 years old on the least challenging Level 3 hikes, such as Alta Via 1 Northern Trek, but these were kids not new to multi-day hiking.

Level 4 Challenging Hut-to-Hut Hikes

Level 4 hut-to-hut hikes are characterized by at least one of the following factors of difficulty: regular long daytime treks between huts, continuous and steep ascents of around 1000 meters or more, rugged trails or lightly maintained trails, extended crossings through challenging terrain including loose talus. The Level 4 itineraries in the wildest regions, such as Friuli Dolomites Wilderness Trek, may run along trails that are not always marked sufficiently. The factors of difficulty vary significantly between our Level 4 hikes, and thus we describe them in the tour characteristics. Although Level 4 routes do not feature via-ferrata, there may be extended sections of secured trail that require hikers to use ferrata gear, for example along Alta Via 2 of the Dolomites. Some of our Level 4 itineraries run along well-maintained and perfectly marked trails but still qualify as Level 4 because they feature long daytime treks and long continous ascents, for example Alta Via 1 of Aosta.

Multi-day hiking experience and excellent physical condition are a must for Level 4 hikes. You must be physically prepared to hike intensively for several days. We consider an ascent rate of 300 meters per hour to be normal and sufficient on Level 4 routes, but you must be able to hike faster if necessary, given, for example, the forecasted deterioration of weather conditions during the day.