Friuli Dolomites Wilderness Trek

You arrive in the Valle di Piave valley on your and check in at one of our basecamp hotels. Townlets in Valle di Piave get only a trickle of tourist traffic despite being nestled among marvelously beautiful mountain landscapes. Thanks to this, a genuine mountain ambiance will welcome you right upon arrival.

On first day of the trek, our itinerary will take you uphill from the valley across a forest to an exquisitely beautiful location with a mountain hut near Monte Vedorcia. Here all mountain groups surrounding the Piave Valley can be admired from two viewing spots just 100 meters apart. In the evening you can marvel at a magnificent sunset that colors the chain of peaks of the Spalti di Toro mountain group all shades of orange. In the morning be sure not to miss the sunrise on the other side with panoramic vistas of the Antelao, Pelmo, and Civetta mountain groups. Another highlight of the day is a one-of-a-kind mountain hut. It is the most homelike hut you will come across on our itineraries. Built entirely out of wood, the hut can accommodate just 16 guests. Dinner is cooked in a real wood-fired oven and served in a parlor with a traditional Alpine fireplace.

Today’s itinerary will bring you to the main mountain group, Spalti di Toro, offering the first glimpse deep into the Friuli Dolomites. You will have many other chances to admire them on subsequent days of the trek. The mountain pass across the Spalti di Toro ridge offers a view of the most high-altitude region of the Friuli Dolomites with Cima dei Preti, or “Priests' Peak”, towering 2,706 meters high. Up on the pass you will appreciate the full extent of the solitude and seclusion offered by the Friuli Dolomites. The horizon is completely devoid of all traces of civilization, with mountain peaks stretching out as far as the eye can see. Slightly below the mountain pass the trail takes you past the edge of a forest belt through a landscape enchanting with its pristine beauty. Local vegetation is typical of a wooded tundra with infrequent larches and a dense underbrush cut up into “islands” by dry river beds that come back to life only in spring or during torrential rainfall.

Starting today, all treks between mountain hut will be much more challenging. You will climb 1,000 meters on average and descend by as much on a daily basis. All huts on the route except the first one are at relatively low altitudes of 1,200 to 1,600 meters. In the morning hours you will set off from the hut and go uphill and then go downhill to the next hut in the latter half of the day. Today’s itinerary crosses one of the major passes of the Monfalconi mountain group that separates the Spalti di Toro ridge from the Cridola group. All mountain passes and saddles along the route offer breathtaking panoramic views, and the Monfalconi di Forni pass is no exception. The fang-shaped Busas tower rises in front of the pass a short distance away. Endless mountain expanses open up beyond the tower. The route to the mountain pass follows a steep talus slope, much like the downhill trail on the other side. Going up and down talus slopes presents one of the biggest challenges of this hiking route.

Today you will venture deep into the Friuli Dolomites by following a scenic trail named after the gentian – a flower considered to be one of the symbols of the Alps alongside the edelweiss. This trail is remarkable not so much for its vegetation as for the magnificent vistas opening up from it. The trail has been cut through thickets of the dwarf pine on a slope facing the central region of the Friuli Dolomites. From altitudes of 1,800 - 1,900 meters you will see endless panoramas of mountains towering above the narrow Meluzzo Valley. Among other memorable highlights of today’s itinerary are idyllic landscapes of the Canpuros meadow nestled among the slopes of a natural amphitheater, making it a perfect place for a rest stop. An equally indelible impression is created by the panoramic view of the Monte Cridola with its numerous talus slopes – white strips descending into thickets of the dwarf pine. Today you will not avoid a steep descent down a talus slope. Unlike the other legs of the itinerary, however, today’s trail down the slope is less challenging.

This trail offers a good chance of sighting Alpine ibexes. Masters of this place, they are unlikely to run away from you and will instead pose for photos from a distance of less than 10 meters away. But use your common sense and do not venture all the way to Alpine ibexes to the edge of the abyss. Today’s route takes you across three mountain passes on your way to one of the biggest landmarks of this region – the Monte Pramaggiore. Much of the itinerary runs through high-altitude regions with their magnificent views of endless wild mountains, trails skirting sheer walls, and a challenging uphill climb along a poorly maintained trail. Toward the end of the day the trail goes down to the Meluzzo Valley with the entire route’s most out-of-the-way mountain hut isolated from the outer world.

The Campanile di Val Montanaia tower is the chief and best known landmark of the Friuli Dolomites. It towers 170 meters in a gorge at an altitude of some 2,000 meters. It is a very unusual specimen of natural architecture even for the Dolomites. While the Dolomites have many spires like this one, all the others are located at high altitudes, while the Val Montanaia tower sits in a wide gorge in the meadow belt. This fact makes it easily accessible on today’s route, and it will undoubtedly inspire photography enthusiasts. Above the tower the trail takes a steep ascent toward the mountain pass, vanishes in the talus slope and reappears only on the very approaches to the pass. The descent along the talus slope on the other side of the mountain pass is the longest and most complex downhill leg of the trek. After going down to the forest belt, you will be able to take the load off your feet and have a meal at a mountain hut before continuing along easy trails to your basecamp hotel in the Piave valley.

The trip ends here: this is the day of departure from Friuli Dolomites. You explored the most pristine area of the Dolomites. No other hut-to-hut itinerary in the Dolomites goes so deep into the wilderness.

If you choose this option, you will complete the normal Friuli Dolomites trek in 5 days of hiking, but you must feel comfortable with the intense hiking pace from day one. On the 7 Day Tour, the days #2 and #3 of the regular trek are merged into one day of hiking: ascent 1450 m, descent 880 m, distance 15 km, walking time 8 hours. There is a shortcut, although you will miss out on some breathtaking scenery if you take it.

The 9 and 10 Day Tours follow the main itinerary and additionally include a 1- or 2-day stop in the central region of the Friuli Dolomites that is farthest removed from any civilization. Here we offer a selection of 3 routes for one-day treks: an easy ascent to the Monte Ferrara summit with a breathtaking panorama; a loop hike to a deserted highland camping site; and the most challenging trek along the ridge linking the peaks of Postegae. You may embark on these treks with a light backpack, as you will return to the same base camp in the evening.