Hiking 2000 Meters Above Lake Garda

You arrive in a tiny village of Viote and check in at a mountain inn perched on the western slope of Monte Bondone at an elevation of 1,540 m. Time permitting, you can choose to visit the Viote Alpine Botanical Garden – one of the first highland botanical gardens in the Alps. After dinner, meadows above the inn offer the best vantage point for admiring the picture–perfect sunset over the Brenta Dolomites range standing opposite to Monte Bondone.

In the morning, we take an hour and a half to reach the ridge connecting the Monte Bondone group with mountain ranges fanning out from the northern tip of Lake Garda. The ascent to the ridge and the footpath that runs along it is arguably one of the most beautiful stretches of the entire itinerary. As we make our ascent, the panorama of the Brenta Dolomites range opens up slowly in a stunning display of grandeur a short distance away. A little south of the Brenta Dolomites we see the grand glaciers of the Adamello group. Once we get to the ridge, we head south to Garda. Our path frequently alternates between slopes, trailing down only to go back up at the next turn. Brief ascents alternate with short descents. These are some of the least–traveled locales where we will be seeing almost no other fellow hikers for the duration of our trek along the ridge. Today's trek will culminate in the ascent to Monte Stivo. After scaling the last slope, we find ourselves on the mountain top to be unexpectedly treated to a spectacular sight of Lake Garda lying some 2,000 meters below and stretching for a mind–boggling 55 kilometers to the south. The impression it creates is indescribable, so we conclude our narrative at this high point. Our hut is located a short way down from the mountain top, where we are headed for some rest and dinner to be followed by a spectacular sunset above Lake Garda.

Today you might want to sacrifice some sleep and get out of bed long before breakfast for a 10-minute trek from the hut to the summit. Why so? To see the magnificent and unforgettable sunrise over Lake Garda, of course! From the mountain top we can see the faraway sun-kissed Adamello glaciers turn red, the peaks of the Brenta Dolomites light up in the sun, and Lake Garda as it awakens, with its blue depth contrasting with the golden peaks of the ridges on the opposite shore. After breakfast, we leave Monte Stivo by descending an exposed sun-drenched slope facing the lake. A private bus awaits us in a village at the foot of the mountain to take us to the Brentonico plateau. Next on our itinerary are green meadows on slopes of the Monte Altissimo group, a traditional Alpine lunch at a local farm, followed by an ascent to a new peak offering breathtaking views of Lake Garda that never fail to impress. Today's trek is an easy one, so we can afford the luxury of taking our time. Our hut is yet again near a mountain top offering a 360-degree panoramic view, so expect another picture-perfect sunset over Garda.

The day of our Monte Baldo trek is the most challenging of our entire trip. The trail runs over the cusp of the ridge and the slope under it. Ascents to peaks alternate with descents into mountain saddles many times during the course of the day. The eastern slope is steeper with whimsically shaped weathered rocks. Kilometer-long streaks of rock debris run down the slopes facing the lake. The trail is well-trodden in the north and south, while the central part of Monte Baldo is less traveled and therefore more difficult to navigate. Along the entire length of today's itinerary, we will admire multiple vistas of Lake Garda and nearby mountain ranges. We will be sure to scale the Valdritta Peak – the highest point on the Monte Baldo ridge, which offers a 360-degree panorama of all mountains surrounding Lake Garda.

Ahead of us is a descent to Lake Garda over southern slopes of Monte Baldo. Today we leave Monte Baldo – a unique mountain group famous for its unusually diverse flora. Virtually all plant species occurring in the Mediterranean, plain, and Alpine belts of Italy grow on the slopes of Monte Baldo. We descend to about 1,200 m above the level of Lake Garda where a private bus awaits to take us to one of the shorefront towns on Garda. After a dip in the water and some rest, we board a ferry and head for the town of Limone on the opposite shore. The ferry ride lasts for an hour and a half. From the ferry we can see the entire Monte Baldo group – all peaks and saddles that we covered on our route the day before. We stay for the night in Limone in the comfort of a hotel and a charming ambiance of an ancient resort town.

On the last day of the trip, we hike from Limone to Riva del Garda. The western shore of Garda is very steep in this area, so it's an uphill hike from the get go. We get going a bit earlier than usual to avoid going uphill in scorching heat. But we do not need to hurry because today's trek is of moderate intensity. We reach the mountain pass by lunchtime, making a rest stop along the way to take photos on the top of a sheer cliff jutting out above the lake. After crossing the mountain pass, we make a gradual descent in the direction of Riva, first traversing the plateau under the western ridge. The last leg of our itinerary runs along the old Ponale road cut into steep mountains towering above the lake. In the dim and distant past it was used by horse-drawn carts and even the first motor vehicles. Today it is the best panoramic footpath in Garda. Our hike ends in Riva where we overnight in a hotel.

On our five-day hike we followed one of the most contrasting itineraries of the Alps. It brought us from the Alpine highlands into the warm Mediterranean climate of Garda. If you aren't in a hurry to get to the airport, you can spend today relaxing on the beaches Riva del Garda or simply take a stroll through this ancient town. Riva has a rich history that lives on in the Roman digs, a 12th century keep, and narrow streets dating from the times of the Venetian Republic.