Zoldo Dolomites Loop Hike

We have chosen the commune of Forno di Zoldo as the basecamp for this trek because it offers the most convenient and logical starting point for the itinerary. It is also a place with a fascinating history that sets it apart from the majority of Alpine resorts. For more than 600 years Forno was renowned as a center of blacksmiths that catered to the ironmongery needs of the Republic of Venice. It is the “birthplace” of many wrought-iron lamp posts and gates of Venice, luxurious palace chandeliers, and ornate handles that you can admire to this day on doors of upscale hotels. The craft died out in Forno throughout the 20th century, the local Iron and Nails Museum is its only reminder. It is housed in the historic building of the Palazzo del Capitaniato in downtown Forno, which served since 1409 as the residence of Captains – governors of the Republic of Venice in the Province of Zoldo.

Each day of the trek, you will discover a new mountain group. Today you will cross a forest belt into highlands of the Mezzodi group. As the day draws to a close, you will descend to a mountain hut perched on a slope at a picture-perfect fringe of a forest. Mezzodi features seldom-traveled trails, narrow scree corridors, and, most importantly, a breathtaking panoramic view of the Dolomites opening up from the Belvedere lookout. It is an exposed cliff facing the Zoldo Valley. The grand Monte Pelmo stands tall across the valley, and to the west the skyline is punctuated by numerous mountaintops of the Sorapis and Antelao groups. This area is especially striking after 5 p.m. once the air has cleared and sun rays set the mountain slopes aglow.

Today the itinerary takes you through the San Sebastiano group, and you are hiking on very little-travelled trails. The main trail runs beneath the south slopes above the Zoldo Valley. It offers invariably spellbinding vistas of Monte Pelmo across the valley and frequently changing landscapes: along this section of the trek, scree crossings alternate with descents into alpine meadows and the forest belt. It is a trek with a higher than average cumulative ascent, but it is comfortably distributed over 6 – 7 sections during the day.

The classic Zoldo Dolomites itinerary follows the eastern slopes of the Civetta group. However, the conditions of the eastern trail have significantly worsened in the recent years due to rockfalls and lack of maintenance, thus making the classic route accessible to expert hikers only. For this reason we route our primary Zoldo itinerary via the west-side trails. Civetta is arguably one of the most beautiful mountain groups of the Dolomite Alps. The name Civetta applies to a mountain system combining two adjacent ranges: Moiazza and Civetta proper. Today you hike round the Moiazza group right below its impressive vertical walls. You will be walking along the Alta Via N.1 trails, and you will see many more hikers here compared to almost total wilderness of the first two days of your hike.

Today, the trail runs along the western wall of Civetta with exciting views of the adjacent Marmolada and Sella groups. You will walk just above the tree line in the contrasting landscapes with green meadows and pine forest neighboring the white scree and rocks of Civetta. In the afternoon you reach the north tip of Civetta, where the slopes form a small bowl or mountain amphitheater. Here at 2,143 m sits a must-see romantic Coldai Lake – one the highlights of this region and the Dolomites. Passed the lake, shortly you arrive in the hut where you will stay overnight. It is facing the Zoldo Valley and Monte Pelmo. Do not miss the sunset: there is an excellent point to watch it from the trail just 50 m below the hut.

You start the day at the northern extremity of the Civetta Group. An interesting archaeological site has been preserved in this area. It is an inscription chiseled out in a rock, dating back to the 1st century A.D. It reads “FIN BEL IUL”. Roman history scholars have interpreted this as “Fines Bellunatorum Iuliensium”, or the boundary between the municipalities of Bellumo and Julium Carnicum. Today's itinerary takes you to Monte Pelmo – one of the dominant mountains of the Zoldo Valley and the entire region, which beckoned to you throughout the trek. Pelmo is a very compact mountain group that towers 1,300 meters above the relatively plain landscape of meadows and forests around it. Hiking round Monte Pelmo, you will see fossilized dinosaur footprints just a few hundred meters off the main trail. They are preserved on a massive chunk of rock cleaved from the vertical cliff of Pelmo. Information about these footprints is scant. Scientists attribute them to creatures that populated the ocean in the Triassic age some 200-250 million years ago. It is well worth seeing since there are few similar sites across the Alps.

The relatively small mountain group of Monte Rite stands apart from the chief dominant groups of the region. As such, it offers one of the best panoramic views of the Dolomites from its flat mountaintops. A fort was built here in the early 20th century and used during World War I. Some 100 years later, in 2002, Reinhold Messner opened the first mountain museum in the renovated building of the fort. It is called the Museum in the Clouds on account of it sitting at the elevation of 2,138 m. The barracks building was also restored and is now housing a mountain hut. The trek from Pelmo to Monte Rite takes close to 5 hours and runs through sparse forests and meadows. You will have time to visit the Museum in the Clouds which is renowned for its extraordinary exhibits housed in the unusual interiors of a military fort. As the day draws to a close, you can admire the sunset from a lookout by the mountain hut.

The final leg of the itinerary takes you through the Bosconero group. These mountains are more popular with climbers. They are too challenging for hikers, and in fact the classic Zoldo Dolomites route in Bosconero is currently not accessible. For this reason, our route covers only the north part of Bosconero where the trails are maintained well. Here you will ascend to a mountain saddle offering a splendid panorama of Pelmo, Monte Rite, and Antelao opening up for the last time before the descent down to the valley. You will be going down a quite steep talus slope into a gigantic natural hollow before the trails runs into a forest and descends to the Zoldo Valley. This crossing is characterized a relatively long descent. In the morning, there is a descent of 600 meters on a limited-access road from Monte Rite. Later in the afternoon, you will gradually descend 900 meters to Forno di Zoldo.

The trek ends in Forno di Zoldo. The mountains of the Zoldo Valley that you have covered are beautiful, but only Civetta and Pelmo are known outside Italy. That's why the trail is never overcrowded and mostly runs through the wilderness.

We recommend this route option to those hikers who have not more than 4 days for hiking but would like to enjoy the diversity of the Dolomites typical of longer routes. The route starts in Zoldo and goes through the groups of Mezzodi, San Sebastiano and Moiazza-Civetta. You will walk in complete wilderness along the least-traveled trails during the first two days. The other two legs are same of Alta Via 1 with the only difference that you will walk from south to north.

This route runs along the main itinerary through the groups of Mezzodi, San Sebastiano, Moiazza-Civetta and Pelmo. There are 5 hiking days: the days #2-6 of the main itinerary. The route does not reach Monte Rite and Bosconero but desends to the Zoldo valley near Monte Pelmo.

This route option with 6 hiking days follows the primary itinerary until it reaches Monte Rite. The route does not go further into the Bosconero group. You will finish your hike at Passo Cibiana after a descent from Monte Rite.