History and high passes
Cinque Torri & the Great War
Five great rock towers rising straight from the meadows, ringed by easy loop trails and one of the finest open-air Great War museums in the Dolomites: restored trenches and walkways you can wander freely among the front-line positions. A chairlift from Bai de Dones does most of the climb, so it’s ideal with children and history lovers, and Rifugio Scoiattoli and Rifugio Averau are right there for lunch under the towers.
Galleria del Lagazuoi
One of the most extraordinary WWI sites in the Dolomites. Ride the cable car from Passo Falzarego (about 30 minutes’ drive) up to Rifugio Lagazuoi in three minutes, then descend on foot through the Galleria: a 1,100-metre Italian mine tunnel dug by hand into the mountain between 1915 and 1917, now restored with carved steps and a fixed cable — a bring-a-headlamp, cold-even-in-August kind of adventure, classed as an easy via ferrata. It’s roughly an hour down to the pass; you can also take the open-air Kaiserjäger path or extend towards Col dei Bos for real wilderness.
Sass de Stria
A short, steep climb up a small peak that sat right on the front line above Passo Valparola, threaded with trenches and old tunnels and topped by a sweeping view over the Falzarego battlefields. A lot of history and panorama for little effort — an easy scramble with a few aided steps.
The Passo Giau loops
Passo Giau → Rifugio Città di Fiume
One of the finest balcony trails in the area, the great north wall of Monte Pelmo in view almost the whole way as you traverse open pasture on the flank of the Croda da Lago. Rifugio Città di Fiume, on the Alta Via 1, makes the natural lunch stop before you turn back.
Passo Giau loop via Averau & Rifugio Scoiattoli
A greatest-hits ring past two of the best-loved huts in the Dolomites: Rifugio Averau below the Nuvolau, and Rifugio Scoiattoli right beneath the Cinque Torri, where lunch comes with the towers overhead and the whole Ampezzo skyline laid out.
Passo Giau → Croda da Lago & Lago Federa
A walk to the jewel-green Lago Federa, cupped beneath the sheer Croda da Lago wall and famous for the golden larches that ring it in autumn, with Rifugio Palmieri right on the shore. A jeep service runs from Lago Pianozes if you’d rather shorten the climb.
La Stua & the Fanes rings
La Stua – Rifugio Lavinores – Rifugio Senes
A quiet, classic circuit up onto the rolling high pastures of the Sennes plateau, linking two welcoming huts far from the crowds. Gentle underfoot for its length.
La Stua – Rifugio Biella
Big, open Fanes-Sennes country on a broad track that’s as good by mountain bike as on foot, climbing steadily to Rifugio Biella beneath the Croda del Becco.
La Stua – Lago di Fosses – Rifugio Senes – La Stua
A full-day loop through lakes and wide plateaus, past the still waters of Lago di Fosses and back via Rifugio Senes; bring a picnic and take your time.
Misurina & the Tre Cime
Cimabanche – Prato Piazza – Vallandro – Carbonin loop
Park at the old casa cantoniera at Cimabanche for a sweeping circuit up to Prato Piazza (Plätzwiese), a vast green plateau under the red walls of the Croda Rossa, with the option to climb Monte Specie for one of the finest Tre Cime panoramas. Prato Piazza is at its best in the early morning.
Lago di Misurina – Monte Piana
From the Tre Cime shuttle car park at Misurina, climb (about two hours on foot, or by jeep taxi) to Monte Piana, a flat-topped summit that was a bitter front line in the Great War — today an open-air museum of restored Italian and Austrian trenches, with the Tre Cime filling the horizon.
Lago di Misurina – Tre Cime di Lavaredo
The classic, the most famous silhouette in the Dolomites. Drive the toll road from Misurina up to Rifugio Auronzo (€40 per car in 2026, including 12 hours of parking — online reservation is mandatory), then walk the roughly 10 km loop past Rifugio Lavaredo and Rifugio Locatelli for the head-on view of the three north faces.
