DAY 1
D included
Meeting at Venice airport in the afternoon, we travel (4 hrs) to our mountain hotel in the German speaking South Tyrol (Sudtirol in German, Alto Adige in Italian). The hotel lies at 2,000 m/6,500 ft above sea level and is known for its excellent regional cuisine. En route, we pause in Dobbiaco to see the hut in which Gustav Mahler composed on his summer retreats.
DAY 2
B, L, D included
Our walk today is a circuit around the breath-taking, flower filled high Pratopiazza plateau. We climb on comfortable mountain paths to 360-degree panoramic views from the summit of Monte Specie (8 km/5 miles, 4.5 hours) and stop for a mountain refuge lunch on our return.
DAY 3
B, L, D included
We leave our high-altitude hotel and head for one of the most beautiful walks in the Dolomites, a circuit of the iconic Tre Cime di Lavaredo above Misurina, at over 2,000 metres throughout, with varied Dolomite views and an astonishing array of high mountain flowers (8 km/5 miles, 4.5 hours). Our mountain refuge lunch may feature goulash or canederli (dumplings) before we continue to our 4-star family-run hotel in the pedestrian main street of Cortina d’Ampezzo (5 nights).
DAY 4
B, L, D included
The front line of World War One ran through the heart of the Dolomites and today we follow a fascinating and unique history themed walk at Sass di Stria. Narrow mountain paths take us to trenches and fortifications in locations with panoramic views and down through an Austrian-built tunnel (6 km/4 miles, 4 hrs). We conclude with a visit to the Intra I Sass World War One museum in a late nineteenth century Austrian fort.
DAY 5
B, L, D included
Our walk takes us into pretty Dolomite larch and spruce forest in search of lower altitude orchids with views down to Cortina (9 km, 6 miles, 4-5 hrs).
DAY 6
B, L, D included
A 30 min drive takes us to Passo Giau at over 2,100 m/6,890 ft where we start a spectacular walk through meadows on the slopes of the volcanic Monte Pore (7 km/5 miles, 3 hrs). After a refuge lunch, we visit the excellent museum in Selva di Cadore with palaeontological and archaeological exhibits containing the skeleton of 7,500 years old Mondeval Man, a Mesolithic era hunter found in the area.
DAY 7
B, L, D included
A spectacular cable car journey takes us to 2,700 m/8,800 ft and a panoramic high walk (7 km/5 miles, 4 hrs) on the dramatic rocky Tofana massif in search of the elusive Devil’s Claw (Physoplexis comosa) and other Alpine flowers. We descend to the valley for a refuge lunch and visit the 11th century Andraz castle, built to control the trading route in the valley. We return to the hotel and celebrate our journey with a dinner of regional and seasonal specialities at a Michelin starred restaurant (perhaps blueberry tagliatelle with venison ragu or ravioli with wild herbs and butter followed by lamb chops with chard).
DAY 8
B included
We transfer to Venice airport (2.5 hrs) for flights home stopping en route for a visit to the Cadore valley to visit Titian’s birth home, restored to its original form in the 1930s, in Pieve di Cadore.