If you’ve been considering hiking Alta Via 1 in Italy, all I can say is, do it. It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done. And I already know I will go back and do it again someday. Or maybe it’ll be a via ferrata up in the Dolomites! Maybe both… Anyone want to join?
My friend Elizabeth and I decided to do Alta Via 1 for our annual trip together. Keep in mind, this hiking trail is not easy. It may be the easiest hut to hut trail in the Dolomites, but it is not easy. Every single day was a tough hike. If you are new to hiking, it might be best to do some other hiking before taking this on – bonus if have a friend along! The great thing about trails like this though, you will always meet friends along the way! We saw so many of the same people along the trails and at the huts we stayed in at end of the day.
People pay a lot of money to have someone else book their hut stays and give them the trails to follow to get from one hut to another. However, we decided to save a few bucks and book everything on our own. I’m going to tell you where we stayed, but there were some huts that weren’t the best. Lucky for you, we met people who told us about better huts that they stayed at nearby. I will include those so you can make your own decisions on where to stay. Booking is very specific as well. The huts book quickly, so you have to be on top of it if you want to get all the huts you want! There’s a lot of info here, but I hope it helps you plan your trip!
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How to Book Huts
Booking the huts along Alta Via 1 is tricky because they all open their books on different days. You HAVE to book in advance, or you won’t have a place to stay. Although, if you are on the trail, legally huts cannot turn you away. In the off season times (like when we went), you can get into a hut last minute here and there. But lucky for us, they were also very flexible when our first day was messed up from a storm. Honestly, I don’t think I would go in July or August. Even though you risk the rain and potentially snow in June, there are perks to it being less busy and cooler.
Bookings open about 6-9 months in advance, and you should be on their website ready to book as soon as it opens. You can check websites before that to see if they’ve announced when they will open books. We were pretty on top of things and we still didn’t get 2 of the huts we really wanted. October/November the year before you are wanting to go is the best time to start looking at the hut’s websites.
When booking, you will have the choice between half board or just a bed. The half board includes dinner the night you get in and breakfast the next morning before you leave. It is well worth it so you don’t have to pack out all your food for a week. Which brings me to the next topic of conversation in this post: food.
What Will You Eat
The food at the rifugios was honestly pretty good. Not every hut is created equal on the food front, but for the most part, we had good food. Not having to worry about carrying meals in our bags was so nice! Less weight in your pack, better meals, and not overly expensive considering. Every hut we stayed at also offered a packed lunch for the next day. They usually included a couple of sandwiches, chips/crisps or chocolate bar, and a piece of fruit. I bought lunch one day when I knew the trail I was taking didn’t have another rifugio to stop at. It was €13, so not horrible. We spent about €20 on each meal we had when we stopped to eat at rifugios for lunch.
Our Exact Route
We started by flying into Venice and spent a few days exploring before going up to the trail. If you want to visit Venice, you can read my blog post here. Taking a bus up to Cortina is really easy from Venice Marco Polo Airport. The Cortina Express took a little over 2 hours, cost €30 each, and was really comfortable. The bus has wifi, seatbelts, and plugs. There was no toilet, so be sure to go before. You definitely need to book these tickets in advance.
From Cortina, we just changed to a local but to get us to our first hut where we planned to start the hike. We were able to tap to buy tickets on the buses and for both buses cost €9 total. Total time from Cortina was about an hour and 10 minutes. Buses ran on time and were honestly really easy and comfortable. One thing to note about buses is we were there on the shoulder season. Their high season starts mid-July and goes until mid-September, so if you go right before or right after, some things might be easier to book/less busy. However, the trade off for that is some things won’t be open. The bus journey is so gorgeous and you will get your first taste of the views in the Dolomites!
Speckstube Eggerhof
We got to Speckstube Eggerhof around 7 pm, so the kitchen was closed. Since we knew that would be the case, we stopped at a grocery store in Cortina for some girl dinner essentials. We got there right before the rain started so we had great views initially. By morning you couldn’t even see the mountains due to cloud cover.
The hut was really cute as you can see from the photos. We had a nice little balcony with gorgeous views. The room was spacious and had a pull out couch and a large comfortable bed. They had a tea and coffee area that was available to us 24/7, and we got breakfast in the morning. Breakfast was good! You will start to see a trend with breakfast food along the trail. Usually we had some form of egg (often hard boiled), speck or salami or prosciutto type meats, cheeses, breads and pastries, and yogurt with all the stuff to add to that. We didn’t leave hungry!
Lago di Braies
Due to the horrible thunder storm that came through, we decided it was too dangerous to be up on the mountains and ridges. So on day 1, we had to shift our plans. We started the morning hiking/walking about an hour (2-3 miles) up to the starting point of the trail: Lago di Braies.
This is where most people start Alta Via 1, but as you can see, the weather did not cooperate for us. It rained our whole walk there and while we were there. The cloud coverage was so thick you couldn’t see the mountains on the lake at all. However, the views we got were quite pretty and moody! The trail we were meant to go up was invisible. Even if we had chosen to risk hiking in the rain, we wouldn’t have seen anything. Overall it just wasn’t the experience we wanted when starting a hike like this, and we decided to bus as far as we could to the rifugio.
From Lago di Braies, there are buses (it was quite busy even in the rain because people can get there easily with a car or bus). Our first bus cost €5.50 each and took 20 minutes. Once we got off the bus, we walked a couple minutes to a metro station where we took a train about 30 minutes for €5 each. That got us to Brunico. I would recommend stopping and eating here if you are on this journey. The town is really nice and had a lot going on. We had a latte and relaxed for a bit before catching our next bus, which was so packed full of people we had to stand for the 20 minute ride. Luckily for us, the driver let us on for free!
The bus dropped us in a tiny village (Zwischenwasser) with only a couple of rifugios around. Luckily, we were able to get a ham and cheese sandwich at one of them. We were so grateful for that! We also asked the workers about getting to Pederu, where the trail started in order for us to make it to our Refugio that night. That’s when we found out that the road was closed to Pederu. They recommended we catch the next bus to San Vigilio and see if there was any way to get to Pederu from there.
So, on our 4th bus, which technically should go all the way to Pederu, the driver told us he can’t take us further than San Vigilio. Again, he didn’t charge us, so we got a free ride. Once we were in San Vigilio, we tried waiting for another bus, we called a taxi service, and we tried to get an uber. To no avail! That’s when we decided we weren’t going to make it to Fodara Vedla that night.
BONUS STAY: San Vigilio at Chalet Corso
When searching for a last minute place to stay, there weren’t that many options. With it still being shoulder season, not everything was open yet. Luckily, we walked to Chalet Corso after doing a little research and we got a room! With our first day being like it was, we were happy to learn that Chalet Corso has a small spa. They have a few different saunas, a small jacuzzi, and as you can see in the photo, it’s just a very cute and peaceful place in the back of the property.
We also got extremely lucky in our correspondence with Rifugio Vedla because when we told them we couldn’t make it that day, they extended an invitation for us to come the next night. We really wanted to stay at Vedla because we read that it was one of the best huts on the trail. So after finagling our schedule, canceling another Rifugio, and planning a double hike day, we said yes. With our schedule sorted, we went to sleep and woke up the next morning to sunny skies and mountains all around!
The beds at Chalet Corso were a bit hard for both of us, it seemed like they were very new and not broken in at all. The room was a bit cold, but they gave us a small space heater to keep warm. Breakfast was incredible and was included in the room cost (about €150) and we had a really great dinner the night before in town at Ristorante Erika. The carbonara was really good, but if more things had been open, we probably would’ve gone to a pizza place for the quickness and nearness to our hotel.
Schutzhaus Fodara Vedla
Honestly, waking up to the sun was all we needed to get us going the next morning! After eating breakfast, we set off for Pederu. You can get a bus from here, but they still weren’t running in the morning. Plus, we’re in the Dolomites to hike, so we walked the 8 miles there. Pederu is really only the Rifugio at the bottom of the mountains there, so it was a good spot to stop and have lunch.
The walk there was pretty flat with gorgeous views the whole way. We started out on the road, but it turned off onto a gravel path for most of the rest of the way. It kept right alongside the road, and we saw cars going by the whole time. Still confused about the bus not running, but it doesn’t matter now. We saw tons of cows along the route, and they all wear cowbells so you get a little bit of music along your walk.
When we got to Pederu, we were very happy to see it! Hungry and ready for a bit of rest before heading up to the Rifugio, I had a burger and fries. We chugged some water, had our first fun encounter with others who are hiking and biking along the trail, and headed straight up the mountain!
The hike is steep right off the bat. We had about 10 switchbacks on a sort-of road with some gravel. Not my favorite terrain, but vehicles have to get up and down it as well. Once we got to the top part of that, we found a hiking trail and went on some dirt and rocky areas in the woods. You can choose to stay on the road, but I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. We saw some amazing views from the other trail!
After a couple of hours of uphill, we finally reached Rifugio Vedla. It is nestled in a valley so it’s really picturesque! We immediately dropped our stuff in the room (a 3 bed bunk but only the 2 of us were in the room) and went back outside to have a drink and wait until dinner time. They do a family style dinner where they assign you a table and everyone gets served at the same time. On arrival, they asked what we wanted for food between a couple of options. The dinner was really good and hearty. Just what we needed after about 12 miles!
The next morning, we had buffet style breakfast that was good, and then we caught a car back down the mountain to Pederu. The Rifugio offered the service for €40, and we justified it because going back down what we climbed the day before would’ve hurt, but also would have taken hours we really didn’t have that day. Because of our shift in plans after the rain, today was a double hike day.
Rifugio Fanes
It’s only about 4 miles to Rifugio Fanes, so if we could have kept our original plan, it would’ve been a more chilled hiking day. We ended up not staying there because of our day one hiccup with the rain and I am so bummed. Everyone we spoke to about it said it was one of their favorite stays. About a half mile from the hut is a brewery with another Rifugio where you can also stay. I would’ve loved to go up there to check it out and try some of the beers. We didn’t have time though and there was a lot more hiking to be done that day!
Luckily, we at least got to experience this cute rifiugio for lunch on our way through to Rifugio Scotoni. The people at Rifugio Fanes are super nice, and I can say the food is great! I really liked the pork schnitzel! It is a massive portion, but I ate most of it and am glad I did! The second part of this day was TOUGH (this is why this is best done as a 2 day hike, which was the original plan).
Rifugio Scotoni
From Rifugio Fanes, you go straight up again. It’s an intense climb with a full belly, but there is a gravel path if you prefer to take that. When we got to the top, it was nice and steady for a bit. We saw some wildlife and met a few people walking along. This was a really beautiful part of the day and a really necessary flat portion of the hike with what was to come. We rested and snacked before hitting the last big incline that day.
This part of the hike was honestly a bit crazy! The incline was steep, but we’d already gone so far up that day that it was quite cold up there. It was sort of raining, and there was some snow on the ground, too. The wind is wild up there! Once we got to the top (in-between two mountains) we had to hike down to a gorgeous blue lake! The trail looks completely crazy when you look down from the top. It was a ton of switchbacks, so it wasn’t as bad as it looks, but it took us quite a while to make it down.
Sadly, we were not rewarded with Rifugio Scotoni like I thought we would be when we got down by the lake. We had to hike down even further. At this point, it was around 7pm, so we were hungry and just kind of over it for the day. It actually isn’t that far down, it’s just steep decline. It is beautiful to look down into the valley where the hut is, and the trail goes along a waterfall.
When we finally walked into Rifugio Scotoni, it was 8pm and everyone was already finishing dinner. Luckily, we were able to get our food and relax. We sat with a few other Americans and chatted, and then the guys we met on the trail that day came in and sat with us as well. It was a great day of hiking, I just wouldn’t recommend doing those days as one if you can help it. Keeping to our original plan would’ve been better for sure!
Rifugio Scotoni is really beautiful. They have alpacas, the sunset was gorgeous, and the food was good! Breakfast the next morning was ok. My favorite things to eat there were the pasta and the chocolate cake. If you aren’t wanting to hike down into the valley just to hike back out of it the next morning, then don’t stay here. But I thought overall it was ok! We had a 2 bunk room with 2 other girls. Beds were comfortable there, I slept really well! And we had a bathroom in our room so we didn’t have to share with everyone in the hut. One downside, the power outlets didn’t work, and since we went to bed so late, I wasn’t able to charge my devices until the morning. Turned out, the breaker switch popped off, so she fixed it in the morning.
Rifugio Averau
As I mentioned above, the start of our 3rd day of hiking meant climbing back out of the valley along that waterfall. After the hike the day before, my friend and I were both a bit grumpy to have to do that. Once we made it up, we kept climbing up and over another peak. If you want to, when you get to the top you can keep climbing to Rifugio Laazuoi. It’s a big steep incline up to it, but the views look amazing in the photos I’ve seen. We didn’t go up. Mostly because if you do go up, you have to come back down, so keep that in mind.
Anyways we looped around to the next part of the hike after taking a rest at the top. Keep a close eye on the trail map if you are using AllTrails. We went way past our turning point because it was telling us to turn onto a non-existent path and had to hike back up at least a quarter mile. We were quite annoyed by this because it was another long day. Once we got to the top of this climb, the trail also advised us to do an extra stretch up another peak, which we chose not to do. It looked cool, but we were already hours into the day with quite a bit to go still.
This decline stretch was the sketchiest of the whole trail in my opinion. We took it really slow, but there were some areas where the trail was basically non-existent and we were just sliding down loose gravelly scree. We had some really nice people pass us on the trail and help with some of the more technical areas. The sketchiness is increased with a 25 pound pack on your back for sure. But we finally made it down, and into a small village type area. We had lunch at Rifugio Gallina. I ate pasta and bread knowing I had a big incline to get through before we were at Rifugio Averau.
Elizabeth was really sore in her knees and honestly a little freaked after that decline. She decided to try to catch a ride up to the rifugio instead of hiking it. We just approached a couple of women who looked really nice (and were definitely tourists) and asked if they would take her. They agreed and off they went. I decided to hike to the top still. The thing about these hikes are you constantly see people on the trail, so I wasn’t afraid to hike on my own. It was a really nice trail because I was in the forest for most of it! As I climbed it got more rocky and by the time I made it to the top it was gravelly scree again.
This might have been my favorite hut for views and food. I loved this hut! I immediately went to check in and realized Elizabeth didn’t make it. She had texted me a few times to say the road to the hut was closed and they couldn’t get up there, so she went back to Cortina to stay the night at a hotel.
It was weird being there on my own, but I ate dinner with someone I’d seen on the trail quite a few times! I ate steak, vegetables, and ice cream that night – my favorite meal on the trail. The only downside for me here was staying in a 10-person mixed dorm. It’s hard when everyone goes to sleep at different times and people were in their bags, making noise. And then everyone is up at different times in the morning too. A win for my manta sleep mask!
Hotel Orso Grigio (off trail)
The next morning, I had to head down about 4,000 feet to a little town called Pescul. Unfortunately, we had to go a bit off trail on this day because the huts were all booked when we tried to get one. However, there were good things about having a night in a hotel halfway through.
The start of this hike was so fun! I did fall once, but it was a minor spill. The trail wound through grassy hills for a bit, where I decided to have a little lunch. I bought the packed lunch from Rifugio Averau for this hiking day because of how the rifugios are positioned with where I was going. It cost €13 and they gave me 2 sandwiches, an apple, and a chocolate bar. From there, I had my only incline of the day, which was short, but very steep.
From the top, it was all downhill. My toes and knees were done for by the end of the day, but it only took me a few hours to get to the bottom luckily. As I went down, it got warmer, but it also got grassier and more dirt versus rock on the trail. When you start this part of the trail, it is a really narrow path, but you will still see the markers along the way. I came out of the forest and onto a road that I just had to follow to get to Pescul. They’re just little alpine-like villages along the way, but it was only about a mile until I got into town. I stopped at a little pub to have a beer and relax for a bit, and then I wandered down the road to the hotel we booked.
Hotel Orso Grigio is a really nice boutique hotel right off the main road. They have spa facilities and our dinner and breakfast were also included in the cost of the room. It was another great meal served here and the breakfast was a bit fancier than the rifugios as well. Although not necessary on your way along Alta Via 1, it was a nice stop at this point for a little extra R and R.
Rifugio Vazzoler
The next day, after our delicious breakfast, we hopped on a bus to Caprile. It cost €4.20 for a 30 minute ride. Our second bus took us to Listolade for another €4.20 and was about 40 minutes. We needed to get closer to the trailhead from the hotel before hiking up to Rifiugio Vazzoler because we were pretty far off track. I didn’t mind the extra bit of rest for my legs after the day before going downhill so far. (My big toes ended up bruising pretty badly about 2 weeks after this).
We ended up only hiking around 3 miles or so this day, and the whole time it was on a gravel path/road. Not my favorite terrain, but it was easier on our legs. We ended up getting to Rifugio Vazzoler at 1230, so we had lunch at the hut and relaxed with a drink. We both took a nap as well, which was so nice for the first time on this trip!
The hut is really cute and the views are incredible! We had a room to ourselves with a single bunk bed, but it was pretty noisy and you could hear every door closing and step taken. I didn’t love the food here – of course it was the one place we ate all 3 meals. And this was the first stop where we had to pay €3 for a shower token. It gives you 3 minutes of hot water. Since we had a really chill day, we decided to use the wipes we packed instead. This ended up being my least favorite hut along our way.
Rifugio Carestiato
After a chilled day and for our last hike to a hut, we had one of our toughest days! You start off hiking back down the way we came up about a mile and a half and then turning off the path to another trail. We went through every type of terrain again on our way to Rifugio Carestiato.
Fair warning: You will be on a ridge pretty frequently on this day and there is a little bit of climb-type hiking. I absolutely loved this hike, but we ran into someone who was really freaking out along the ridge, and Elizabeth even cried a bit when we got to the top of one section. There is a lot of loose gravel and extremely steep climbing in one section. Just take extra care!
We went up and down quite a bit on this hike, so just when you think you’re about done, it throws another little hill. But it did take us about 7 hours to hike this trail. It is gorgeous, so be sure to soak it all in! We knew that this was our last hike together on this trek, so we made some fun memories despite all the struggles the week brought. I would do this all again in a heartbeat.
The hut is nice, located at the top of a hill. It was my best night of sleep the whole week. We had to pay €3 for a shower token, and this time we did. It honestly was a sufficient amount of time to get a good clean and wash my face. We reconnected with some friends we met along the way that day, and a few we’d met earlier in the week, so that was fun! Dinner was not great, and the breakfast was the worst of the week – mainly because they didn’t have eggs or pastries, just bread and ham. As a note: I heard that Rifugio San Sebastiano was really great, but it is a few miles further.
Finishing the Trail
Belluno
You will end your time in the Dolomites in Belluno, a really cute mountain town that is the official end of the trail. You can decide where you want to hike down to from the Refugio Carestiano – although you might go further than we did and stay at Rifugio Pian de Fontana or Rifugio Pramperet before going down to Belluno. We wanted a couple of days to recover after the hike before going home, so that was the end for us. I hiked down to Agordo that morning on my own – about 4000 feet decline.
Agordo has charm, but there is also an industrial area that was super visible when I came down the mountain and it really ruined the views. The town is cute and I grabbed a coffee drink there at a small cafe. After that, I really wasn’t ready for the hiking to be done. It was a gorgeous day, and I didn’t want to get on a bus just yet. So I decided to walk as far as I could until I wanted to catch the bus. Unfortunately, the sidewalk ended not far outside Agordo and the roads are so windy, sometimes without much of a shoulder to walk on.
I got a little too nervous I might get hit by a car, so I started jogging to get to the next bus stop. Funnily enough, the bus came up behind me and I had to wave it down while sprinting another 150 meters to catch it! The bus driver was nice enough to notice me and stop, otherwise it would’ve been another few hours before the next one came along. Be sure to keep an eye on bus times! I just used my google maps and it was all on time.
Once I actually got to Belluno bus station, I walked to the Air B’n’B to meet Elizabeth. She got there right before me, so the timing was perfect! Belluno is also a cute town, and maybe during the high season has a bit more going on. But since we were looking forward to relaxing, we spent a decent amount of time in the flat. We went to the grocery store and bought food, and we ate out a couple of places. My favorite spot was Gali. This was one of the best pizzas ever, especially after having similar food every day for the past week.
If you want to see my packing list, I wrote a separate blog post on that! You can read it here. I hope it helps!
