Ciao from the Italian Alps! Hiking through the iconic Dolomites has been an absolute dream come true. In this post, I’ll take you along a 4-day hut-to-hut adventure from Lago di Braies to Cortina d’Ampezzo – hitting some of the most stunning spots in the Dolomites along the way.
Our Experience
Day 1 – Lago di Braies – Rifugio Munt de Sennes (10 km / 2,5-3 hours)
We started our hike at Lago di Braies (yes, that lake from Instagram) around 9AM. The trail climbed steadily past Rifugio Biella and across rocky alpine terrain before reaching Rifugio Munt de Sennes, perched on a wide open plateau. This is a small and cozy mountain hut with its own production of cheese and butter, located in the Fanes – Senes – Braies Natural Park, surrounded by numerous animals and wonderful flowery meadows. Pasta, views, ringing bells from the cows, and a celebrating beer, of course.
Day 2 – Rifugio Munt de Sennes – Camping Sass Dlacia (21 km / 5 hours)
This day was the longest and felt like crossing through different worlds. From the high plateau of Fanes, the trail led us through epic valleys and rugged ridges. Around 10AM we had to hike a few hairpin bends down to Pederü Berggasthaus, where we refilled our waterbags and relaxed a bit. We had lunch at Ücia Fanes-Hütte (because the one before, the Malga Pices Fanes hut, opened at 13:30). After a short climb, we could see the camping but still needed to endure a steep decent (not great for the knees). Eventually we arrived at Camping Sass Dlacia, a cool spot with really new and modern showers, a supermarket, a restaurant, and even special event area (called The Bosch Bar) with music performances. You can either book a mountain cabin or arrange a tent.
Day 3 – Camping Sass Dlacia – Rifugio Cinque Torri (14,6 km / 4-4,5 hours)
We had a good night sleep, bought some snacks at the camping supermarket, and prepare ourselves for a shorter, but mostly uphill hike. We hiked past the Lagazuoi area (option to take the cable car down, but therefore you’ll need to even climb higher and take the stairs up to the cable car place). This was the place where we could poke in the snow with our trekking poles. With quite a steep downhill hike, beware of slipping from the gravel. We bought a sandwich and enjoyed a cannoli at a quirky shop full of odd little knick-knacks. Then we made our way toward the legendary Cinque Torri – five jagged towers that look like they were dropped from the sky. From Rifugio Cinque Torri, the valley was hidden beneath a soft sea of clouds, really magical!
Day 4 – Rifugio Cinque Torri – Cortina d’Ampezzo (10,3 km / 2,5 hours)
After a nice breakfast buffet, we were ready for our last day. It felt like an easy hike, mostly in a forest area. We enjoyed a delicious pie at a random place on our route. We had a celebratory drink at a cafe and got a cab back to Lake Misurina, where our car was parked.
What to pack
- hiking poles (definitely recommended)
- ±60L backpack
- cash for the refugios
GPX Route
I’m a big fan of Komoot, so here you can find the route with distance, time, height differences all-in-one for each day:
Hej Michelle en Daan,
Wat een leuk overzicht van onze trail.
Was echt te gek 🗻🥾🥾