Our journey kicked off at the crown jewel of the Dolomites: Tre Cime di Lavaredo. No photo does these iconic three peaks justice.. You truly have to see them in real life.
We started early from Rifugio Auronzo, with clear sky all day. The classic loop (around 10 km) took us past breathtaking views and alpine meadows bursting with wildflowers. My favorite viewpoint? Definitely near Dreizinnenhütte, looking up at the massive north faces. What a way to start the trip!
Our experience
Tre Cime Loop – Rifugio Auronzo (10 km / ±2-5 hours)
Our journey started with the Drei Zinnen shuttle from Dobbiaco to Rifugio Auronzo at 8:05. We had booked both the shuttle and the return trip in advance through this website: https://www.drei-zinnen.bz/en/ticket. The shuttle runs in summer from May 31 to October 12 as an alternative to the toll road. Since the road is quite steep, we weren’t sure if our car would make it up. And honestly, we just didn’t want the stress and hassle first thing in the morning.
At first, we considered hiking a bigger loop (see the alternative Komoot link below but imagine not hiking all the way to Lake Misurina). However, because it was such a hot day, we decided to take it slower, and enjoy enough breaks at the cabins along the route.
Tip: If you are coming by car, you can park here (best between 7–8am) and take the Dolomiti bus up instead of hiking the ascent. I’d definitely recommend the bus: you’ll save your energy for the stunning routes starting at Rifugio Auronzo, and the views on the ride up are amazing. Parking costs around €14 per day, and the Dolomiti Bus is €10 per person for a return ticket.
From Rifugio Auronzo, you can either grab a coffee or try to get ahead of the tourist buses by starting the loop counterclockwise. The first section is on gravel and loose white stones, but the path is wide and well marked, right at the foot of the massive rocky peaks. It’s an impressive view already… but the best is still to come!
Along the way, you’ll pass the second hut: Rifugio Lavaredo. We didn’t stop there, but continued up towards the side of the peaks. There’s an iconic photo spot with trail signs that’s worth a quick pause. From there, the trail leads towards the Dreizinnenhütte, which you can see from far in the distance. The rocky terrain slowly gives way to a greener, meadow-like valley, offering new angles of the famous three peaks.
At the Dreizinnenhütte, there’s also a viewpoint overlooking a lake on the opposite side. The hut itself is cosy, with a large terrace serving food, snacks, and drinks. Probably the best spot to enjoy a view of the Tre Cime! Shady spots are scarce, but we were lucky to claim one. So, we played some games and tried to cool ourselves down with a Coke Zero.
Afterwards, we followed the trail along the other edge of the peaks towards Malga Langalm hut. Here we enjoyed a delicious cheese platter in the shade (again, limited outdoor spots). There’s also a lake and a water point where you can refill your bottles.
The final stretch back is an easy, mostly flat trail (slightly narrow at the end) with breathtaking views across the mountain landscape. We caught the shuttle back to Dobbiaco around 4PM, wrapping up what turned out to be a great and easy day hike.
What to pack
- hiking poles (definitely recommended)
- Day backpack
- Sun screen
- cash for the rifugios to buy snacks or lunch
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:
