Lying due south is the sprawling, spectacular Pale di San Martino group, which is easily reached from the railhead of Feltre thanks to year-round buses. (A tad above Feltre itself is Passo Croce d’Aune, where there is a hotel and summer bus, and the start of strenuous Walk 48.) Useful nearby towns are Fiera di Primiero (accommodation, shops), for Walk 47, and San Martino di Castrozza (hotels, shops and lifts), for Walk 46. Higher up is Passo Rolle (accommodation and cafés), for Walk 45.
The curious Campanile di Popena (Walk 12)
The path round Lago di Carezza (Walk 38)
To the north of the Marmolada, the Livinallongo valley leads to the village of Arabba, where a road zigzags west to Passo Pordoi for hotels, bus and cafés. Popular Walk 41 starts off here and Walk 40 ventures onto the superb, if desolate, Sella massif.
From Arabba the road winds north through Passo di Campolungo to the start of important Val Badia, the heart of the Ladin-language district. It is justifiably popular and rather busy at times. Corvara, Pedraces and San Cassiano are well-served, handy bases with a huge choice of accommodation, good bus links and plenty of shops. Walk 27 starts at Pedraces. The valley’s eastern branch climbs to Passo di Valparola (summer bus, guesthouse) and Passo Falzarego, where Walks 20–26 can also be accessed.
At San Martino, towards the northern extremity of Val Badia, is the steep road west for Passo delle Erbe (hotel, café, summer bus) and Walk 28 around belvedere Sass de Putia, the northernmost Dolomite. The road continues down to marvellous Val di Funes and off-the-beaten track Santa Maddalena (bus, accommodation, shops). Nearby, Walk 29 wanders along the edge of the beautiful Odle Dolomites.
Further south, and accessible from Bolzano in the busy Val d’Isarco, is renowned Val Gardena, dotted with bustling resort villages. Lovely Ortisei, Santa Cristina and (smaller) Selva are perfect places for a base as they offer accommodation, shops and year-round buses, and are handy for Walks 30 and 31. Higher up, at Passo Sella (summer bus, accommodation), is the start of Walk 39 around the Sassopiatto-Sassolungo.
Linked with Val Gardena, and also easy to get to from Bolzano, is the extensive Alpe di Siusi upland, dominated by the Sciliar. A good base for Walks 32 and 34 is either the lower village of Siusi or the upper resort of Compaccio. At the mountain foot is the photogenic village of Fiè (year-round bus, hotels, cafés, shops), the start for Walk 33, which wanders over meadows to a castle.
A short distance south, rural Val di Tires branches off Val d’Isarco and climbs towards the flanks of the magnificent Catinaccio; Walk 35 begins at quiet San Cipriano (year-round buses). The road proceeds on to Passo Costalunga (hotel, summer bus), a suitable base for Walk 37 (you can also get here by road and bus from Bolzano via Val d’Ega and Nova Levante). Slightly lower down, at pretty Lago di Carezza, is Walk 38.
From the pass the road continues down to Val di Fassa and Vigo di Fassa (year-round buses, hotels, shops) with its cable car and access for Walk 36. Close-by is Pozza di Fassa and lift access for Walk 42. Popular Val di Fassa has year-round bus runs from the city of Trento and the main railway, and plenty of accommodation and visitor services.
Down in the Val d’Adige, at Trento, year-round buses head west to the intersection at Ponte Arche and access for Walk 50 up dramatic Val d’Ambiez and the southern flanks of the spectacular Brenta Dolomites. The road continues via Tione before veering north along Val Rendena to the renowned resort of Madonna di Campiglio. Along with buses, plenty of accommodation and shops, there is a gondola lift here for Walk 49.
Geology
The magnificent Tre Cime from Rifugio Auronzo (Walk 9)
The rocks of the Dolomites were formed some 230 million years ago, when a shallow tropical sea covered the area and deposits of coral and sea creatures gradually built up on the sea floor. It was not until 65 million years ago that the area underwent the dramatic tectonic events that led to the creation of the alpine chain, when rock slabs began to be upended and lifted hither and thither. A succession of ice ages followed, and erosion from snow, rain and wind continues to shape the wonderful mountains visitors see today.
However, the ‘Pale Mounts’ – as they were first known – attracted curious geologists well before travellers. In 1789 French mineralogist Déodat de Dolomieu identified their composition as the limestone variant calcium magnesium carbonate, which was later named dolomite in his honour. As regards its origin, scholars have long puzzled over the abundance of fossilised shells and marine creatures embedded in the rock at such heights and so far from the sea.
In 1860, with the theory of the biblical Flood long since rejected, German scholar Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen proposed their genesis as a coral reef, work that was further developed by Edmund von Mojsisovics. While the sedimentary nature of dolomite is undeniable, disagreement continues over the nature of its ‘mutation’ from limestone. The earliest theory came from Leopold von Buch in the 1820s. He suggested that the magnesium-rich vapours released from molten volcanic rocks penetrated the limestone, transforming it. More recently, researchers in Brazil have suggested the efforts of industrious bacteria in tropical environs. According to legend, however, the splendidly pale Dolomite rock is a result of it being coated with fine white gossamer woven from moon rays.
Plants and flowers
The Dolomites area boasts over 1500 species of glorious flowering plants. This is a quarter of the total found in the whole of Italy and these blooms alone are a good reason to go walking in summer. Heading the list is the mythical edelweiss. Found in alpine meadows, its felt-like petals form delicate overlapping stars. While not especially eye-catching, its blanched aspect inspired the legend that it was brought down from the moon by a princess, to provide a memory of the pale lunar landscape for which she was pining away.
Unmissable, fat and intensely deep blue trumpet gentians burst through the grass, and there are also daintier star-shaped varieties. Pasture areas also feature orange lilies and the wine-red martagon variety, which vie with each other for brilliance. Stony grass terrain is often colonised by alpenrose bushes, rather like azaleas, with masses of pretty red-pink flowers in late July.
One of the earliest blooms to appear is the alpine snowbell, which has fragile fringed lilac bells that make it visible in snow patches, and it is never far away from hairy pasque flowers in white or yellow. Clearings are the best places to look for the unusual lady’s slipper orchid, recognisable by its maroon petals round a swollen yellow-lipped receptacle, while masses of purple orchids are common in meadows. Gay Rhaetian poppies punctuate dazzling white scree slopes with their patches of bright yellow, never far from clumps of pink thrift or round-leaved pennycress, which is honey-scented. A less commonly encountered flower is the king-of-the-Alps, a striking cushion of bright blue blooms reminiscent of a dwarf version of forget-me-not. A rare treat is the devil’s claw from the Rampion family, which has a pinkish lilac flower with curly pointed stigma that specialises in vertical rock faces. Another rock coloniser is saxifrage, the name literally ‘rock breaker’. Pretty pink cinquefoil also blooms on stone surfaces, its delicate flowers scattered amid starry clusters of silvery-grey leaves.
A couple of flowering plant species are endemic to the Dolomites. Moretti’s bellflower (Campanula morettiana), with its rounded deep blue petals, nestles in rock crevices between 1500 and 2300m, while the succulent Dolomitic houseleek (Sempervivum dolomiticum) prefers sunny dry slopes and sports a bright green stalk and deep pink pointy flowers.