Alta Via 1 (Dolomites)

Stage by stage

Every stage with its real specs: distance, ascent, descent, time on foot, and where you sleep.

1. Day1

   Lago di Braies Rifugio Biella

   🇮🇹 ItalyMountain rifugio

   7 km / 4 mi1,000 m150 m4 hrs▲ 2,327 m

   Straight up from the emerald lake into the high Croda del Becco plateau, a steep, dramatic introduction to the scale of the place.

2. Day2

   Rifugio Biella Rifugio Fanes

   🇮🇹 ItalyMountain rifugio

   13 km / 8 mi500 m700 m5 hrs

   Across the rolling Fanes high pastures, a gentler day through one of the Dolomites' great karst basins to the welcoming Fanes huts.

3. Day3

   Rifugio Fanes Rifugio Lagazuoi

   🇮🇹 ItalyMountain rifugio

   13 km / 8 mi900 m500 m6 hrs▲ 2,752 m

   Up to the Lagazuoi, perched at 2,752 m with arguably the best sunset terrace in the Dolomites and a labyrinth of WWI tunnels beneath it.

4. Day4

   Rifugio Lagazuoi Rifugio Nuvolau

   🇮🇹 ItalyMountain rifugio

   12 km / 7 mi750 m800 m6 hrs▲ 2,575 m

   Past the Cinque Torri climbing towers and up to the tiny Nuvolau hut, a stone eyrie ringed by a 360° wall of famous peaks.

5. Day5

   Rifugio Nuvolau Rifugio Città di Fiume

   🇮🇹 ItalyMountain rifugio

   14 km / 9 mi500 m900 m6 hrs

   Beneath the great south faces with Monte Pelmo growing ahead, a quieter day into the forested heart of the range.

6. Day6

   Rifugio Città di Fiume Rifugio Coldai

   🇮🇹 ItalyMountain rifugio

   12 km / 7 mi800 m500 m5 hrs▲ 2,191 m

   Around the base of Monte Pelmo and up towards the Civetta, whose immense wall, one of the biggest in the Alps, now dominates the walk.

7. Day7

   Rifugio Coldai Rifugio Vazzoler

   🇮🇹 ItalyMountain rifugio

   13 km / 8 mi600 m950 m6 hrs▲ 2,486 m

   The route's high point at Forcella del Lago, beneath the sheer Civetta wall, then down through pine forest to the garden-like Vazzoler hut.

8. Day8

   Rifugio Vazzoler Rifugio Carestiato

   🇮🇹 ItalyMountain rifugio

   11 km / 7 mi700 m650 m5 hrs

   Below the Moiazza's towers on quieter trails, the crowds thinning now as the trek moves into its wilder southern half.

9. Day9

   Rifugio Carestiato Belluno (La Pissa)

   🇮🇹 ItalyBus to town

   15 km / 9 mi350 m1,400 m6 hrs

   The long descent off the high route through forest to the valley road at La Pissa, where a bus carries you down to Belluno and the end.

How it’s done

The same route, packaged for different travelers. Pick the version that fits your time, fitness, and how you like to sleep.

Do you need climbing experience for Alta Via 1?

No. Unlike Alta Via 2 and the via ferrata routes, the main line of AV1 is a walkers' trail with no compulsory cabled or technical sections. You need a good head for heights in places and solid fitness for the daily ascents, but no ropes, harness, or climbing skill. Optional via ferrata variants exist if you want them.

How do the rifugi work on the Dolomites high routes?

Rifugi are staffed mountain huts serving hot meals and a bed (usually a bunk in a shared room, sometimes a small private room). Half-board, dinner, bed, and breakfast, is the norm, so you walk with just a light pack and daytime supplies. They are the social and culinary heart of a Dolomites trek, and they must be booked ahead for summer.

When is the Dolomites trekking season?

Late June to late September, once the rifugi open and the snow has cleared from the high passes. July and August are busiest and warmest; September brings thinner crowds, firmer weather, and the first cool nights, but huts begin closing from mid- to late September, so check dates carefully.

How hard is Alta Via 1, and how fit do you need to be?

It's a moderate trek by Dolomites standards, pitched at fit walkers rather than mountaineers. Expect five to six hours a day with 500 to 1,000 m of ascent over nine days, on good but sometimes steep and rocky paths, with a head for heights useful in a few exposed spots. There's no technical climbing on the main line, so regular hikers who train beforehand manage it well; the cumulative daily climbing is the real test.

How do you get to the start at Lago di Braies and home from the end?

Lago di Braies is reached by bus or car from the Pustertal towns of Dobbiaco and Bruneck, both on the rail line, with Bolzano, Innsbruck, or Venice as the nearest airports. The trek ends below the mountains at La Pissa, where a short bus drops you in Belluno for trains on toward Venice. Plan a valley-town night at each end to bookend the hut nights.

Can you walk a shorter version of Alta Via 1?

Yes. The northern half from Lago di Braies to the Civetta, about six days, holds most of the icons: the Fanes pastures, the Lagazuoi sunset terrace and its WWI tunnels, the Cinque Torri, and the Nuvolau, linking the most celebrated rifugi. It's the best choice if you want the headline scenery and the hut life without the quieter, forested southern stages.