Every year my friend Julia and I set off for a hiking holiday, a girl’s own adventure in which we test ourselves on the mountain trails of Europe. This year we had chosen the Dolomites of South Tyrol in Northern Italy as our outdoor playground, making a circular route around the Rosengarten or Catinaccio range.
Our start and end point was the gorgeous Hotel Cyprianerhof, a stylish hotel that offers an extensive programme of hiking activities, combined with spa and wellness, to its guests. Our two nights at Cyprianerhof provided a luxurious contrast with the three nights that we would be staying in simple mountain huts with fabulous views but basic facilities. To compare prices and book hotels in the Dolomites check out Booking.com. You can read more about our stay at Hotel Cyprianerhof at the end of this article, but in the meantime, let’s get started on our four day hike around the Dolomites.
Leaving Hotel Cyprianerhof, we walked up a broad gravel path, past enormous wood piles set by the stream, until the track veered up unto the forest. The trail was shady and damp underfoot with toadstools peeping through the foliage beside the path. Down to our left was a steep gully where we could hear the trickling of a stream and although the sun filtered through the trees, we were pleased to be walking in the cooler shade.
A broad gravel track was running in the same direction as the forest path that we took, which twisted and turned, crossing the broader track every so often. A group of mountain bikers from the hotel were riding up the gravel track and every so often one would pass us, cycling steadily up the steep slope with seemingly iron leg muscles. We walked past them again as they all gathered for a rest on one of the bends but were sure that we’d much rather be hiking than cycling up that slope. As we climbed and the trees thinned, we could just glimpse the grey rocky crags of the Dolomites in between the trees, framed by the blue sky.
After two hours of hiking up the forest path we were certainly ready for a break as NigerHutte came into view on the rise high above us, a pretty wooden building with blooming window boxes and cheerful blue sun umbrellas. The cyclists were already there enjoying a coffee and we gratefully sat at the benches and tables on the terrace and ordered a cooling lemon soda, which became our drink of choice on all our hiking stops. As the road came up to this point, the car park was full and it seemed a popular spot with motor bikers. The road continued further to the bottom of the cable car up to Kolnerhutte where we were heading that evening. Read about Day 2 of our hike over the pass in the Dolomites.
Read about our second day’s hike – Over the pass in the Dolomites – hiking in South Tyrol
Read about our our third and fourth day’s hike – South Tyrol – our final days hiking in the Dolomites
Our route continued not on the road but on the easy forest track again until the vista opened up into a grassy meadow, with the smell of freshly mown grass in the air. At the top of the meadow was what looked like a farm house, a tractor parked beside it and a small enclosure of cows beside the path. Behind it we now had a clear view of the grey rocky crags of the Dolomites, rising sheer from the green patches of forest.
Getting closer I realised that this was the Rifugio Messner Joch with a sunny terrace cafe where I found my friend Julia already settled, enjoying the view back down the valley. We decided that this was a good place to stop for lunch and ordered more drinks and a bowl of hearty vegetable soup, spotting the cyclists once again at the next table tucking into a plate of the local Kaiserschmarrn pancakes, with redcurrant jam.
Leaving the hut, the path wound up through the meadow where cows were grazing, and I stayed close to my friend Julia who was afraid of cows having been chased by one as a child. Above us we could see Kolnerhutte with the line of the cable cars leading up to it. What a shame that we couldn’t hitch a lift on one of them as we trudged up the track, the scenery becoming more panoramic as we increased in altitude. Kolnerhutte sat above us just at the foot of the rocky crags that we would have to climb over the next day and below us were the gently rolling pastures dotted with houses.
One lesson we quickly learned on this trip was that the mountain huts can often be seen clearly long before you reach them, appearing tantalisingly close, but in fact requiring an hour or more to reach on steep and twisting paths. By the time we reached the top at Kolnerhutte it was late afternoon and we were pleased to settle in for the night. Read about Day 2 of our hike – Over the pass in the Dolomites of South Tyrol.
Above the cable car station was a busy cafe terrace but we were staying in the separate building above it, with a cosy wooden dining room decorated with old climbing memorabilia, red checked table cloths and pretty fake flower arrangements. As was traditional for the Tyrol, both the Austrian and Italian side, a large crucifix was mounted on the wall. We left our boots on the racks at the bottom of the stairs, borrowed some plastic clogs and were pointed to our eight person dorm which we were sharing with a hearty group of Belgian men and a younger couple. As we’d come to expect in these remote mountain huts, the washing facilities were limited and we joined the queue for the single shower, operated by a €3 token to ensure you only used your allocated amount of hot water.
Read about our second day’s hike – Over the pass in the Dolomites – hiking in South Tyrol
Read about our our third and fourth day’s hike – South Tyrol – our final days hiking in the Dolomites
Dinner was served at around 6.30, the typical half board offering of a plate of pasta, followed by a dish of meat and potatoes, then tiramisu for desert, washed down with beer or wine. From our table I could watch the sun turning the mountain golden and longed to rush out and take photos, but by the time supper was over the rock face was in grey shadow. Knowing that we would have an early start and long walk tomorrow we turned in after dinner for an early night. With all the comings and goings in the dorm neither of us slept especially well and were up early for our breakfast of bread and jam, with a simple spread of ham, cheese and cornflakes with hot coffee. The next day of our hike would take us steeply up over the rocky Coronelle Pass, so we would need all our concentration and energy for the tricky climb. In my next article you’ll read how we fared on the precipitous rock face up to the pass! Read about Day 2 of our hike – Over the pass in the Dolomites of South Tyrol
Staying at Cyprianerhof in South Tyrol
I promised you I’d tell you a bit more about Cyprianerhof and I can’t praise this hotel highly enough as it provided us with a wonderful start and end to our hiking tour. I really was tempted to just abandon all the hiking plans and just stay here for the week! Owner Martin Damian told me how he had taken the hotel over from his parents who established it in the 1960s and had developed it gradually since 1985 together with his wife who is responsible for all the interior design.
The hotel’s philosophy is to offer guests the full experience of the Dolomites, allowing them to recharge and clear their minds through hiking in the mountains, combined with relaxation in the spa and sauna facilities. In summer there is a programme of hiking as well as climbing and Via Ferrata, while in winter guests can try snow-shoe, ice climbing and cross-country ski. The hotel is affiliated to the Wanderhotels group of hiking hotels with hiking and snow-shoe excursions included as part of the half board package.
Most guests come for a week or more because they love the luxurious ambiance and hotel facilities combined with the challenging hiking in the Dolomites. You can borrow everything you need from the hotel – rucksacks, poles, water bottles, even climbing harnesses if you need them.
We loved the stylish decor combining wood and glass, a modern take on the Tyrolean theme with knotted spruce and local stone in the bedrooms, cosy woollen checks and views of the mountains. As South Tyrol is a big producer of apples, there were big baskets of apples everywhere and an apple on the pillow as a healthy alternative to the usual chocolate. The mattresses were so comfortable and the duvets so soft that I felt I could float away on them when we arrived and collapsed after our hut-to-hut tour.
Read about our second day’s hike – Over the pass in the Dolomites – hiking in South Tyrol
Read about our our third and fourth day’s hike – South Tyrol – our final days hiking in the Dolomites
The food at Cyprianerhof was exceptional with a breakfast spread that was as varied and healthy as I’ve ever seen. In addition to the usual muesli, yoghurts, pastries and fruits there were whole sections devoted to butter and soft cheese, fresh fruits, herbal teas, local cheese and machines to make yourself fresh pressed orange juice or raw vegetable juices. At dinner there was a 4 course set menu with different choices which was beautifully presented as well as delicious. The staff were also exceptional – friendly, professional and switching effortlessly between languages – they smilingly welcomed us on arrival with a shake of the hand.
In the bar area was plenty of comfortable seating to chat and relax with friends over an Aperol Spritz or Hugo and the natural textures or wood and stone were lit with flashes of pink, purple and green light around the bar. The same coloured light was used to light the swimming pool blue at night-time with loungers to relax after your spa treatment with a view of the mountains. The daily programme also included a range of different sauna experiences, with honey and herbal infusions in the Schupfensauna and the opportunity to go as hot as you could stand.
I’d highly recommend Cyprianerhof as the perfect place to relax at the beginning and end of your hut-to-hut tour. If you don’t fancy the somewhat basic basic hut accommodation up in the mountains then I’d just base yourself at Cyprianerhof and take advantage of the guided hikes that are included in the package and can be just as physically challenging as anything we did.
If you’ve enjoyed this article, read the others in the series: Day 2 of our hike – Over the Pass in the Dolomites and Days 3 & 4 – South Tyrol – our final days hiking in the Dolomites
Getting to South Tyrol
South Tyrol is the north-east corner of Italy, bordering Austria to the north and Switzerland to the west. We flew to Venice Marco Polo Airport and hired a car to drive to the nearest village of St Cyprian, which took around 3 hours. Alternative airports would be Milan Bergamo (2 hrs 50 mins), Innsbruck (1 hr 50 mins), Verona (2 hrs), Venice Treviso (3 hrs). For those using public transport, trains and buses are available from most airports to Bolzano and there is a bus (no 185) running from Bolzano to St Cyprian which stops outside Hotel Cyprianerhof, running around once an hour (journey time 50 mins). The taxi from Bolzano to St Cyprian would take around 30 mins. Compare prices and book hotels in South Tyrol through Booking.com.
Are we really in Italy?
In South Tyrol both German and Italian are widely spoken, since the province was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until 1948, when it was annexed by Italy after WWI. In the Dolomites we found that German was more commonly used although most locals will easily switch between Italian and German. English is less widely spoken although you will not have a problem in larger hotels and in mountain huts there is generally someone with a little English. Because of the dual languages all towns, villages and mountain huts have two names – both German and Italian. I will mention both but for simplicity may then use just one.
Where we stayed
Compare prices and book hotels in the Dolomites through Booking.com.
Night 1 – Hotel Cyprianerhof Website: Cyprianerhof.com A luxurious 4 star hotel in St Cyprian with extensive facilities for wellness and activity excursions. Guests normally stay on a half board package that includes breakfast, afternoon tea and evening meal, with hiking or snowshoe tours for all abilities. The food here was excellent using local and seasonal produce. Half board package including activities from €156 per person per night
Night 2 – KolnerHütte / Rifugio Fronza alle Coronelle Website: Rifugiofronza.com
Cost: from €52 per person for half board (evening meal and breakfast)
The Refuge has both 2 bed rooms and dorm rooms, with 60 beds in total. Blankets are provided but you need to bring your own sheet sleeping bag. There is 1 hot shower which costs €3 to use. The Refuge can also be reached from St Cyprian by a bus to the foot of the Laurino chairlift, then take the chairlift up to KolnerHütte. Many people use the chairlift to reach KolnerHütte quickly and then walk the higher mountain routes from there.
Night 3 – Grasleitenhütte / Rifugio Bergamo Website: Grassleitenhuette.com
Cost: from €52 per person for half board (evening meal and breakfast)
The Refuge has both 2 bed rooms and dorm rooms with duvets provided but you need to bring your own sheet sleeping bag. There are 2 hot showers which cost €3 to use. The refuge has a charming traditional feel and is family run with friendly owners and excellent cuisine and wine.
Night 4 – Schlernhaus / Rifugio Bolzano Website: Schlernhaus.it
Cost: from €39 per person for 2 bed room including breakfast. Meals can be ordered from the modestly priced menu and half board is available for groups of 8+ people.
The Refuge has both 2 bed rooms and dorm rooms, with 120 beds in total. Duvets are provided but you need to bring your own sheet sleeping bag. There are no showers, only a washroom. The refuge is large with a traditional wood pannelled dining room and panoramic views of the mountains as well as friendly staff. The Refuge seemed to be a favourite with families and several people had dogs with them.
Night 5 – Hotel Cyprianerhof (see above)
Read about our second day’s hike – Over the pass in the Dolomites – hiking in South Tyrol
Read about our our third and fourth day’s hike – South Tyrol – our final days hiking in the Dolomites
Planning your hiking routes
A good resource for planning your hiking routes in the Dolomites is the Sentres.com website and the South Tyrol Tourism website also has plenty of information to plan your holiday in South Tyrol.
You will find timings for walking routes on the Sentres website. However, be aware that these are times for fit walkers without any stops for rests or photographs. In our experience we found that for each 2-3 hours of the ‘official’ time, we needed to add 30 mins to allow for being less fit and 30 mins for a drink stop in a refuge. So overall we would add 1-2 hours to the times given per day.
We used the Tappeiner 1:25.000 Map No 29 Schlern – Rosengarten – Sciliar – Catinaccio – Latemar – you can order it on Amazon and a similar map was for sale at Cyprianerhof for €9 and probably other places locally. We could not find an English guidebook to the routes we were walking but we found we could navigate fine with just a map as the paths were well marked.
Here are the routes and timings we took
Day 1 – Cyprianerhof to KolnerHütte
- Official time: 4 hours
- Actual time without stops: 4 hrs 30 mins
- Actual time with stops: 6 hours
- Our route was: Cyprianerhof – Nigerhütte 2 hrs / Nigerhütte – Messnerjoch hütte 1 hr / Messnerjoch hütte – KolnerHütte 1 hr 30 mins
You’ve just finished reading about day 1 of our hike
Day 2 – KolnerHütte to Grasleitenhütte
- Official time: 5 hrs 30 mins
- Actual time without stops: 6 hrs
- Actual time with stops: 7 hrs 30 mins
- Our route was: KolnerHütte – top of Coronelle Pass 1 hr / top of Coronelle Pass – Rif. Vaiolet 1 hr 45 mins / Rif. Vaiolet – Grasleitenpasse 1 hr 30 mins / Grasleitenpasse – Grasseleitenhutte 1 hr 30 mins Warning: very steep climbing with cables over Coronelle Pass
Read about day 2 of our hike – Over the pass in the Dolomites: Hiking in South Tyrol
Day 3 – Grasleitenhütte to Schlernhaus
- Official time: 4 hrs
- Actual time without stops: 5 hrs
- Actual time with stops: 7 hrs 30 mins ( we made a 40 min detour to Rif. Alpe di Tires)
- Our route was: Grasleitenhütte – Rif. Alpe di Tires 3 hrs 25 mins / Rif. Alpe di Tires to cairn at start of plateau 1 hr 20 mins / Cairn at start of plateau to Schlernhaus 1 hr 30 mins. Warning: very steep climbing with cables on final part of route 3 up to Rif. Alpe di Tires
Day 4 – Schlernhaus to Cyprianerhof
- Official time: 4 hrs 30 mins
- Actual time without stops: 6 hrs
- Actual time with stops: 8 hrs
- Our route was: Schlernhaus – Junction of route 3 & 7 1 hr 50 mins / Junction of route 3 & 7 – Turning to route 7B 1 hr / Turning to route 7B – Tschafonhutte 1 hr / Tschafonhutte – Cyprianerhof 2 hr
Read about days 3 & 4 of our hike: South Tyrol – our final days hiking in the Dolomites
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Thanks to the South Tyrol Tourism board who hosted* my walking tour of the Dolomites.
* More info on my policies page
This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com
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John Rodgers
Monday 19th of September 2016
The scenery and photographys on your trek was fantastic. So different than the ones we have been doing in Nepal. The landscape is so much nicer where you have been, so many more trees and vegetation. I love the picture of the toadstool, it looks huge.