# Dolomites: map, what to do and when to go

Walks, high pastures and Alpine villages between Ortisei and Cortina.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Dolomites: How many days should I allow?** I would allow six days and preferably six nights for this summer selection: three in Ortisei and three in Cortina, leaving the morning after the last walk.
- **Dolomites: Where should I choose my bases?** Ortisei near the centre and stops makes Seceda and Alpe di Siusi easier; check the slope between room, bus and stations.
- **Dolomites: How can I arrive without a car?** Choose the arrival according to your first base.

## Arrival in Ortisei and valley culture
Arrive in Ortisei and settle in for three nights. Keep this day for arrival; do not buy a mountain ascent incompatible with your flight or train.
- Seceda
- Museum Gherdëina

## Alpe di Siusi pastures
Use the Ortisei-Alpe di Siusi lift. Plan the outward and return route from the top station of this access, without assuming you are in Compatsch.
- Alpe di Siusi
- Sassolungo / Langkofel

## Moving base to Cortina
Leave Ortisei after breakfast with the connection or transfer settled. By car, check pass and road conditions; without a car, follow the connections actually available.
- Cinque Torri

## Cinque Torri and wartime positions
Travel from Cortina to Bai de Dones by car or a bus service whose operation has been confirmed. Check the 5 Torri chairlift for the ascent, when operating.
- Lagazuoi

## Tre Cime from Rifugio Auronzo
Leave Cortina with access through the Misurina area confirmed. For a car, the road reservation must contain the correct registration; if taking a bus, check the day’s service, ticket and return.
- Lago di Misurina

## Seceda
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-seceda
Half a day or more
The high area offers views of the Odle and meadows above Val Gardena. The ascent from Ortisei involves the Ortisei-Furnes and Furnes-Seceda sections. Choose a walk suited to fitness and conditions, keeping away from edges. Check Seceda’s channel for tickets and ascent slots; reservations for Gardena Card users open three days ahead on the official platform consulted in October 2026.
Check access

## Alpe di Siusi
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-alpe-di-siusi
Kastelruth · Half a day or more
Pastures, huts and paths overlooking nearby massifs justify a day of their own. From Ortisei, use the lift indicated for Alpe di Siusi and plan the route from that top station. Road access to Compatsch has a separate rule: in 2026, a parking reservation does not remove the ban on driving a private car uphill between 9 am and 5 pm.
Check access

## Museum Gherdëina
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-museum-gherdeina
Urtijëi · One to two hours
In Ortisei, it brings together geology, local history and woodcarving. It helps introduce the valley’s culture and provides an indoor programme when mountain conditions are unsuitable. Check visiting days and hours in the museum’s own calendar before choosing this alternative.
Check access

## Cinque Torri
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-cinque-torri
Cortina d'Ampezzo · One to two hours
The rock towers combine with restored First World War positions. Lift access from Bai de Dones brings the open-air museum closer, but mountain walking remains. Select the museum’s marked routes according to the desired effort; climbing the towers is not necessary for a visit.
Check access

## Tre Cime di Lavaredo
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-tre-cime-di-lavaredo
província de Belluno · Half a day or more
The group of three large walls can be viewed on walks from Rifugio Auronzo. The circuit on paths 101 and 105 takes about four to five hours of walking according to local tourism, besides transport, breaks and meals. Motor access on the road from Misurina requires a reservation with the vehicle registration; buses have separate tickets and availability.
Check access

## Lago di Braies / Pragser Wildsee
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-lago-di-braies-pragser-wildsee
One to two hours
The lake surrounded by slopes interests those including the Braies valley in a longer stay. In 2026, traffic control operated from 1 July to 15 September, from 9 am to 4 pm; during that period, specific conditions applied to car reservations and buses 439 and 442. Check the regulations for your next trip without automatically repeating the 2026 dates.
Check access

## Lagazuoi
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-lagazuoi
província de Belluno · One to two hours
The cable car leaves Passo Falzarego for an area of panoramas and war memory. It works as an alternative to Cinque Torri for those prioritising high-altitude views, when visibility is good. Visiting the station area is not the same as following tunnels, via ferratas or the Kaiserjäger trail; those activities need their own assessment.
Check access

## Lago di Misurina
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-lago-di-misurina
Véneto · One to two hours
The lake and waterfront buildings form a stop in the access sector for the Tre Cime. It is an option for a less strenuous outing when higher paths are unsuitable, provided the road and local conditions allow it. It does not replace the landscape seen from the north side of the Tre Cime.
Check access

## Chiesa di Santa Maddalena
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-chiesa-di-santa-maddalena
One to two hours
The church in Val di Funes appears among fields with the Odle behind. Its interest includes the village and landscape, without crossing private land to repeat a framing. Final road access to the church is restricted; local tourism advises parking in a permitted area and completing the approach on foot.
Check access

## Sassolungo / Langkofel
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-sassolungo-langkofel
Província autónoma de Bolzano · One to two hours
The Sassolungo massif is one of the major landmarks of Val Gardena and Alpe di Siusi. On the pasture day, observe its rock walls from the plateau paths and notice the difference between the fields and the mass of stone. This proposal is contemplative: routes around the massif and the ascent to Forcella del Sassolungo require separate planning. Do not add a whole circuit because the mountain already appears in the panorama.
Check access

## Gruppo del Sella
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-gruppo-del-sella
Itália · One to two hours
The Sella rock group helps explain the arrangement of the valleys around Val Gardena. It can be recognised in the Seceda and Alpe di Siusi panoramas, when visibility allows, without adding another transfer to the itinerary. Observing the massif is not the same as following the Sellaronda or ascending Piz Boè. Anyone wishing to explore the Sella passes and trails should allow separate time, check access, effort and weather, and choose a route suited to the group.
Check access

## Odle / Geisler
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-odle-geisler
One to two hours
The Odle ridges form the landscape seen from the Seceda area in the Puez-Odle park. Recognise the pointed shapes while viewing the terrain from the viewpoint, staying on marked paths and away from edges. Observe the mountain without reaching the ridges or taking a shortcut to Funes. Access from the two valleys needs separate planning, even when the same formation appears in photographs.
Check access

## Gruppo del Cir
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-gruppo-del-cir
One to two hours
The Cir group forms part of Val Gardena’s mountain landscape, with towers and walls distinct from the Odle and Sella. To observe it more closely, choose an outing in the Passo Gardena sector with access and return checked beforehand. Summit routes include itineraries requiring technical assessment; a name on the map does not turn a via ferrata into an ordinary walk. Observe its towers and walls without treating the stop as an ascent. An outing in this sector needs a separate period and does not have to be added to the Cortina transfer day.
Check access

## Lago di Dobbiaco / Toblacher See
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/dolomitas/#g-lugar-lago-di-dobbiaco-toblacher-see
One to two hours
Lake Dobbiaco offers a lower landscape in the eastern sector, with a nature path around the water. It is an alternative for an additional day or to replace a high outing when path conditions and weather allow. Check the approach from your base, return transport and the section actually open before leaving. Do not assume a lakeside walk is automatically accessible to everyone or guarantee fine weather because it lies below the Tre Cime.
Check access

**Dolomites: How many days should I allow?**
I would allow six days and preferably six nights for this summer selection: three in Ortisei and three in Cortina, leaving the morning after the last walk. There is an arrival day, two for Seceda and Alpe di Siusi, one for transferring and two for Cinque Torri and the Tre Cime. With less time, choose only Val Gardena or only Cortina and remove the transfer. Braies, Funes and other walks need additional days; the itinerary does not cover the whole region.

**Dolomites: Where should I choose my bases?**
Ortisei near the centre and stops makes Seceda and Alpe di Siusi easier; check the slope between room, bus and stations. Santa Cristina and Selva serve other valley access points but require travel to Ortisei on some itinerary days. In Cortina, the centre and autostazione area ease meals and transport, although trails are outside town. Misurina or Auronzo favour the Tre Cime and Cadore and change the distance to Cinque Torri; buses and restaurants may be seasonal.

**Dolomites: How can I arrive without a car?**
Choose the arrival according to your first base. For Val Gardena, consider a train to Bolzano and bus 350, checking the stop, connection and last service to your accommodation. Bolzano (BZO) is 40 km from the valley according to local tourism but has a smaller flight network. Venice Marco Polo (VCE) has a Cortina Express connection to Cortina; it does not go directly to Ortisei. Ortisei and Cortina have no passenger railway stations resolving arrival in the centre.

**Dolomites: How should I organise the move to Cortina?**
Keep the fourth day for travel, lunch and settling in, without a long hike or tightly timed ticket on arrival. By car or booked transfer, check passes, roads, works and parking. Without a car, work out the actual combination on Südtirolmobil and Dolomiti Bus before booking accommodation; do not assume quick, direct links between every valley.

**Dolomites: Does one lift pass cover everything?**
Gardena Card, Dolomiti SuperSummer and individual tickets have different coverage. List intended ascents and check the lift, dates, last descent and reservation, including the specific Gardena Card condition at Seceda. Guest cards and bus passes have other scopes. A Tre Cime road reservation with vehicle registration does not replace a bus ticket; Braies also has its own seasonal control. A pass does not remove access conditions or prove a trail is open.

**Dolomites: When should I follow this itinerary?**
From late June to September, after checking snow and each access opening. July and August concentrate demand; September may still bring rain, cold and early closure. May and early June may have residual snow and lifts between seasons. In October, snow, ice and refuge and lift closures require a separate programme with valley alternatives. Winter calls for another selection of skiing, prepared paths and guided activities rather than copying the summer walking itinerary.

**Dolomites: Does taking a lift make the walk easy?**
Lift access does not remove cold, residual snow, thunderstorms or exposed ground. Prepare the outing with the forecast and route description, confirm conditions locally, and carry protection, water and suitable footwear. Turn back when conditions change. Via ferrata, snow and climbing require their own skills and equipment and are not improvised replacements for a closed trail. Check insurance and rescue coverage; in an emergency call 112 and state your location.

**Dolomites: How should I plan the budget?**
Compare accommodation rates in both bases, transport between them and the lifts, access and parking actually used. Do not estimate the whole region by multiplying one lift fare. Check the price and category of reserved Tre Cime parking on Auronzo’s portal. For accommodation, request the total by room, occupancy, included meals and applicable tourist tax. Operators were consulted on 16/10/2026; variable fares need confirmation for the trip.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 6 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/dolomitas/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/dolomitas/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/dolomitas.md