The Dolomites: Walking in Italy’s peaks of perfection

It’s not until I stand at the foot of one of the iconic rock formations of the Italian Dolomites that the full spectacular grandeur hits me.

The huge hulks of pale-coloured limestone soar precipitously skywards as if stuck on to the mountain slopes as an afterthought.

Yet geology tells us that it’s natural forces, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and the erosion of wind, ice and rain that have sculpted the dramatic Dolomite landscape over many millions of years.

The result is a multitude of spires, towers, cliffs and pinnacles, as well as statuesque mountains carved with cornices, overhangs and plateaus.

Since 2009, the Dolomites, which comprise 18 alpine peaks that rise above 3,000m elevation and extend across northern Italy, have been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site due to the unique landscape and geological features.

It’s a huge mountainscape – far more than can be seen in one eight-day trip – so I pick some of the most famous rock formations to visit, including Tre Cime, Cinque Torri and Seceda, for a two-location solo hiking holiday.

While I’m an experienced mountain walker in my home country of Scotland, a solo trip to an unfamiliar high-altitude destination gave me pause for thought. I wanted to ensure the routes would suit my fitness level, provide relatively safe hikes, especially if the weather was unseasonable, and include the best viewpoints.

For the first part of the holiday, assurance came through Walks Worldwide, a company that offers a package of flights, accommodation, luggage transfers and GPX navigation files of routes created by a local expert.

The tailored Trails Of The Dolomites break, located in Ampezzo Dolomites Natural Park, includes return taxis to the trailheads from my hotel in the upscale mountain town of Cortina d’Ampezzo, in the province of Belluno.

Over four days, I cover distances of between 14km and 22km and ascend between 800m and 1,000m on mostly good quality paths and tracks.

Despite the unfamiliar terrain, I rarely wander more than 20 metres from the route thanks to an excellent mapping phone app.

At times, I mix with crowds of tourists where access to mountain views is close to roads, but I also enjoy many kilometres of almost solitary exploring.

I like my own company and I’m content to spend hours hiking, stopping to take in the views when I fancy, popping into mountain huts for a coffee and lost in my own thoughts.

In every direction, chunky, complex rock massifs transfix my gaze and I find myself exclaiming out loud at their majesty. The Tre Cime di Lavaredo – the three peaks of Lavaredo – and Cinque Torri, meaning Five Towers, are great highlights of my hiking days but there is so much more to see, near and far, including the tallest peak of the Dolomites, Marmolada.

I remain in the Dolomites for the second half of my holiday, but journey further west. A private taxi transfer of some 90 minutes takes me to Val Gardena in the Puez-Odle Nature Park, part of South Tyrol in the Trentino region.

The valley is surrounded by many more mighty peaks, including the Sella, the Sassolungo, the Puez and Odle group and the Sciliar.

Val Gardena is another mecca for outdoors enthusiasts and I stay four days in the picturesque villages of Selva at 1,550m elevation.

By now I’m keen for a bit of company, so I book a couple of guided group hikes, which are included in an impressive Val Gardena Active programme.

Being led by guide Manuel, instead of keeping track of my own navigation, proves to be a welcome treat. As our group takes a cable car uplift, then walks another 400m uphill to a superb viewpoint on Mount Pic looking towards Marmolada again, I learn about the area, environment and local culture.

Another group hike also brings welcome relief for my tiring legs because it’s all downhill. We ride a historic gondola from Passo Sella to the Forcella del Sassolungo at 2,700m elevation, then continue on foot over the other side on a rocky path that zig-zags down through a couloir, a corridor in the rock flanked by steep, pointy cliffs. The views are all the more atmospheric when we glimpse them through low swirling clouds.

Re-energised, I decide one afternoon to take a longer solo hike to Seceda, a photogenic ridgeline that juts jaggedly skywards to a height above 2,500m. It’s a popular destination for tourists and many take advantage of a handy cable car uplift before a short trail walk to the base of the attraction.

Instead, I walk from my hotel, following regular signposts that ascend through gorgeous meadows and below more towering rock massifs. It’s hard work but fully worth the 1,000m of ascent to witness the geological splendour of Seceda.

Like any good holiday, I’m sad when it’s time to leave but there is a final perk as I return to the UK. I fly with SkyAlps from the mountain airport of Bolzano in a small propeller plane that cruises at a height of just 7,600m and gives amazing up-close bird’s-eye views of the many mountains I’ve hiked, or seen from below.

It leaves me even keener to return to discover more of the magical Dolomites.

P.S. A special phenomenon called enrosadira – alpenglow – takes place at sunset in the Dolomites when the pale-coloured peaks, bathed by the setting sun’s light, take on a reddish hue. This is visible throughout the year but it is most spectacular in summer, when the sunset lasts longer. You can witness alpenglow by hiking into the evening across the wider Dolomites, or join the Alpenglow – Sunset Guided Hike to Sëurasas as part of the Val Gardena Active programme.

Factfile

Travel to Italy: Easyjet flights Inverness (or other Scottish airport) to London Gatwick, then Gatwick to Venice.

SkyAlps operates twice-weekly flights from London Gatwick to Bolzano from €184 (£154) each way, with up to three flights weekly in July and August 2025.

Walks Worldwide Trails of the Dolomites hiking from £1,525pp, including six nights’ B&B, return flights to Venice, luggage transfers and GPX map and route files plus guide app.

Val Gardena offers a host of accommodation.