Adventure Travel Photography Blog
Continuing on our hiking journey through the Dolomites in comfort, we took the bus from San Vigilio to Rifugio Pederu which serves as a strategic hub for hikers embarking on the renowned Alta Via 1 trail. Located in Italy’s Fanes-Sennes-Brais Natural Park, the mountain guesthouse was once a military camp and officer barracks for the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Army during World War I. Here we began our 12-mile hike to San Cassiano or St. Kassian.
HAPPY HIKING!
The Alta Via 1 is a 75-mile long-distance hiking trail in the Italian Dolomites. The iconic hut to hut trek takes approximately 8-10 days to complete and begins in Lago di Braies and ends near Belluno.
To hike it during peak season of July and August, you need to book rifugios (the mountain huts) 6-9 months in advance or join a guided tour that already has reservations. The huts vary in comfort from basic to luxurious.
HAPPY HIKING!
Once the Pearl of the Dolomites, and now the Queen of the Dolomites, Cortina d’Ampezzo has a rich history. Originally called Ampezzo, it was governed by several empires over the last 500 years including the Republic of Venice, the Austrian Empire, the French Empire (Napolean), the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and presently the Kingdom of Italy. Its name was changed to Cortina d’Ampezzo after World War I when it was annexed into Italy.
The once sleepy agriculture community turned into an elite tourist destination in the late 1800’s following an Austrian mountaineers famous climbs of 1864. By 1956, after Cortina hosted the first ever internationally televised Winter Olympics, the Pearl of the Dolomites was thrust into the spotlight.
EXPLORE!