What Every Hiker Needs to Know Before Visiting the Dolomites

The Dolomites have a reputation for good reason: dramatic, almost vertical peaks that look painted in the wrong colours. What Costanza Tangorra wants every visitor to understand is that the mountains are not a backdrop. They require respect, preparation, and a willingness to read them properly before you step into them.

Costanza lives in Trentino-Alto Adige and advises travellers through The Voyage Co.

The valleys and hidden places

Q. What's one place in the Dolomites that tourists often miss but really shouldn't?

Val Sarentino. It is a valley close to Bolzano, running up into the hills away from the main tourist circuit, and it is visited almost exclusively by people from South Tyrol. You will hear more Südtirolisch, the local German dialect, than Italian there, which is part of what gives it its particular character. The scenery is beautiful in both winter and summer: in winter the valley fills with snow and has a quality of quiet that the more famous resorts simply do not have; in summer the walking is excellent and the pace is slow. It is also a very good place to eat, specifically for Kaiserschmarrn, the shredded caramelised pancake with plum sauce that is one of the great comfort foods of the Alto Adige tradition. I go there when I want to feel like I am genuinely in the mountains, rather than in the mountains surrounded by other visitors.

The famous views worth reconsidering

Q. What's one place in the Dolomites that's overrated?

The Seceda Ridgeline and the Parco Naturale Puez-Odle. I am not saying they are not beautiful, because they are. I am saying they are so well known, and so crowded on any given summer day, that the experience of being there has become more about managing the crowd than it is about the landscape. The Dolomites have many places where the views are just as extraordinary and you share them with far fewer people. If you are choosing a trail specifically because you saw the photographs, understand that in peak season the photographs are showing you the best version of what you will find.

How to spend 48 hours in the Dolomites

Q. If someone only had 48 hours in the Dolomites, what would you tell them to prioritise?

Day one, I would send you to Val di Fassa for the Sentiero Lino Pederiva. It is less famous than many Dolomites trails, which is one of the reasons to choose it, and it has extraordinary views across the most iconic peaks in the range: the Marmolada, the Catinaccio, the skyline you came for. It is a hike that rewards the effort with the kind of panorama that makes you stop walking and simply stand for a while.

Day two is Val Sarentino. Drive down from the mountains into the valley near Bolzano, walk in the morning, eat Kaiserschmarrn for lunch, and let the afternoon find its own pace. I would also strongly suggest giving yourself more than 48 hours if you can possibly manage it. The distances between places are not long on a map, but the mountains mean that moving between them takes considerably more time than you expect, and rushing through the Dolomites is a particular way to experience them wrong.

What visitors consistently get wrong

Q. What's the biggest mistake you see travellers make in the Dolomites?

Underestimating the mountain. This is not a small thing. The most common mistake I see is visitors choosing famous trails because they look good in photographs, arriving without the right equipment, and not understanding what the weather can do in the mountains in a matter of hours. Places like the Torri del Vajolet require genuine alpine experience, proper gear, and a realistic assessment of your fitness and skill level. If you are not an experienced hiker, do not go there because it appears on a list.

Choose trails that match your actual experience and prepare accordingly. Respect the mountain, the nature, others, and yourself. The Dolomites are generous with visitors who treat them with respect, and unforgiving with those who do not. This is not dramatic, it is simply what mountains are.

When to come to the Dolomites

Q. What's the best time of year to visit the Dolomites?

Every season has something to offer. Summer is best for hiking but comes with crowds on the most popular routes. Winter is extraordinary for snowshoeing or walking through snow-covered forests, and the valleys in January have an atmosphere that is very different from anything in the warmer months. Spring brings longer days and the chance to see the mountain meadows in bloom.

But autumn is my season. The foliage in late September and October is one of those things that photography cannot fully prepare you for: the contrast between the deep green of the fir trees and the bright orange of the larch turning colour, set against the pale grey of the rock faces and the deep blue of the sky above. If you can come in one season only, make it autumn.

What to eat in Trentino-Alto Adige

Q. What local food should every visitor try?

I give two sets of answers, because the region has two distinct food cultures that reflect its dual Italian and Austrian heritage. In Trentino: Canederli, the large bread dumplings served in broth or with butter and cheese; Tortel, potato fritters particular to certain valleys; and Strauben, spiral-fried pastries dusted with icing sugar that are the traditional festival street food of the region. In Alto Adige: Spatzle, the soft egg noodles you find everywhere as a side dish or main course; and Kaiserschmarrn, the shredded caramelised pancake with plum sauce. Try both sides of the food tradition. They are very different, and both are very good.

The Dolomites reward respect more than they reward ambition. Match the trail to your experience, balance the famous peaks with a quieter valley like Val Sarentino, come in autumn if you can, and eat both sides of the food tradition. The mountains will give you back exactly what you bring to them.

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