Ancient Legends and Language of the Dolomites

We reach the beautiful and fairy tale lake of Carezza with its clear emerald green waters, nice forests and breathtaking view of the Dolomites and the Latemar Mountain group. Your guide will tell you the tale of the lake and its nymph and the reason behind its original name in the ladin language, the Lec de Ergobando, the rainbow lake. Time to walk around the shore of the lake and to take the most spectacular photos. (40 minutes drive and 30 minutes stop at the lake).

We leave Carezza lake behind and we drive over the Costalunga Pass. First we will pass by the famous Grand Hotel Carezza (about 30' drive). The Hotel was the first luxury hotel of the area built in the 19th century along the Great Dolomites Road, which was built at the beginning of the 1900 to promote tourism in the Dolomites Region. Despite its glamorous past and illustrious guests (Winston Churchill, the Empress Sissi of Austria, Agatha Christies) the hotel lost its charm, and most recently was involved in a scandal. Your guide will tell you all the curiosities and gossips about it! Say good-bye to Alto Adige and hello to Trentino!

Continue our tour by entering in the heart of Val di Fassa (about 20 minutes drive), known in the traditional legends as the Land of Salvans, the original inhabitants of the Ladin Valleys. We will stop in the charming village of Vigo and visit the Museum of Ladin culture, getting to know more about this ancient population, its traditions and language. 1 hour-1 hour 1/2 visit.

Following the visit of the museum, we will stop in a local Agriturismo - Farmstead for a tasting of local products (charchutery of cold cuts, cheeses) with beverages.

We leave Val Di Fassa crossing the border between Trentino and Veneto and driving up to a steep and winding road (total 27 bens), we reach the Pordoi Pass (7345 feet - 2239 mt). Your guide will tell you the story of the pass, known as one of the hardest step of the famous Giro d’Italia – Internationally known road cycling competition - and of the cyclist Fausto Coppi, as well as being part of the Yellow Line - battle front during WWI. Here you will have free time to catch the modern cable car that will take you in only 4 minutes up to 9678 feet - 2950 mt. Once there, you will find the panoramic terrace perched among the mountains, and on a sunny day you can comfortably lie down on a deck chair, while enjoying an astonishing 360-degree view over all the major peaks of the Dolomites: Marmolada, Pale di San Martino, Sassolungo, the southern reaches of Ortles, Cevedale and the Swiss and Austrian Alps. The cable car is open from mid May to mid October and from Christmas to Easter.

We leave Passo Pordoi behind, and we continue discovering the Mighty Dolomites driving up to the Sella Pass (about 30 minutes) from where we can enjoy the view of the majestic Sassolungo (10,436 feet - 3131 m), the most famous mountain in Gardena Valley. Your English speaking guide will explain to you how to Dolomites came to be and what make them so different and unique from the Alps.

We are back to Alto Adige and heading towards Ortisei (about 40' trip) the beautiful mountain village located in Gardena Valley in the heart of the UNESCO Heritage site of the Dolomites and the birthplace of Giorgio Moroder, the father of Disco Music. Ortisei is also famous for its centuries old wood carving tradition and to be one of the Ladin Valleys that are part of Alto Adige. Discovery walk with your guide and some free time before heading back to Bolzano. 30 minutes stop, and then 40 minutes drive back to Bolzano