I knew this was going to be a challenging hike, but I also knew that my body and mind needed this multi-day adventure in the mountains more than ever. What I didn’t know is that it would be THIS incredibly beautiful.
Chances are if you haven’t heard of the Dolomites yet – soon it will be a place on your radar. The 2026 Winter Olympics will be in Cortina Italy in the heart of the Dolomites. You’ll soon see the stunning Dolomites mountains covered in snow all over the news. However, I invite you to beat the crowds there and head there sooner rather than later – after all – it’s always better to lead than follow!
Where and What are the Dolomites
The Dolomites, located in northeastern Italy, is a mountainous region renowned for its stunning beauty and unique geological formations. The Dolomites are a part of the Southern Limestone Alps and cover an area of over 140,000 hectares. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2009, thanks to its distinctive geology and natural beauty.
Dolomites History
The Dolomites have a rich history, from their geologic origins to their role in World War I. The Alta Via 1 takes you through the heart of this history, with numerous war memorials and fortifications dotting the landscape. The hike also offers a chance to learn about the local culture and traditions of the Ladin people, who have lived in the Dolomites for thousands of years.
The mountain range is composed of a unique rock called dolomite, which was formed over 250 million years ago from the ancient ocean bed. This rock is characterized by its light-colored, jagged peaks and steep ridges, creating a landscape that is unlike any other in the world.
Alta Via 1 Hike Through the Dolomites
I was there to take on the Alta Via 1, a multi-day hike traversing through the heart of the Dolomites. It can take anywhere from 8 to 12 days depending on your speed. The trek offers panoramic views of the iconic jagged peaks, turquoise alpine lakes, and rolling green meadows that make the Dolomites such a unique and beautiful landscape.
The Alta Via 1 hike utilizes the mountain hut system (rifugios) where you can sleep and eat, making it one of the world’s most popular thru-hikes . ‘Rifugio’ means ‘shelter’ in Italian, but it is also interchangeable with ‘mountain hut’. However, these are no basic huts…you’ll be well taken care of and comfortable at the rifugios!
Our Alta Via 1 Route Map
Where are the Dolomites in Italy?
Our Group Hike Route
3 Ways to Hike the Dolomites Alta Via 1
1. Independent Hiking
If you have the time, you can take on the Alta Via 1 independently – doing all the planning yourself. With approximately 30 rifugios along the route, there are many ways you can slice and dice your itinerary if you are doing the Alta Via 1 independently. You can tailor it just for you, your hiking fitness, and your interests.
There are tons of resources out there for the Alta Via 1 independent hiker: Alta Via 1 Rifugios – booking, details, location, and more! Maps – Tabacco Dolomite Map Books/Route Guides – The best-loved book/guide map is this Alta Via 1 Guide Blogs – there are plenty of people who have detailed their independent hiking journey for the Alta Via 1 where you can get all the nitty gritty details to plan and hike it yourself.
2. Alta Via 1 Self-Guided
A step above independent hiking is self-guided. This is where you hire a company to set up all of your logistics (rifugios, transfers, food, luggage movement) and you hike on your own according to their itinerary. You don’t have to worry about making your own reservations or wonder about what route to take – that’s all decided for you.
This is a popular way to do the Dolomites – a little more expensive than independent, but you will have all the planning done for you – and that’s worth quite a lot! One of the companies I recommend for the Alta Via 1 Self-Guided is Slo Ways Travel – an Italian company that knows the region well. In this Dolomites self-guided itinerary they provide the rifugio bookings, maps, and 24 hr. phone support. Luggage transfer and transportation transfers are optional extras. Note: If you do check them out, please tell them you learned about it in Ottsworld – I really appreciate it.
3. Hike Alta Via 1 With a Group
This was how I tackled the Alta Via 1 hike – with a group of 14 people – and it made the whole experience so much more rewarding! I knew a couple of the people prior to the hike, but most were strangers. However, I had 8 days to get to know them while hiking among majestic mountains – I can’t imagine a better social setting for making new friends. I absolutely loved the camaraderie; it took the hike to a whole other level of goodness!
I went with Jump Adventures – a tour company run by my good friend Jackie Nourse. She designs and hosts active adventures for those who want to get outside their comfort zones and have an EPIC experience with new friends. I joined her 8-night Group Dolomites Hiking Itinerary , and it was the highlight of my travel year. Not only was the incredible outdoor experience mind-blowing (as you’ll see below), but it was a rare social treat for me to get to do an outdoor adventure with so many cool people.
Jump Adventures is offering another chance to do this group hike in September 2023 ! If you watched me take it on in 2022, or are a solo traveler that really wants to go with a group, then please check out her awesome tour! Plus – if you tell her that you learned about it on Ottsworld, I’ll send you a special travel gift that you will be able to take with you and use on the hike (something from my gear list below)! But you must say that you heard about it from Ottsworld when you sign up!
Benefits of a Group Hike on Alta Via 1
If you still aren’t on the ‘group hiking’ train…let me share some of the benefits of hiking with others in the Dolomites.
Let Someone Else Do the Planning All logistics are handled for you, even your luggage transfers
Make New Friendships I find that after 50 it’s sort of hard to make new friends. However, going on a group hike is a wonderful way to meet people who you already have something in common with…a love of the outdoors and hiking. Friendships will be formed…I guarantee it.
No More Fear of Getting Lost You’ll have a guide to lead the way eliminating those ‘lost’ moment. Maybe you lack the confidence to hike a new trail yourself…a group hike is the solution!
Knowledge of a Local Guide Hiking with a group is sort of like a moving classroom. A local guide can answer any questions about the area and history as well as help with the language barrier. For this particular hike, our local guide Laura taught us all about the Ladin people, who have lived in the Dolomites for thousands of years. The Ladin people have their own language and cultural traditions that we were exposed to during the hike.
Build Confidence If you are sort of new to hiking, it’s a great way to build up confidence in your outdoor skills within the safety and support of a group. Consider it a stepping stone…a really fun one!
I’m on top of the world!
People To Cheer You On Every hike I’ve ever done has those moments where you just don’t think you can do it – you feel deflated, you can’t take another step. But nothing beats the moment when you hear someone from your group yell, “You can do it!” or “great job!” or in my case, “There’s a beer at the top waiting for you!”.
What to Expect When Hiking the Dolomites Alta Via 1 Route
I will be focusing on hiking the Alta Via 1 with a small group since that’s how I did this trip. This means most all planning is done for you – all you have to do is hike and enjoy! Here’s what you can expect when you hike the Alta Via 1 on a group tour…hint…expect to have an incredible time!
Hike Difficulty
Of course, this is hard to gauge because everyone rates a hike differently based on their own fitness level. For me – I would rank this a moderate to hard hike. We hiked nearly 50 miles with average daily elevation gains/losses of 2700 feet – this certainly wasn’t easy. However, I have seen some people write about it as an easy hike – so to each his/her own, I guess.
I found it really challenging. There were times we had to scramble up boulders, there were lots of steep switchbacks, and the trails were rocky in general. You got as high as 8,900 ft so at times you also had altitude to contend with.
If you are used to hiking in the Alps or places like Colorado – this might be normal, but for most people, you need to prepare for the Alta Via 1.
How to Train
I would suggest that you train for the up and down as much as you can. If you don’t have mountains around you to practice in, then get on a stair climber and start to strengthen those muscles 4 to 6 months out.
I love this training plan for long hikes (there’s even a downloadable pdf!) that my friend Becki put together.
Where Do You Stay Along the Alta Via 1 Hike
The Rifugios (mountain huts) were√ a slice of heaven; a warm place, full of joy and friendship, filled with a special feeling of freedom that only the mountains are able to supply. I love hiking all day, pushing myself, and then having a cozy place to stay for the night. The Dolomites are littered with cute rifugios in stunning, remote locations – these are your ‘homes’ for the night. They range in design and quality; however, it’s really the people you are with as well as other hikers that make the experience.
Most Dolomites rifugios offer dorm accommodations with anywhere from 4 to 16 people in a room. Most that we stayed in were 4 to a room. They furnish bedding – but you may want to bring a sleep sheet as well as earplugs (see gear list below). All of the rifugios we stayed in were on the nicer end (thanks group trip!) and offered incredible views, hot showers, wifi, common areas, and food/drink. A perfect place to clean up and rest after a long trail day!
Food and Drink
I hike to eat. And there’s no better country to eat in than Italy . This makes the Alta Via 1 hike the perfect storm for people like me! Every day I finished hiking, I would start with a drink (beer or wine) to celebrate the end of the hiking day. And then that evening would feast on the pasta specialty of the area that night. There’s really no better place in the world to carbo-load than Italy.
Most days we ate a continental hearty breakfast at the rifugio, would take a packed lunch from the rifugio and eat along the trail, and then eat dinner at the hut we arrived at that evening.
There were a few times when we were able to eat lunch at rifugios because of their location on our hike for the day. I loved those days. It might seem weird to eat a big lunch in the middle of a hike…but when it’s homemade pasta…I don’t care. Some of my best memories were fresh pasta in the middle of the hiking day.
Every rifugio also offered very reasonably priced wine (and it was good!) and local beer. One of our rifugios was even a brewery! Rifugio Lavarella on Day 2 is Europe’s highest altitude brewery and the beer was really great – and so was the view!
Plus – on this particular Dolomites group itinerary from Jump Adventures – the meals were all included which is soooo nice. You never have to worry about extra spending money…except for all of that wine and beer that I drank!
Language Barriers Along the Alta Via 1
It is true that once you get into remote places in the Dolomites there is less English spoken, but don’t let that deter you – you can get away with English pretty much everywhere. Granted – it’s always nice to try to learn a bit of the local language – but don’t fear that you won’t be able to get around because you don’t know Italian. There are always ways to get around a language barrier .
In addition, on a guided Dolomites hike, you have an Italian-speaking guide that is with you! So – if you really are having trouble communicating, they can help. Or they can also teach you some useful phrases in Italian!
Luggage Support
We were able to have our luggage moved from rifugio to rifugio on our group hike. It makes that hike so much more enjoyable when you just have to take a day pack. The luggage support ran like clockwork. Every day when we showed up at our endpoint, our luggage would be there waiting for us, and we could change into comfortable shoes and clothes!
There were two huts on our route where no luggage support was available since there were no roads there. On those days our luggage was moved to the next hut with road support, and we just packed a few extra things in our daypack for that night.
Sauna Experiences in the Dolomites and Massage
At the rifugios, you’ll also find some wellness perks. Some have saunas – which are perfect for your aching body! Since I was hiking in mid-September, it was quite chilly in the evenings, so a hot sauna was really appealing.
I loved this cute little sauna at Rifugio Lavarella – and nothing beats a cold water dunk after the sauna. I slept SO WELL that night!
