Your summer holidays in the Dolomites:
the pull of the Pale Mountains
The name alone does something to people. Say “the Dolomites” to keen hikers or nature lovers, and a picture arrives unbidden: limestone walls glowing like polished marble in the early light, or going pink at the end of the day. Somewhere to walk, and somewhere to stand still. Your summer holiday in the Dolomites begins at Hotel Aichner with a deep breath and a sense of quiet wonder at these towering mountains.
3 favourite destinations for your summer holiday in Val Pusteria/Pustertal
If you want your Dolomites family summer holiday to do what it’s capable of, these are the three places we send people first:
The emerald one everybody has seen a photograph of. Take a handmade wooden rowing boat out from the old jetty, or walk the 3.5km path around the shore. Arrive early and you get the beauty with far fewer people in it.
approx. 30 mins from Olang
A vast high-altitude alpine pasture at an altitude of 2,000 metres, surrounded by Mt Croda Rossa d’Ampezzo/Hohe Gaisl, Mt Cristallo, and the Three Peaks. A Kaiserschmarrn (shredded, caramelised pancake) at the Dürrenstein hut is part of the trip, not an optional extra.
approx. 30 mins
The symbol of the Dolomites, at full volume. Coming in through Val Fiscalina/Fischleintal takes you through stone pine forest to the Talschluss hut and on up to the Drei Zinnen hut and that view.
approx. 45 mins
Summer at Plan de Corones/Kronplatz: what there is to do
There’s a whole spread of summer ideas around Olang: via ferrata routes in the Sexten Dolomites, cycling on the Val Pusteria/Pustertal cycling trail to Lienz, or a round of golf at the golf club in Reischach near Bruneck. A summer in the Dolomites mixes mountain air, movement, and good food in roughly the right proportions. On the subject of good food: all this activity makes people hungry, which is convenient, because eating well is something we take seriously. Whet your appetite right here.
Val Pusteria/Pustertal summer tips for:
- Families. Walk along the west shore of Lake Braies/Pragser Wildsee (pushchair-friendly), the river-beach feel of the Spiaggetta Ciamaor near St. Vigil, and a jump into the heated open-air pool in Olang.
- Romantics. A row on Lake Braies/Pragser Wildsee, the hushed panoramic walk up to Prato Piazza/Plätzwiese high plateau, and a table for two at the Sennes hut.
- Peak-collectors. Mt Croda Rossa d’Ampezzo/Hohe Gaisl (3,146m), ascent of Mt Croda del Becco/Seekofel directly from Lake Braies/Pragser Wildsee, circumnavigation of the Three Peaks including a detour to the Zsigmondy hut.
- The treat seekers. The Val Pusteria/Pustertal cycling route to Lienz with the train home, Kaiserschmarrn at the Dürrenstein hut, and a swim-and-sauna day at Cron4 in Reischach.