Rifugio Bolzano
2,450 mThe oldest hut on the Schlern, run by the same family since 1955. Shared bunk rooms of 4–8, blankets provided, a wood-panelled dining room that smells of fresh bread.
Summer 2026 · June–September departures
The Dolomites, the high way.
A bed and a hot dinner at every stop.
Nine days ridge-to-ridge across the Italian Dolomites — no tent, no resupply, no second-guessing the weather. You walk; we carry the logistics. Every night ends at a warm rifugio.
- Duration
- 9 days
- Group size
- max 12
- Grade
- mod–hard
- Best season
- Jun–Sep
- Price from
- $2,890
38,408
travelers hosted
1994
guiding since
4.9
average rating
60+
routes worldwide
As featured in
Meridian
THE PASSAGE
Off-Season
Wander Quarterly
ALPINE JOURNAL
Northbound
Compass & Co
Summit & Trail
The Dolomites High Route
One range, end to end —
Alpe di Siusi to the Tre Cime.
The Dolomites are not one mountain — they are a hundred pale towers crowded into a corner of northern Italy, and the High Route threads a line between them. You start on the rolling pastureland of the Alpe di Siusi, climb through the Sassolungo group, cross Passo Gardena at 2,121m, and finish nine days later beneath the three sheer cliffs of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo.
It is a hut-to-hut trek, and that changes everything. You carry a 7kg daypack — a fleece, a shell, water, lunch — and nothing else. Every night a rifugio is waiting with a bunk, a hot shower, a three-course dinner and a glass of something local. Total ascent across the route is 6,840m; the hardest single day, the summit of Cima di Mezzo, is 1,340m of climbing to a col that sits at 2,994m.
Twelve walkers, two IFMGA guides, one fixed route we have run since 1998. We pace it so the strong days are short and the long days are gentle. You bring the legs and the curiosity. We bring the rest.
The route at a glance
98 km · 6,840 m ascent · 6 rifugiosDay by day
Nine days, nine huts, one summit.
Distances and ascent are measured, not estimated — pulled from the GPS tracks our guides log every season. Walking hours assume a steady, conversational pace with stops.
-
01
Ortisei — arrival & the Alpe di Siusi rim
7 km · 320 m ↑ · 2.5 hMeet your guides in Ortisei at 16:00 for kit checks and a gentle leg-stretch up to the meadow rim. Welcome dinner at the valley hotel — the last bed with a private bathroom for a week.
-
02
Across the Alpe di Siusi to Rifugio Bolzano
14 km · 690 m ↑ · 5.5 hThe widest high pasture in the Alps, with the Sassolungo towers ahead all day. We climb the Schlern massif's flank to a 2,450m refuge perched on the plateau edge — sunset over the Catinaccio is the reward.
-
03
The Sassolungo circuit to Rifugio Vicenza
12 km · 540 m ↑ · 5 hA loop beneath the Sassolungo's vertical walls, scrambling over old scree fields where the rock is fractured pale and sharp. Short day on purpose — legs need it before the pass crossings begin.
-
04
Over Passo Gardena into the Puez group
16 km · 880 m ↑ · 6.5 hThe route's first big pass at 2,121m, then a long traverse onto the lunar limestone tableland of the Puez. Night at Rifugio Puez, a small stone hut with no road for ten kilometres in any direction.
-
05
The Puez plateau & Forcella de Furcia
13 km · 610 m ↑ · 5 hA high, exposed crossing of the plateau with two minor cols and views east to tomorrow's summit. We arrive early at Rifugio Genova to rest, eat well, and brief the climb.
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06
Summit day — Cima di Mezzo, 2,994 m
11 km · 1,340 m ↑ · 8 hThe big one. A pre-dawn start, a steady switchback climb, and a final airy ridge — non-technical but exposed — to a col just shy of 3,000m. On a clear morning the whole range lays out below you; it was −6°C at the col last June. Down to Rifugio Firenze for a long, well-earned dinner.
-
07
Descent through the Val di Funes
15 km · 240 m ↑ · 5 hA recovery day — mostly downhill through larch forest into the green Funes valley, beneath the famous Odle spires. Spruce, cowbells, and a long lunch at a working dairy farm.
-
08
Lago di Braies & the approach to the Tre Cime
14 km · 720 m ↑ · 5.5 hFrom the emerald water of Lago di Braies we climb toward the most photographed cliffs in the Alps. Night at Rifugio Locatelli, directly across the cirque from the three towers.
-
09
The Tre Cime circuit & farewell in Cortina
9 km · 300 m ↑ · 3.5 hA morning loop around the base of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, then transfer to Cortina d'Ampezzo. Farewell lunch at 14:00; trip ends mid-afternoon for onward travel.
The fine print
What's included — and what isn't.
No surprises at the trailhead. The price covers everything between the welcome dinner and the farewell lunch. Here is the exact line.
Included in $2,890
- ·8 nights' accommodation — 1 valley hotel, 7 mountain rifugios, half-board.
- ·All breakfasts and dinners, plus a packed trail lunch every walking day.
- ·Two IFMGA-certified mountain guides for the full nine days.
- ·All cable cars and transfers on the route, and the final transfer to Cortina.
- ·Luggage transport — your main bag is moved valley-to-valley while you walk.
- ·A pre-trip kit consultation and a GPX route file for your own device.
Not included
- ·Travel to Ortisei and home from Cortina — we send a detailed travel guide.
- ·Travel insurance with mountain-rescue cover — mandatory, your own policy.
- ·Lunches and drinks on the two non-walking days, and bar drinks at the huts.
- ·Personal hiking gear — boots, poles, pack, layers (rental list provided).
- ·The hotel night before Day 1 if you arrive early — we can book it for you.
- ·Tips for the guides — appreciated, never expected, entirely your call.
Where you'll stay
Seven rifugios, each with a view.
half-board, every night
hot showers · drying rooms
Rifugio Puez
2,475 mA small stone refuge marooned on the limestone plateau — the most remote night of the route. Compact dormitories, candle-lit if the generator sleeps, and the deepest silence you'll meet.
Rifugio Firenze
2,037 mWhere you land after summit day. Larger and warmer, with a few twin rooms we reserve first for couples, a proper bar, and a sun terrace built for tired legs.
Rifugio Locatelli
2,405 mThe grand finale — perched dead opposite the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Dorms of 6–10, an enormous dining hall, and a window that frames the three towers at first light.
Your guides
Two guides who know this range cold.
Both hold the IFMGA carnet — the international mountain-guide qualification — and both have walked the Dolomites High Route more times than they can count. They lead, they cook breakfast jokes, they read the weather.
Lukas Brunner
IFMGA · LEAD GUIDE
Born in the Val Gardena, Lukas has guided the Dolomites for two decades and skied its couloirs in winter. He paces a group like a metronome and knows which rifugio cook makes the best canederli.
- Languages
- English · German · Italian
- Guiding since
- 2003 · 21 years
Margaux Devereux
IFMGA · MOUNTAIN GUIDE
A Chamonix-trained guide who came to the Dolomites for the rock and stayed for the light. Margaux runs the summit-day briefings and is the calmest voice you'll hear on an exposed ridge.
- Languages
- English · French · Italian
- Guiding since
- 2011 · 13 years
Departures & pricing
2026 dates — book the season.
Twelve places per departure. July and August fill first; June and September walk in cooler air with thinner trails. Prices are per person, twin-share at the huts.
Departure
Price pp
Availability
- 07–15 Jun 2026 $2,890 Open Reserve →
- 21–29 Jun 2026 $2,890 5 spots left Reserve →
- 05–13 Jul 2026 $3,150 Sold out Waitlist
- 19–27 Jul 2026 $3,150 3 spots left Reserve →
- 02–10 Aug 2026 $3,150 Sold out Waitlist
- 16–24 Aug 2026 $3,150 3 spots left Reserve →
- 06–14 Sep 2026 $2,890 5 spots left Reserve →
- 20–28 Sep 2026 $2,890 Open Reserve →
What the price includes
8 nights' half-board accommodation, every breakfast, dinner and trail lunch, two IFMGA guides for the full nine days, all on-route transfers and cable cars, valley-to-valley luggage transport, and the final transfer to Cortina. June and September departures run $2,890; peak July–August dates are $3,150.
Deposit & balance
A $450 deposit secures your place. The balance is due 60 days before departure. Book within 60 days and the full amount is payable at the time of booking.
Best time to go
The trail has a season — pick yours.
The huts open in June and shutter at the end of September. Within that window, conditions shift week to week. Here is what each part of the season actually feels like underfoot.
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Trail conditions
opens mid-June
Lingering snow at the cols
early June only
Wildflower meadows
peak late June–July
Crowds on the trail
busiest in August
Our pick — mid-June for wildflowers and quiet trails, or September for crisp air, clear summits and the year's best light.
Reviews
Walked it. Loved it. Said so.
4.9
Average of 2,104 verified reviews from walkers on the Dolomites High Route since 2019. 96% would recommend the trip to a friend.
- Guiding
- 5.0
- Accommodation
- 4.7
- Value
- 4.6
"I'd never walked above 2,500m and the summit day terrified me on paper. Margaux talked the whole group up that ridge like it was nothing. Standing at the col at −6°C with the entire range below us — that's a morning I'll have forever."
"Came solo, worried I'd feel like a spare part. By Day 3 we were a proper little crew swapping snacks and blister tape. The 7kg daypack is the genius of it — you actually look up at the mountains instead of at your own boots."
"Rifugio Puez at night, no road for miles, the Milky Way overhead — my wife and I have walked a lot of trails and that hour is near the top of the list. Lukas reads weather like a book; he flipped two days around to dodge a storm and we never got wet."
"Switchback got the pacing exactly right — the brutal days are short, the long days are flat. I'm 58 and trained for three months; I never once felt rushed or held back. The canederli at Rifugio Bolzano alone are worth the airfare."
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Before you book
Honest answers to the real questions.
How fit do I need to be? +
This is a moderate-to-hard trek. You should be comfortable walking 5–7 hours a day for nine days, carrying a light pack, with summit day reaching 1,340m of ascent. We tell everyone to train for three months — regular hill walks, some stairs, a few back-to-back days. If you can do a long hilly day and feel good doing another the next morning, you're ready. We're glad to talk through your fitness before you commit.
Do I need technical climbing experience? +
No. The entire route, summit day included, is walking and occasional easy scrambling on a marked path — no ropes, no harness, no via ferrata. There's some exposure on the final summit ridge, meaning steep ground beside the trail, but the path itself is straightforward and your guides brief and pace it carefully. If you've hiked steep mountain terrain before, you have everything you need.
Is it okay to come solo? +
Absolutely — roughly half of every group books solo, and the shared-walking, shared-hut format makes a trekking group close fast. There's no single supplement: hut accommodation is dormitory or twin-share by default, and we pair solo travellers of the same gender. If you'd prefer a private room on the nights it's available, we can arrange that for a small surcharge.
What gear do I bring vs. rent? +
Bring your own broken-in boots, a daypack, walking poles and layered clothing — a full packing list goes out the moment you book. The rifugios provide blankets and pillows, so a lightweight sleeping-bag liner is all you need for sleeping. We can arrange rental of poles, packs and shell jackets in Ortisei if you'd rather not fly with them. The one rule: never bring brand-new boots on Day 1.
What's the cancellation and insurance policy? +
The $450 deposit is non-refundable; the balance is fully refundable if you cancel more than 60 days before departure, 50% between 60 and 30 days, and non-refundable inside 30 days. Comprehensive travel insurance that covers trekking to 3,000m and mountain rescue is mandatory — we'll ask for your policy number before departure, and we recommend buying it the same week you book.
How big are the groups? +
A maximum of 12 walkers, with two IFMGA guides — a ratio of one guide to six. That keeps the group nimble at the cols, easy to seat together at the huts, and small enough that the guides know everyone's pace by Day 2. A departure runs with a minimum of 4 guests; in eleven seasons we have never cancelled one for low numbers.
Next departure · 07–15 Jun 2026 · open now
Nine days to the Tre Cime. Twelve seats a trip.
Hold your place with a $450 deposit, or send us a question first — a real guide answers, usually within a day.
● 4.9 / 5 across 2,104 reviews · 38,408 travelers hosted since 1994