The paths

Family itineraries

If, on the other hand, you are looking for easier itineraries on less demanding trails that are ideal for families with children, here are some useful hints for your excursions.

One of the most famous destinations in Val di Sole is the Tibetan bridge over the Rio Ragaiolo waterfall. You can cross the suspension bridge at an altitude of 60 metres and, in the meantime, admire and listen to the roar of the waterfalls: an ideal excursion to take with the family. You can also decide to stop for lunch or a snack at Malga Fratte Bassa.

Another destination to put on your agenda is Pejo 3000. You can reach an altitude of 3000 metres by cable car and then descend on foot via a beautiful little alpine lake: Lake Covel.

Definitely worth a visit are the spectacular Saènt waterfalls, which can be covered in a loop tour, stopping then for lunch or a snack at Malga Stablasolo.

Finally, we recommend the small Caprioli Lake in Pellizzano, which will captivate you with its quietness, its celestial waters and the spectacular view of the surrounding mountains.

The magnificent Valpiana, which can be entered from above the village of Ossana, extends right into the valley next to Lake Caprioli. An ideal place for totally relaxing walks, where you can switch off and immerse yourself in nature.

Refuges

The best emotions in Val di Sole can be experienced at high altitude: thanks to a system of cable cars, gondolas and chairlifts, you can reach high altitudes in a few minutes while admiring a scenic route. But the real Val di Sole, you must experience on foot, walking on its countless paths. The recommended itineraries below have as their final destination refuges that can be reached on foot. You can enjoy a pleasant hike, more or less demanding depending on the destination you choose, and you can then spend the night or simply have lunch with traditional Trentino dishes.

The Guido Larcher Cevedale Refuge is the preferred starting point if you aspire to climb Cevedale. The hut is located in Val Venezia, in the heart of the Stelvio National Park, in front of the Vedretta de la Mare, the Cevedale, Zufall, Palon de la Mare and Viòz peaks. Near the hut is a small church, which was erected on the initiative of Cristoforo Caserotti, in honour of the Madonna delle Grazie. The refuge can be reached from the Malga Mare power station (10 km from the village of Cogolo) along path no. 102, which passes by Malga Mare. The path is open all year round. The path from the Malga Mare car park to the hut can be covered in 1.45 hours.

At the foot of Mount Vioz, at an altitude of over 3,500 metres, is the Vioz 'Mantova' hut, the highest in Trentino and the entire Eastern Alps. The first Vioz hut was built between 1909 and 1911 by the alpine club section of Halle a.d. Salle. The most important renovation took place in 1992 after four years of work. Today, the hut is very comfortable and environmentally friendly. In addition to an ascent with a spectacular view as far as the Lombardy and South Tyrolean Alps, in the vicinity of the hut, about half an hour's walk away, you can visit the Linke peak museum, the highest in Europe.

Another refuge not to be missed is the Stavel 'Francesco Denza'. The refuge is located at an altitude of 2298 metres, at the foot of the moraine of the Presanella glacier (Rhaetian Alps). Above the terrace on which the refuge stands, there is a typical alpine lake that is very suggestive when the clear sky allows its waters to reflect the Presanella glacier in all its beauty. It lies in the middle between the imposing Adamello Presanella and Ortles- Cevedale mountain groups and the Brenta Dolomites.

Overlooking the Rabbi valley is the Dorigoni refuge, located in the heart of the Stelvio National Park, in a natural basin where marmots and chamois live in total freedom. A few steps away, a series of small lakes of glacial origin dot the wide depressions created by the mountain slopes. The Cascate di Saent waterfalls, the Sternai Lakes nature trail, the Sentiero dei Larici Monumentali (Monumental Larch Trail) and the world of high altitudes with the Careser Glacier, Cima Rossa and Cima Sternai, are just some of the exclusive features you can admire in Val di Rabbi.

Finally, we recommend a trek to the Stella Alpina Refuge at Lake Corvo. Remaining between Val di Rabbi and Val d'Ultimo, the Stella Alpina refuge, built in 1952, is located within a high-altitude reserve near Lake Corvo, a small basin where alpine char live. From the Rifugio Lago Corvo, with the SAT 145 trail, one can ascend between basins and scree until reaching the summit of Monte Collecchio (2,954 m), where one can observe the wide expanse of the upper Val Saènt.

The Great War

The spectacular views of the Val di Sole in the early 1900s were the scene of the warlike and tragic events of the First World War.

The "White War" between the troops of the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies who fought among the peaks and glaciers, using the steep alpine paths between trenches and fortifications. The harsh living conditions have remained indelible in the memory of the valley's population, traces that have also changed the characteristics of the landscape.

In order not to forget these heroic deeds, museum complexes and itineraries have been set up that retrace the high-altitude roads faced at the time by the tired, cold, frightened and hungry soldiers. In addition to the white war museums in Vermiglio and Pejo, numerous fortifications continue to watch over the villages of the Val di Sole from above, in the areas of Vermiglio, Pejo and Tonale.

Climbing to a height of 3,632 metres above sea level, on the peaks overlooking Pejo, there is a museum of Punta Linke, opened in 2014 near the Alpine peak of the same name, at one of the most strategic control points on the Western Front. The high altitude and the harshness of the climate have helped to preserve an extraordinary amount of war relics over the decades, which still tell the story of the harshness of the Alpine conflict today.