Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.
Anonymous
TerraTreks
Treks and Hikes in the Alps and Dolomites
Italy
Hike the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites with expert guides, on the most beautiful, uncrowded trails.
Stay in historic Rifugios and 4 and 5-star locally owned inns.
The Dolomites Trek begins at Lago di Braies--the start of Alta Via 1, the most recognized of the high alpine trails crossing the Dolomites--and ends at the stunning Tre Cime. This hike is van supported.
The Rosengarten Trek begins in St Cypriano then loops through the spectacular Rosengarten region, with its high peaks and spires bathed in the pink glow of the setting sun. The final stage of the trek takes us back to St Cypriano, right where it all began.
Austria, Germany, and Italy
The Alpentraversale Trek is just what it sounds like, a traverse of the Alps. The trek begins in Berchtesgaden, Germany, one of the last remaining German fortifications during WWII and the location of Eagle's Nest. The final stage of the trek also ends at the Tre Cime. Italy, Germany, and Austria...it doesn't get much better.
Dolomites Trek
Spotlight
WWI Historical Sites
Mount Lagazuoi is a veritable "castle of rock", with spires and turrets, but also with military bases hidden in its bowels. During WWI the Italian and Austrian – Hungarian armies dug shelters in its interior for men and arms, transforming it into an impenetrable 20th century fortress. During our trek we visit the restored tunnels, trenches and machine gun posts in the Open-Air Museum of Lagazuoi. The walk down through the mountain from Rifugio Lagazuoi provides a behind-the-scenes tour of a dramatic war fought at a high altitude.
For more information on the Dolomites Trek click on the picture above.
The Legend of King Laurin and the Rosengarten
Dolomites Trek
Spotlight
Rifugio Lagazuoi
Prior to 1963 hikers to the top of Mt Lagazuoi observed the remains of a World War I site juxtaposed against a beautiful vista point where the Rifugio Lagazuoi now stands.
Back in 1965 Ugo, the manager of a butcher shop, and his wife Alda, a mother devoted to her family, decided to leave their country life in the valley and build a mountain inn at 2752 m.
Rifugio Lagazuoi is built on family tradition. Guido and Paolo, Ugo and Alda’s sons, as well as their children, have continued to operate Rifugio Lagazuoi, which is not only important in their lives, but to so many hikers and skiers who have stood on the deck and felt the awe and wonder of the Dolomites. Guido and Paolo have a deep understanding of how their magic nest in the heart of the Dolomites could bewitch an alpinist like Ugo. The family's commitment to tradition has made Rifugio Lagazuoi one of the most popular rifugios along the Alta Via 1.
For more information on the huts we use click on the picture above.
One of the spectacular features of the Rosengarten is the constant change in color as the day unfolds—from pink to red and purple as the setting sun casts light on the rock walls rising above what was once a seabed. Because of its beauty, and what must have been the mystery of the changing colors, the area is also steeped in folklore. According to legend, today the slopes of the high valley between the Rosengartenspitze, Laurinswand,and Vajolet towers are covered with talus, but there was once a wonderful rose garden belonging to Laurin, the dwarf king.
When the king of Etsch country wanted to offer his beautiful daughter, Similde, in marriage he invited all noblemen around to vie for her hand, except King Laurin. But way before Harry Potter discovered his invisibility cloak, King Laurin had a magic coat with a miraculous hood that enabled him to participate in the festivities as an invisible guest. Upon seeing Similde he immediately fell in love with her, put her on his horse and rode away.
All the noblemen who had hoped to win her hand followed him, led by Dietrich from Bern and his armorer Hildebrand. Soon they arrived at the rose garden willing to fight for the beautiful Similde. But King Laurin also had a miracle belt which gave him the strength of twelve men, so he accepted the battle. He soon realized that despite his clever magic he could not defeat the noblemen, so he put on his invisibility coat and ran across his rose garden. Sadly, the Knights were able to follow him because, despite King Lauren’s invisibility, the lovely roses swayed with every movement of the king thus betraying his location. The noblemen grabbed the dwarf king, destroyed the magic belt and coat, and took him into captivity. As he was being led away King Laurin turned back on his beautiful garden and roses, which had betrayed him, and conjured a spell that neither by day nor by night a human eye should ever see their beauty again. But Laurin had forgotten the twilight, and so it is that people, even today, in mornings and evenings can see high in the walls of the Rosengarten massif the blossoming rose garden of King Laurin as the light illuminates the color of the roses forever locked in the massive stone walls.
