The Alps are absolutely breathtaking, even if you’re just looking at the pictures. These majestic mountains stand high above the clouds, gracing everyone who’s been to the peak with a majestic view. Just a two hour drive off of Verona or Venice, you’ll be able to witness one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my hikes. And if you’re planning out to go hiking in the Dolomites, I am going to give you several pointers about what I learned from my own hiking excursion there.

Important Tips For Hiking In The Dolomites

The Dolomites, or the collective mountain range that we will be showing here, is a huge place. The mountain range itself spans at least five provinces and it’s dotted with just about any type of land formation, from tall cliffs to really narrow valleys. If you like the feeling great heights give you, you’ll absolutely love hiking in the Dolomites. The place is fit, for the most part, for any type of hiker, from ones who’d trek for days on the road or ones who’d want to take a quiet, leisurely stroll on the range. You just have to find the right people, places, and the right gear to make your trip safe. To help you with that, here are some several tips for getting around, whether it’s on a bike, in climbing gear, or in hiking attire.

1. Important Reminders

Please bear with me if I seem a little repetitive with my safety reminders. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry. When you go hiking, especially when it comes down to places like the Dolomites, be sure to do the following:

• Mind the weather: the weather can change pretty quickly so bring a jacket along with you!
• Inform someone of your whereabouts like the receptionist of your hotel. You can always inform them on your whereabouts and your expected arrival.
• Frequently take breaks, but don’t rest too frequently.
• Take care. Sometimes we forget we aren’t superhuman. Be sure to take care on your trek.

2. What’s on the itinerary?

Okay, there’s a lot to do in the Dolomites. Since we’re talking about hiking in the Dolomites, you’d probably want to check out the view from way up there. The view from the peak of one of the mountains is spectacular. You get there either by gondola or if you’re feeling a little more adventurous than a regular hiker, by foot. You can also check out remnants of World War I in the area, and they even have the irons roads and a via ferrata as it’s called. Even the old villages and wide open pastures in the area feel great to explore.

3. When should I visit?

This one is easy. Visit the Dolomites during the fall. Somehow, when I visited the second time around, the air felt even more fresh, the tree leaves were golden, and the entire trip became somewhat like an excellent retreat. There are less tourists that went around too, so you wouldn’t worry about a crowd getting there. But otherwise, any other time of the year, except for winter, is fine.

4. Early Bird

The early bird gets the worm, in this case, the good spots in the rifugio. If you’re lucky, you can get a priceless view of the sunset. I highly suggest you take off as early as you can, since there’s so much to do and you simply don’t have enough time.

5. Guided tours or no?

If you’re not keen on road mapping or if you just want the comfort of someone with a know-how in hiking, you can choose a guided tour around the area. Instead of trying to figure out which places to eat in, which rest stops to rest in, which roads to take, your tour guide can be the one to suggest things for you. Of course, you can also opt to not get one and try your hand with paid but self-guided tours. Finally, you can let your inner explorer in you take charge and go it out independently as well.

6. Base camping or Backpacking?

This will decide on how you’ll want to move about for the rest of the trip. If you have a lot of stuff to bring, might I suggest getting yourself a room in an hotel for the safekeeping of your stuff, not to mention a soft, warm bed to really give you that rest you deserve. If you really wish to be on the move, however, you can backpack from rifugio to rifugio. Normally those places have food already for you once you check in for the night. It really depends on how leisurely and rapid you want to take things.

7. Gondola

Now this was something I’d completely forgotten about in my first trip hiking in the Dolomites. Gondolas make it easy to travel between these ranges, and it’s also a good time-saver if you want to see more of the mountain ranges. Trust me, a gondola ride is something that may be the last thing you want to do in your trip, but you’ll end up doing so anyway.

If you’re still unsure about hiking in the Dolomites, try watching this video by Andrea Dabene. Her video pretty much captures the beauty of the the mountain range of the Dolomites.

Have you ever seen the Dolomites? Have you been there? And if you did, how’d you like it? What’d you think of the place? Let me tell you I found the view to be magnificent and I’ll always keep a picture of it buried in my mind. If you have any questions or if you just want to share your experiences with us then feel free to comment down below!

If you’ve already been here before or simply want to go on hiking somewhere in the United States, then check this article out that shows the beauty of the mountains of Wyoming.

Featured image via wikimedia.