Things to do
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Cortina d'Ampezzo Ski Area
The three mountains share a pass but few lifts, so spend each day on one. Learn at Socrepes or Pocol, and save the Tofana for its steep World Cup runs.
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Lago di Braies
A green lake under the wall of the Croda del Becco, with a level path of about three and a half kilometres around the shore and wooden rowing boats for hire. Summer access is controlled and cars are turned away at peak times, so come early or take the bus.
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Lago di Sorapis
A milky turquoise lake under the Sorapis massif, reached on a path with exposed ledges and fixed cable in places. The colour comes from rock flour and it fades as the summer goes on. The walk in takes around two hours each way from Passo Tre Croci.
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Marmolada
The highest peak in the Dolomites at 3,343 metres, and the Dolomite summit still carrying a glacier, which is retreating fast. A cable car from Malga Ciapela reaches a terrace and a museum of the mountain war fought inside the ice.
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Tre Cime di Lavaredo
Three near-vertical dolomite towers standing clear of everything around them, and the most recognisable rock in the Alps. A mostly level circuit of about ten kilometres goes right round them from the Auronzo hut, which a toll road reaches in summer.
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Alta Via 1
The classic Dolomites traverse, about 120 kilometres from Lago di Braies south to Belluno over eight to twelve days, sleeping in huts. No technical climbing, but long days and real exposure on some sections. Huts book out from early summer and reservations are made months ahead.
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Cinque Torri
A cluster of five rock towers above the Falzarego road, ringed by restored Italian trenches and tunnels from the mountain war of 1915 to 1917. A chairlift saves the climb and the open-air museum is walked in about an hour. The lift runs in summer and winter.
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Civetta
Its northwest face is about twelve hundred metres of vertical limestone and has been called the wall of walls since the 1920s. The routes on it are long, committing and among the most storied in the Dolomites. Alleghe on the lake below it is the usual base.
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Cristallo, a Luxury Collection Resort
Open since 1901 on the slope above Cortina, with the Dolomite walls filling the windows. It is the hotel the town's reputation was built on. It sits a short drive from the centre with its own funicular link down, and the spa occupies the original bath wing.
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Ferrata Ivano Dibona
A cabled route along the Cristallo ridge following the Italian front line of 1915, including a suspension bridge at around 2,800 metres. It needs a via ferrata set and is a full day. It is usually approached from the Cristallo lift and the wartime tunnels are part of the line.
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Lagazuoi
A cable car from the Falzarego pass lifts to 2,752 metres and one of the widest views in the Dolomites. The descent can be made through the war tunnels driven into the mountain, which needs a torch, a helmet and a head for exposure.
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Museo Paleontologico Rinaldo Zardini
A collection of fossils from the reefs that became these mountains, gathered by a local shoemaker who became a self-taught palaeontologist. It explains what the Dolomites are made of better than any viewpoint does. It is small, central and open on an afternoon schedule.
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Passo Falzarego
The pass at 2,105 metres between Cortina and Alta Badia, the front line between 1915 and 1917 and now the departure point for the Lagazuoi cable car. The tunnels either side of the road are open to walkers. It is open from late spring until the first heavy snow.
