Day Hike: Alpe di Siusi from Val Gardena
Base Town: Ortisei in Val Gardena, South Tyrol; Trailhead: Seiser Alm cable car station; Transportation to Trailhead: local valley bus and cable car
When in Val Gardena, a day spent in the meadows of Alpe di Siusi is a necessity. It’s good for the eyes and good for the soul. From our hawk’s vantage point atop the summit of Sasso Piatto while climbing via ferrata Oskar Schuster a few days prior, Alpe di Siusi was spread like a beautiful green carpet at the feet of the Sassolungo Group. It begs for a leisurely walk of solitude and reflection. We needed a day of rest and relaxation, so we rode the Seiser Alm cable car up to the largest alpine meadow in Europe.
Alpe di Siusi, Sassolungo Group, Sella Group
From the cable car, peering into the belly of Sassolungo Group with binoculars, we could trace the descending path from Rifugio Toni Demetz down to Rifugio Vicenza (Langkofelhütte) and the trail leading across Plattkofel cirque to the base of VF Oskar Schuster. Sasso Piatto is the peak in the photos below with the flat pancake backside.
We chose a trail heading counter-clockwise from the cable car station, lined with wildflowers and pine trees. Bees buzzing, birds chirping, and flora swaying in a gentle breeze as we sauntered along at a leisurely pace, simply taking in the late afternoon landscape. The path generally followed a wide arc, undulating over and down small hills, slowly pivoting the view but always with Sassolungo Langkofel dominating the horizon. Such a lofty, regal tower of limestone! Shape-shifting clouds morphed and floated across the clear blue sky. The song of insects chirrrred from the tall grasses. We passed grazing cows and closed-up cottages, but had few encounters with fellow day hikers or residents.
Alpe di Siusi has many crushed gravel biking trails, which would have been a great way to cover a lot more ground. Alas, we were on foot, with a looming deadline to catch the last cable car of the day back down to Val Gardena. After a brief rest in the shade near a hut, we scurried across a grassy field and raced to the top of a small but imposing little rise to end our day of rest and relaxation with a weightless glide back into town.
Our day hike in Alpe di Siusi was a nice counter-balance to all of the heart-pumping via ferrata excursions we did from our base town of Ortisei in Val Gardena. After this relaxing day, we were ready to skip over to Val di Fassa to start our multi-night via ferrata tour of Rosengarten!
