Often referred to as South Tyrol’s own “Table Mountain”, there is far more to Europe’s vastest expanse of Alpine pastureland than its pretty flower-spangled meadows and awesomely rugged backdrop of sheer Dolomite walls, towers and pinnacles. It is the ideal place to soak up the glorious sunshine of the southern Alps but remote from the searing heat. The entire Seiser Alm exudes traditional Tyrolean hospitality, abounding with chocolate-box Alpine log huts offering refreshments and a place to relax in congenial company, and countless miles of hiking trails criss-crossing the undulating countryside straddling the 7,000 foot elevation line (ranging from 5,600 to 9,850 feet above sea level). The best time to discover Dolomite flora at first hand is on walks and hikes from mid May to when the meadows are first mown in July. The area is protected as part of the Schlern-Rosengarten Nature Reserve where ibexes, chamois, marmots and deer thrive. Autumn is truly golden up here, when the sun still warms, the air is crisp and larches glow orange amid the dark coniferous forests.
A selection of summer walks and hikes:
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Up onto the Schlern: top terminal of the gondola lift at Kompatsch - Saltner Hütte refuge - Schlern-Haus refuge - up to the Petz (6 hrs)
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Geological trail: Bad Ratzes - Prossliner Schwaige - Schlernboden - Bad Ratzes (5 hrs)
- “
Schlern witches tour”: - Kompatsch – Arnika-Hütte – Hexenbänke rocks - Kompatsch (2 ½ hrs)
Secured climbing routes (vie ferrate/Klettersteige):
- Maximilian “Klettersteig” to the Tierser Alpl refuge
Refuges:
- Saltner Hütte (6,004 ft)
- Zallinger Hütte (6,683 ft m)
- Schlernhaus (8,038 ft)
- Tirler mountain inn (5,712 ft)
- Gostner Schwaige farmstead (6,332 ft)