Day 1: Arrive Madonna di Campiglio
Arrive in Madonna di Campiglio (1,522m), an elegant alpine resort nestled between the Brenta Dolomites and the Adamello-Presanella glaciers. Check into your 4-star hotel in the town center. Evening: welcome briefing with your Exodus guide over aperitivo. The guide reviews the week’s vie ferrate, discusses equipment (harnesses, via ferrata kits, helmets — all provided), and briefs the group on safety procedures. Welcome dinner featuring Trentino cuisine: canederli (bread dumplings), carne salada (salt-cured beef), and local Teroldego wine. Overnight Madonna di Campiglio.
Day 2: Groste Cable Car & Sentiero delle Palete
Take the Groste cable car from Campiglio to the Passo Groste (2,442m) for instant access to the high Brenta. From the top station, the panorama is staggering: the full chain of Brenta spires — Cima Brenta (3,150m), Cima Tosa (3,173m, the highest), Campanile Basso (2,883m) — rising like a petrified cathedral. Hike the Sentiero delle Palete, a spectacular high traverse that follows the western flank of the massif without requiring via ferrata equipment. The trail was originally built in the 1930s as a service route for the refuges. Lunch at Rifugio Tuckett (2,271m), named for the English mountaineer Francis Fox Tuckett who made the first ascent of Cima Brenta in 1865. Afternoon: return via the Vallesinella waterfall valley. Total: 14km, +500m, 5.5 hours. Overnight Campiglio.
Day 3: Via Ferrata delle Bocchette Centrali
The big day. Take the Groste cable car again, then put on harnesses and via ferrata kits for the Bocchette Centrali — the most famous via ferrata in the Dolomites. The route is an engineering marvel: steel cables, iron rungs, and ladders bolted into the vertical rock, traversing ledges barely a meter wide with 1,000m of exposure beneath your feet. The Bocchette were first equipped in 1937 by the SAT (Tridentine Alpinists Society) to link the Tuckett and Brentei huts. The exposure is dramatic — the Bocca di Brenta (2,552m) is a window between two rock towers with views straight down both sides of the massif. After the via ferrata section, descend to Rifugio Brentei (2,182m) for a well-earned lunch. Return via the Vedretta dei Brentei path. Total: 10km, +450m, 6 hours (difficult via ferrata section: 4 hours). Overnight Campiglio.
Day 4: Val Brenta to Rifugio Pedrotti
Today explores the eastern side of the Brenta massif. Drive to the Val Brenta trailhead and ascend through forests to Rifugio Pedrotti (2,491m), the highest refuge in the Brenta at the foot of Cima Tosa. From the terrace: the Bocca di Brenta window, the Crozzon di Brenta (3,135m), and the 1,000m north face of Cima Tosa — one of the great walls of the Alps. Optional short via ferrata: the Sentiero Alfredo Benini to Passo del Groste, an easy iron path with cable-protected sections and stunning views. Total: 12km, +700m, 5 hours. Overnight Campiglio.
Day 5: Free Day — Val Rendena or Val di Genova
Rest day or choose from activities. Option A: Gentle walk in the Val Rendena, visiting the Church of Santo Stefano in Carisolo with its famous Danse Macabre frescoes (1519). Option B: Drive to the Val di Genova, the Valley of Waterfalls, where the Nardis and Lares waterfalls plunge 100m and 230m respectively. Option C: The Pinzolo cable car to Doss del Sabion (2,101m) for views of the Adamello glacier — the largest glacier in the Italian Alps outside the Aosta Valley. Option D: Via ferrata delle Aquile — a moderate iron path with a suspension bridge over a 100m gorge. Overnight Campiglio.
Day 6: Molveno & Lago di Molveno
Transfer around the Brenta massif to Molveno (864m), a lakeside village on the eastern side. Visit Lago di Molveno, voted Italy’s most beautiful lake in 2021, with its crystal-clear water reflecting the western face of the entire Brenta chain. Afternoon hike: the Rifugio Croz dell’Altissimo trail (1,480m), climbing through beech forests to a viewpoint that reveals the full 30km sweep of the Brenta from north to south. The view from here includes all the peaks you’ve traversed over the week — a visual summary of the entire massif. Farewell dinner on the lakeshore: fresh lake trout, polenta, and a Trento DOC sparkling wine. Overnight Molveno.
Day 7: Departure
Breakfast in Molveno. Transfer to your departure point: Trento train station (40 minutes), Verona Airport (1.5 hours), or Milan (3 hours).
