Day 1: Arrive Villabassa — Welcome to the Dolomites
Arrive independently at Hotel Adler in Villabassa (1,158m), a charming 4-star family-run hotel in Val Pusteria that has welcomed hikers for generations. The hotel features a heated indoor pool, Finnish sauna, steam room, and a sun terrace with panoramic mountain views. Evening: welcome briefing with your Exodus mountain guide over a prosecco reception, followed by a five-course dinner in the hotel’s wood-paneled restaurant. The guide reviews the week’s itinerary, trail conditions, and distributes route cards. Overnight at Hotel Adler, Villabassa.
Day 2: Tre Cime di Lavaredo Circuit
Transfer to the Rifugio Auronzo trailhead (2,320m) via the toll road with its famous 26 hairpin bends. The day begins with the classic anti-clockwise circuit around Tre Cime: Cima Grande (2,999m), Cima Ovest (2,973m), and Cima Piccola (2,857m). Pass through Forcella Lavaredo (2,454m) where the north faces reveal their full vertical glory — the north face of Cima Grande, first climbed by Emilio Comici in 1933, remains one of the greatest climbs in the Alps. Continue to Rifugio Locatelli (Drei Zinnen Hutte, 2,405m), whose terrace offers the most famous viewpoint in the Dolomites with the Tre Cime perfectly framed by the blue-green Laghi dei Piani. After lunch (the hut’s goulash is legendary), the trail loops around Monte Paterno past WWI tunnels carved through the rock. Total: 10km, +350m, 4.5 hours. Overnight Hotel Adler.
Day 3: Lago di Braies & Prato Piazza
Morning transfer to Lago di Braies (1,494m) — the intensely turquoise Pearl of the Dolomites, a natural stone amphitheater beneath Croda del Becco (2,810m). Walk the 4km lakeside circuit path, with optional wooden rowboat rental. Then hike up to the high plateau of Prato Piazza (2,000m), an open alpine meadow ringed by the Picco di Vallandro and the Croda Rossa d’Ampezzo massif. The contrast between the gentle green plateau and the fierce rock walls rising around it is quintessential Dolomites. Lunch at the Rifugio Prato Piazza. Afternoon descent through larch forests. Total: 12km, +500m, 5 hours. Overnight Hotel Adler.
Day 4: Sennes-Fanes High Plateau Trek
Today explores the Sennes-Fanes-Braies Nature Park, a high-altitude karst landscape of 25,680 hectares dotted with alpine lakes and dwarf pine. Transfer to Passo Furcia (1,759m), then hike up into the Sennes Plateau — a lunar-like world of limestone pavements, sinkholes, and fossilized coral reefs from when the Dolomites were a tropical sea 250 million years ago. Visit Rifugio Sennes (2,126m) for lunch, then continue to the Lago di Fodara Vedla, a hidden emerald lake at 1,980m. The area is rich in Ladin legends of the mythical Fanes kingdom. Total: 15km, +650m, 6 hours. Overnight Hotel Adler.
Day 5: Strudelkopf Summit & Braies Valley
Transfer to the trailhead at Ponticello (1,477m), then ascend to the Strudelkopf summit (2,307m). The 360-degree panorama from the summit cross is breathtaking: the Sexten Dolomites to the east, the Rieserferner Group to the north, the Marmolada (3,343m, highest Dolomite peak) to the south, and the entire Braies Valley spread out below. On a clear day, you can identify over 80 named peaks. Afternoon descent through alpine pastures known for their summer wildflower displays — edelweiss, gentian, and alpine roses. Optional extension to the Rossalm (2,184m) for Kaiserschmarren (Austrian shredded pancake). Total: 13km, +830m, 5.5 hours. Overnight Hotel Adler.
Day 6: San Candido & Sesto Valley — WWI Heritage
Transfer to San Candido (Innichen, 1,175m), a beautifully preserved medieval market town with pastel-colored houses and the stunning 8th-century Romanesque Collegiate Church containing one of the oldest fresco cycles in the Eastern Alps (1280 AD). Hike up the scenic Sesto Valley, a glacier-carved corridor flanked by the Sexten Dolomites. This area was the scene of the White War (Guerra Bianca) — the high-altitude WWI conflict where more soldiers died from avalanches and exposure than from enemy fire. Visit the preserved trenches and supply cableways. Optional visit to Gustav Mahler’s composing hut in Dobbiaco. Total: 14km, +400m, 5 hours. Overnight Hotel Adler.
Day 7: Monte Elmo Border Ridge
Take the cable car from Sesto to Monte Elmo (Helm, 2,050m), then hike the panoramic ridge trail to the summit cross at 2,434m. The ridge straddles the Italian-Austrian border — stand with one foot in each country. The view from Monte Elmo is arguably the most expansive: the Sexten Dolomites to the west, the Carnic Alps extending into Slovenia, and the Grossglockner (3,798m, Austria’s highest peak) to the north. Explore the extensive WWI fortifications — Monte Elmo was heavily fortified with trenches, observation posts, and artillery positions remarkably well-preserved by altitude. Lunch at Sillianer Hutte (2,447m). Afternoon descent through larch-pine forests. Farewell dinner: the chef prepares a special seven-course Tyrolean tasting menu with wine pairings. Overnight Hotel Adler.
Day 8: Departure
Breakfast at Hotel Adler. Transfer to your chosen departure point in Braies, Bolzano, Lienz, or Bruneck.
