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Trip Highlights:

• Experience culture that is colorful with fantastic architecture and cuisine.

• Sneak through heavenly lush meadows, explore high hills, and trek more rugged peaks.

• Rest in remote hamlets, hotels and one superbly appointed rifugio.

The Pusteria Valley on the Italian/Austrian border is where the Alps morph into the Dolomites. The northern flank of the valley is pastoral, with undefined walls of limestone and gentler summits. The southern flank is where the Dolomites find their personality, as jagged summits skyrocket above you. Ryder-Walker’s Via Ladinia begins in the calming town of San Candido.

The magnificence of this hiking itinerary lies in its ability to navigate these seemingly impenetrable peaks. The route sneaks its way through heavenly lush meadows, and links fascinating and remote hamlets, hotels and one superbly appointed rifugio. Adventuresome outings exist in the higher hills and more rugged ridges of this forgotten section of the Dolomites, often piercing the astonishing relics of World War I’s Fronte Italiano.

The route follows the migration of the Ladin culture over the centuries. Ladin culture emerged in the more northern area of Tyrol, now southern Germany and the Südtirol (Austria). As a nomadic farming community, the Ladins radiated in many directions, but the southern route you explore was most favorable for them due to the “hospitality” of the topography and terrain.

The culture is colorful and effervescent, with fantastic architecture and cuisine, and it’s all set against the backdrop of many of the most dramatic mountains on earth. Evenings are most enticing, as the Ladinia meld the orderliness of the Tyrol with the dolce vita Italy is so revered for.

This trek travels from north to south, to the most comfortable and atmospheric inns available in each location. From a classic South-Tyrolian hotel in San Candido, embraced by the woods of San Candido and shadowed by the imposing and jagged Baranci peaks; to an enchanting hotel in Alleghe, home to a stunning, emerald green lake where tree covered slopes drop precipitously to the water’s edge; each inn reflects the charm and character of its location.

Learn more about the Northern Italian Alps-Dolomites destination