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Woodland Trust
Pyrenees Walking Holidays
  High Level Walking
 
high alpine trails
  High Level Walks
in a nutshell
 
Organised Walks
  In each of our three alpine resorts, Arabba, Corvara and Pedraces, we offer two spectacular walks five days a week (not Wednesday or Saturday).  
One walk would take place at medium or low level, whilst the other would be a more challenging route at high level.
These walks are free of charge and completely optional. If they interest you, simply drop into
Office Hour to sign up for the next day's itinerary.
High Level Walks set off after breakfast at about 9am. We usually take a packed lunch and return to the village late afternoon, depending on the length and location of the walk.
Spectacular Scenery  
 
Expect high alpine trails with occasional scrambling in the rocky reaches, some exposed ridges near the summits of the spectacular massifs, welcoming and remote rifugios and breathtaking views. Waymarking is good and navigating is generally easy.
 
Be Independent
  The advice and guidance of our Walk Organisers is available each evening at Office Hour. We have documented over 40 local walks and Route Laminates of these are available to anyone wanting to go out independently .  
spectacular summits
It is hard to think of a place anywhere in the world that offers the high level walker such easy access to variety and exhilaration as the Dolomites.Arabba, Corvara and Pedraces are on the doorstep of some of the most spectacular and exciting high level walking in Europe.
Thanks to an extensive network of well marked trails, you will be exposed at every turn to the most sensational situations, whilst enjoying a good range of routes to suit individual fitness levels. On these high trails, warm hospitality awaits you at the rifugios, where you can enjoy excellent food and drink. Varying from timbered huts to stone lodges, they offer magnificent panoramas from their sun terraces. They are spread liberally through the mountains, some close to chairlifts and cable car stations, others more remote. Finding the rifugios is easy, as good trail signs at regular intervals indicate distances and hiking times. In the rifugios, hospitality is warm and a feeling of camaraderie prevails.
On the Sella Summit plateau looking down the Val Lasties.
Having a break descending the 'Hidden Valley' with Conturines behind.
organised high level walking
In each village, Collett's organises five high level walks a week, which anyone is welcome to join at no extra cost. These spectacular walks allow us to show you some of the most awe-inspiring routes in the Dolomite range.
On the Fanes above Pedraces with Corvara and Arabba in the distance.
being independent
Ideas & Information Files & Route Laminates*
If you would prefer to walk independently, help and advice is always at hand. Either come to our small resort offices in Arabba, Corvara and Pedraces, or drop into 'Office Hour', where you can chat to (and look over a map with) someone who knows the walks. Alternatively, our 'Ideas & Information Files' outline over 30 outstanding low, medium and high level walks with details, duration and degree of difficulty with the relevant map section included and the opportunity to borrow the corresponding 'Route Laminate', as described here.
Please see our General Information for important notes entitled ‘Walks & Via Ferratas’, which apply to all walks and are at your own risk (Organised or Independent).
Rifugio Pisciadu (2585m).
Rifugio Lagazuoi (2752m).
Rifugio Vallon (2,500m).
Signs to Rifugio Pisciadu.
Rifugio Pisciadu(2585m), High on the Sella Massif above the Val Badia, Pedraces & Corvara.
high level protected paths
Protected paths will bring even more adventure and exhilaration to the high level walker.They are, in fact, the very simplest form of the Via Ferrata (Grade 1a) and they exist because of the exceptional physical nature of the high Dolomitic terrain, so a head for heights and surefootedness are essential.
Fixed cables assist walkers on ledges, while bridges precariously span spectacular gorges to keep you on the move.These routes are breathtaking and on them you will access places and panoramas that will stay with you forever. Like the Via Ferratas, some protected paths are old troop paths from the First World War.The principal areas of interest are Lagazuoi and Cinque Torre, both major theatres of war and both located near the Falzarego Pass, which is easily accessed and equi-distant to Arabba, Corvara and Pedraces.
Protected path above Pedraces.
Protected WWI path, on Monte Piana.
the great war
Some high level areas will fascinate those interested in World War I.When Italy declared war on Austria in 1915, fighting broke out in the Dolomites because the border ran through the mountains. Committed to the Russian front, Austria abandoned political boundaries and retreated to defendable mountain tops and passes. A tragic and inconclusive conflict ensued, as both sides pushed for high positions in the massifs. They ingeniously built fortifications, trenches, look-out posts and miles of tunnels. Freezing temperatures and snow exacerbated the situation.
Protected Austrian troop path.
Descending from Monte Lagazuoi, before the troop path.
Approaching the Sella Summit..
The winter of 1916 was bitter and with 10 metres of snow, 10,000 men died as a result of avalanches. On the Marmolada, 4000 soldiers died in one single avalanche. Neither side won and with little recognition of the actual events, the region's destiny was determined far from the battle zone in Paris in 1919.
1916.
2006.
Descending the Austrian Troop Path, part of the open air museum
Near Arabba and Pedraces at the Falzarego Pass is Monte Lagazuoi, an area of great strategic importance during the conflict. Here, a remarkable amount of tunnelling took place, as both sides sought to break through enemy lines. Such was the proximity of the two sides, hand-to-hand combat was common and troops slept within earshot of the enemy. On one occasion the Italians constructed some 1,100 metres of tunnels to explode a mine beneath Austrian positions. The Austrians heard them and retreated in time.
open air first world war museum
Today, along with Cinque Torre, just along the road, Monte Lagazuoi is an open-air WWI museum and a popular location for walkers. Several high level routes converge on the area. For non-walkers, a cable car rises from the pass to a spectacular 360° panorama.You can enjoy this from the sun terrace of the Rifugio Lagazuoi, perched above the cable car station. From the cable car, you will see Lagazuoi's face with its ledges and 1916 2003 The trenches of the open-air WWI Museum at Cinque Torre. observation posts, each one an off-shoot from the labyrinth of tunnels that exist in the mountain.These tunnels recently underwent maintenance and are now open for you to explore. One positive remnant of the fighting in the Dolomites are the Via Ferratas…
You can buy a pass which will give you access to the cable car ascent to Lagazuoi, the chairlift ascent to Cinque Torre and the indoor Museum at the nearby Tre Sassi Fort.