The summary below provides all the essential details to travel the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites of Northern Italy with 5 days of backpacking approximately 34 miles with 11k of elevation gain (and associated elevation losses). Note that we only completed the north half of the trip in 5 days - it is possible to do the full trip across 10ish days, but the summary below will provide the details on exactly how my group did it in September of 2022. 

 

Essentials to book trip: 

• Fly into Venice (closest), Munich, or Milan. We gave ourselves about 10 days total for the trip – got in on a Friday morning, gave ourselves 2 days to travel/acclimate, started the hike on Monday morning – Friday afternoon. Drove back on Saturday, then explored for a few days before flying out on Tuesday.  

• Our group had 7 people - half the group flew into Munich and drove down and half flew into Venice and drove up. We found renting cars offered some great advantages - we were able to shuttle cars between our two groups to where we didn't have to take any busses. The cars also allowed us to store any extra stuff that we didn't want to take in our backpacks. If you don't rent cars, there are trains/busses that can get you to the start & finish as well. Be sure to check local transportation for any holidays, strikes, or delays if you don't book a car, these may not be well advertised on the websites. 

• The hardest trip logistics is booking the alpine "Rifugios" where you'll be staying along the trip. You'll need to pick the dates you want to travel and then start contacting each of these huts to book consecutive nights. The best season to hike this is mid June to mid September - we personally did mid September since it's less rainy and shoulder season. You'll want to be careful to not get too late in September since the snow can start in the passes around that time. To book these huts, look up the names above on google, and start contacting them. Some of them provide an easy online reservation system, whereas some require email/calling. We started booking the huts about 5 months in advance and were able to get all the nights we wanted for a full group of 7. The Rifugios will fill up quickly so starting earlier is always better, initial messages were sent in early February for a trip in September, though a few weren’t even open at that time. Recommend planning the bulk of the route for weekdays if possible when there is generally more availability. It’s much easier to book the days that are available then plan the rest of your trip around that schedule. Recommend “shoulder seasons” if possible when the crowds are less, September was a good time since most summer vacations have concluded.  

• Here are the Rifugios we used, along with variants in case the ones you want are full: 

• Night 1 Rifugio Biella: Beautiful views & good food, but the least "nice" of all the huts. If having nice bathrooms is important to you, then I'd recommend booking Rifugio Sennes just a bit past Biella.  

• Night 2 Rifugio Fanes: If Fanes is full, you can book Rifugio Lavarella or Utia di Fanes.  

• Night 3 Rifugio Lagazuoi: No great alternatives on this one.  

• Night 4 Rifugio Averau: amazing mountain top views. If full, you can stay at Rifugio Nuvolau 

• Night 5 Rifugio Staulanza: if full, book at Rifugio Citta di Fiume 

• Additionally, we stayed at Hotel Lago Di Braies the night before starting the hike - I found this hotel to be nice, but a bit pricey, so I'd recommend staying somewhere close by (lots of hotels & airbnb options).  

• The best part about hut to hut hiking is that you don't have to carry your shelter or food. Packing light really helps, but can allow to bring some additional items that are a luxury on standard backpacking trips. With that said, I've outlined the essentials vs optional packing gear: 

• Essentials: backpack (I used about a 45L backpack), 2 sets of hiking clothes (typically cool in the mornings/evenings, but often got warm during the day. 1 set for hiking and 1 set for comfort at huts), comfortable boots, hiking poles, water pack, some snacks, sunscreen, camera, sandals (all the huts require you to remove your boots), cards/games, raingear (recommend raincoat & pants), maps (all digital on phone), warm gear (we didn't end up using any of our thermal or puffer jackets, but I'd recommend taking warm gear if hiking in shoulder season; probably not needed for July/August), toiletries (showers had soap/towels and such, so don't need to carry that), medicines, passport, hat, sunglasses, earplugs, first aid stuff (don't necessarily need an InReach GPS thing since we had cell service most of the time). 

• Optional: lunches (it's very easy to buy lunches along the way, so you don't need to overpack on food – almost everyone in our group overpacked on food, dinners & breakfasts are provided at the huts), headlamp, sleeping liner (all huts have sheets, but some may prefer to have their own liner), cash (all the huts took credit card so cash wasn't critical), alcohol (all the huts had beer & wine, and most also had liquor, so you really don't need to carry your own), charging block (was able to find an area to plug in at all huts, so you don't need a backup battery pack), water filter (we were able to purchase/fill water at all the huts, and there also weren’t very many natural water sources anyway along the hike anyway). 

• We used two resources to navigate the trip - the linked pdf provided really great overviews of the route and alternatives. And then we had the total route also downloaded on alltrails to watch our position real time.  
  MAP

• For weather, Cortina is probably the closest town to follow. We typically had highs of 60s and low in the 40s when hiking in mid September. Seems like it is pretty standard to be nice during the morning/evening, and then have rain/thunderstorms in the afternoon. The weather forecasts can also be quite inconsistent – we had 95% chance of rain for 3 of our 5 days, and had barely a drop fall on us.  

• I would say this hike is somewhere between medium to hard, but it was certainly not as difficult as I thought it would be. Splitting the 34 miles into 5 days also allowed for plenty of breaks and time to soak in the views. There are some sections which require steep climbs, but it’s very doable as long as you’re even somewhat fit. The trails are easy to find & follow – no boulder hopping/crossing and no exposed cliff faces. Most days were between 4-6 hours hiking time plus breaks. The mileage isn’t long, but plenty of climbing and downhill. 

• Cost: The flights and rental car depends person to person, but the huts were typically ~80 euro/per person/night including dinner & breakfast. Add to that anything you want to spend on a-la-carte lunches, snacks, alcohol, merch.  

• Additional details:  

• Cell & Wifi: basically every hut had access to wifi or cell service. It was rare that we didn't have coverage during the hike. Most service providers include International package for ~$10 a day. 

• Meal options: would highly recommend to purchase the “half-board” option when booking the huts (most have the option to include, but also include in the emails for reservations). Half-board includes a multi-course dinner (3 usually) and a self serve breakfast. Promise you won’t go hungry.  We never really had an issue with lunches since most places along the way offer lunch for purchase or we were full from breakfast and dinner. Breakfast is usually served for an hour starting at 7am and dinner includes assigned tables at 630pm (times may vary slightly). 

• Down-time: the hikes really aren’t overly time consuming and most huts will make you leave by 9 at the latest. Every place we stayed had drinks and snacks/lunch for purchase and we beat the estimated time on basically every leg of the hike. Take your time and enjoy the hike and all the amenities. Make sure you get back to the huts before they close at night,  seriously they will lock you out if you are stargazing. 

• Water: This hike isn't like many others in there wasn’t much water along the hike. We filled up in the morning for the full day.  It’s hit or miss on if the water is potable, but everywhere will sell you water. We usually just bought bottles for around 3 Euro. 

• Language: English is the common language, basically everyone can speak it in some capacity. This is a popular international route so it’s very diverse. 

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Daily deep dives 

• Day 0: Stay at hotel lago di braies or somewhere close by. You can park one of the cars here in the "P4" long term parking and then pay for it at the end of the trip. If staying at the hotel, they can offer you a slight discount on your parking. Assuming you’re shuttling cars, the other car can be parked at Rifugio Staulanza (free parking across the street), and then you can go pick that other driver up.  

• Day 1: 4.0 miles and 3000 ft of elevation gain; 2:30 of moving time 

• Hike: Not a long hike, but a lot of climbing. There are no huts until Biella, so make sure you have packed your lunch and plenty of water. Enjoy the beautiful views of lago di braies, start hiking towards the opposite corner of the lake from where you parked. We walked on the right side of the lake. Once you get to the opposite end of the lake, you'll a path start to climb. You you start the climb, it will keep going up for quite some time. You'll find a few good spots for breaks with nice views - at one point, you'll see a junction with a few trail options - it's worth watching your alltrails map / reading signs to make sure you're going the right way. Eventually you get to a point where there are a few cables to grab to as you do your final climb up. Then you'll find a nice alpine plain to rest on. Then make your final climb up and eventually you'll crest a ridge with incredible 360 views. From here you'll see your first rifugio Biella. You'll see a mound/hill not far from the rifugio - it's worth taking a trek to the top to enjoy even better views.  

• Stay: The rifugio serves lunch off an a-la-carte menu, and has several beers are wines available. Then for dinner, everyone is seated around 7pm, and you again order a-la-carte for food and drinks. You'll settle up your bill that night. The bathrooms are a bit primitive (holes in the ground), but still fully functional with running water. There was one shower, but I highly doubt you’ll want to use it since it straddles a toilet lol. The rooms are bunk style, but have great views from them. To charge your devices, you’ll find a plug in area in the hallways. The breakfast the next morning is pretty small, but still good. There was no wifi, but we had cell service available the whole time. For water, we had to buy large bottles of water for a few euros each. 

• Day 2: 8.7 miles and 1500 ft of elevation gain; 3:50 of moving time 

• Hike: Start hiking down the road from Biella – within the first 10 mins of hiking, you’ll see some trails veer off to the right into the hill – you’ll want to follow the correct trail based on your map/alltrails. You’ll walk up a small hill, then mostly hike flat/downhill. Eventually you’ll descend down and see Rifugio Sennes – they have really nice bathrooms if you need a quick stop. After that you’ll keep hiking past the hut in an open field and enjoy some amazing views. Then you’ll hike along the road for a while – eventually you’ll see a trail that goes off into the woods that’s a short cut (if you’re following along on your pdf map). You’ll keep descending descending descending for a while, and eventually get to Rifugio peduru. This is a great place to take a break and grab lunch. Now the rest of the day is basically all climbing – you’ll have a steep-ish climb up the valley initially, and then the grade will get more gradual. You’ll see the road and trail go up the valley in parallel – feel free to use either one. Eventually you’ll crest up a valley and see a handful of huts show up. Here’s where you can stay at Rifugio fanes (or lavarella). If you have energy left, there are some great peaks to explore and get views of the valley below.  

• Stay: Fanes is super nice especially if you stayed at Biella the night before. They serve a la carte lunch and have all sorts of beer, wine, liquor options. There’s large deck to hang out at enjoy beers if it’s a hot day. You have a 3 course dinner included and can pick options from each course. Fanes has great showers (free) and has towels included in your room. Rooms are bunk styles with shared bathrooms – bathrooms are separate for males/females and were very clean. There is no cell service, but there was free wifi (for some reason they shut the wifi down at 10pm tho). Plenty of spots to charge your devices inside the room. They have potable water via a small water picket just outside the hut to the left side of the hut. They had a large breakfast with various options, and even offered to sell you a packed lunch since there aren’t any huts on the way to the next hut. As usual, you’ll settle up your bil the night before you leave.  

• Day 3: 8.5 miles and 3400 ft of elevation gain; 4:20 of moving time 

• Hike: This was probably the hardest day of hiking with the combined distance & elevation gain. There are also no other huts along the way, so you’ll want to makme sure you’ve packed snacks/lunch, and have plenty of water in your pack. You’ll start hiking up the trail right behind Fanes (recommend taking the road for some nice switchbacks). Eventually, you’ll get to the top of the ridge and enjoy some beautiful views. You’ll keep hiking down that valley for a while – on the way we saw a small stable with some beautiful horses hanging out right on the trail. After several miles of hiking, you’ll eventually see a trail heading up to a high pass on your left. Start climbing a looong ascent – eventually you’ll get to a high pass with amazing views of the valley from where you came. Take a break & snack, and then start descending a steep slope down towards the lake. Eventually you’ll see a beautiful lake and the trail climbing back up past it. At one point, you’ll see two options – go down to the lake, or traverse on the left side of the valley. We did the left side traverse and found it was quite nice and saved us some elevation loss & gain. Once you get to the other side of the lake, you’ll see a long climb again. Keep climbing, and eventually you’ll see rifugio lagazuoi perched up high to your right. You’ll finally hit some switchbacks on your way up, and you’ll start to see these old WW2 tunnels to explore along the hike. If you have some energy once you get to the hut, you’ll see a trail go past the hut to a ridge up above – worth checking this out for some great views.  

• Stay: The rifugio serves a great a-la-carte lunch, and has a ton of options for beer, wine, liquor, cocktails. If it’s a nice day, the views outside from the deck are to die for. When we got there, it was quite cold and windy so we hung out inside at our group’s reserved table. Rooms are bunk style as usual, with shared bathrooms down the hall. They have showers, but you have to purchase tokens ahead of time – recommend getting 2 tokens so you don’t suddenly run out of time. Bathrooms were male vs female, and generally pretty clean. Dinner is an included 3 course dinner again and you can pick various options from each course. You’ll settle up your bill the night before. Breakfast was included and had a large selection of options. Had cell service and wifi available during our stay. The views at sunset and sunrise are incredible; highly recommend setting your alarm to wake up for sunrise.  

• Day 4: 2.3 miles and 1200 ft of elevation gain; 1:10 of moving time 

• Hike: You have several options for your hike this day – some are very short and some are long, so pack water & lunch accordingly. The official alta via route has a long descent with long mileage – we had a day with socked in clouds so we decided to take the easy way out – via gondola down! If you don’t want to take the gondola, there is also a more direct hike down a trail. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also hike down these old WW2 tunnels – you’ll want a helmet and headlamp for this to avoid knocking your head. After you make it down to the valley floor (trail or gondola), you’ll now start climbing up the opposite valley. You’ll eventually get to an intersection, where you’ll want to go up left up a slightly steep rocky chute. Eventually you’ll come up to a ridge and hug the side of a mountain for the final hike section. It’s not a long day before you see rifugio Averau. If you still have energy left, worth hiking up to Rifugio Nuvolau for even amazing views. Alternatively, you can hike down to the cinque torre rock formations. Or if you’re really up for an adventure, you can hike the trail up to the top of mount averau.  

• Stay: Averau was the nicest hut in my opinion. Bunk style rooms, with really nice bathrooms and free showers. Great a-la-carte lunch available with lots of beer, wine, liquor, cocktail options. Dinner is included and once again is a 3 course dinner with lots of options. Breakfast is included as well and had various options. Settle your bill the night before. Had strong wifi and cell service throughout. Had a really nice deck with views of the surrounding valleys to hang out and play games. Lots of charging spots inside your room. They offer a packed lunch since there aren’t very many hut options along the way.  

• Day 5: 10.1 miles and 1700 ft of elevation gain; 4:25 of moving time 

• Hike: This was the second hardest day of hiking, mostly due to the long distance to cover. When staying at Averau, you’ll want to head towards the back of hut (the direction that the deck is facing). You’ll see a winding road head down – start walking down for half a mile or so, and then take a trail to the left. You’ll see a trail veer off to the left early on, but this will require walking down a steep chute – keep going and take the second lift after you cross under the chair lift. You’ll then keep walking for a while until you get to the front of Passo Giau – you’ll have beautiful views looking back towards where you came. You’ll cross the road, and then start climbing up the first pass of the day. It’s a fairly steep but short climb. At the top of the ridge, you’ll enjoy some beautiful views of the next lush green valley. Keep walking down the valley towards the left. You’ll eventually have a short climb again, then stay to the right of the imposing peak, and finally get to the pass where you’ll start to descend. From here you’ll descend for a while and eventually meet a road again. Keep walking down this windy road and eventually you’ll get to citta di fiume. You’ll head into the woods past the hut, and this will be the first time in a while you’ll be walking below the treeline. Keep going for a while and eventually you’ll come out to the finish at rifugio staulanza.  

• Stay: Staulanza is a beautiful hut that sits on the road system. Plenty of a-la-carte lunch & alcohol options. 3 course dinner & buffet breakfast is again included – you’ll need to let them know what you want for dinner ahead of time. Staulanza also has a nice spa in their basement with steam showers, sauna room, etc if you’re interested. Had both wifi & cell service the whole time. You’ll settle your bill the night before.
  
  Thank you for reading along, hope you found this guide useful, and please feel free to share it along. If you're looking for more insights, here are a few other sites that have great overviews: 

• Guide 1

• Guide 2

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And finally, I'll leave you with some pictures to enjoy!

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