Circuit trail
Three to four hours.
Simone A. Bertinotti — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hans Braxmeier — CC BY-SA 4.0 · FkMohr — CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Hans Braam — CC BY 3.0 · Hans Braam — CC BY 3.0
The Tre Cime di Lavaredo, the «Three Peaks», are three battlement-like rock towers in the Sexten Dolomites of northeast Italy, about 15 km northeast of Cortina d'Ampezzo and 131 km north of Venice in a straight line. They are among the best-known mountain groups in the whole of the Alps. From east to west the three peaks are Cima Piccola, the little peak, Cima Grande, the big peak, and Cima Ovest, the western peak. Like most peaks in the region, they are built of neatly layered dolomite rock. The Dolomites as a whole have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009. The three grey towers rise sheer above a plateau of scree and grass, turning orange and pink at sunset. Mountain huts with red roofs sit at their foot, surrounded by other jagged peaks and small lakes. Visitors drive or take a bus up a toll road to the Auronzo hut, then follow the circuit around the three peaks in three to four hours, a clear trail suited to most walkers. The trail is usually open from June to September and snowbound the rest of the year.
Three to four hours.
At the foot.
Pink peaks.
Sexten Dolomites, northeast Italy
By car or bus to the Auronzo hut.
Clear and suited to most walkers.