Alta Via 1: Braies to Belluno on Foot

Pragser Wildsee — known in Italian as Lago di Braies — is the threshold of the Alta Via 1. This deep, emerald-green lake sits at the foot of the Dolomites in South Tyrol, ringed by pale rock walls that drop almost vertically into the water. For pilgrimage walkers, this is not merely a scenic starting point but a threshold moment: you arrive as a visitor to the valley and leave as someone committed to crossing the mountains on foot. Allow the suggested 90 minutes here before departing south. The lake's surface and its backdrop — the Croda del Becco rising behind it — are the last easily accessible natural spectacle before the route climbs into more demanding terrain. The trail to Rifugio Biella begins from the lake's southern shore and immediately begins to gain altitude, setting the tone for everything that follows. The lake draws very large crowds; an early morning arrival keeps the experience quieter and gives you time on trail before the day's heat builds.

Rifugio Biella is your first overnight on the Alta Via 1, reached after a climb of roughly 8.8 km from Lago di Braies. Sitting above the valley in the Province of Belluno, this rifugio marks the point where the route properly enters the high mountain world — below is the familiar, above is the unknown. With a Google rating of 4.1 from nearly 700 reviews, it is a well-regarded if functional mountain hut rather than a showcase destination in itself. The suggested overnight stay (720 minutes — a full evening, night, and morning) gives you time to recover from the first day's effort, take your evening meal in the shared dining room, and observe the alpenglow on the surrounding peaks before an early start the following morning. This is also a good point to assess kit, blister management, and pacing before the route deepens into the Fanes plateau. Contact the rifugio directly to book: +39 0436 866991, or via www.rifugiobiella.it.

Rifugio Fodara Vedla is one of the most warmly rated stops on this entire route — 4.7 out of 5 from over 600 reviews — and sits within the municipality of San Vigilio di Marebbe in the South Tyrolean Alps. It is reached in a relatively short stage of 6.6 km from Rifugio Biella, which makes it tempting to arrive early and simply inhabit the place: sit on the terrace, let the Fanes landscape settle into you, and rest legs that are only beginning to find their rhythm. The setting of Fodara Vedla places you deep within the Fanes-Sennes-Braies natural park, a plateau of open meadow and limestone that carries a quiet grandeur unlike the more dramatic rock faces elsewhere on the route. The rifugio has a strong reputation and receives walkers from multiple trails; its character is one of genuine alpine hospitality. This is an overnight stay worth savouring rather than treating as a transit point. Contact: +39 0474 646432 | www.fodara.it.