Trekking in Val Zemola and Val Cimoliana, 6 days with accommodation in mountain huts in northern Italy

This 6-days of trekking in Val Zemola and Val Cimoliana in Northern Italy is an absolutely sublime experience, and certified mountain guide Lucia leads the way as she takes you through the regions lovely mountains, valleys, passes and fields, whilst also admiring the gorgeous flora and fauna that inhabit the area.

Private

Dolomite Mountains

6 Days

Jun - Sep

Intermediate

Beginner

Highlights

Trek around the breathtaking Val Zemola and Val Cimoliana!
Visit huge mountains, vast valleys, epic plains and jaw-dropping passes
See native flora and fauna such as ibex, marmots and countles flower species

Description

I will guide you on this fun and spectacular 6 days of trekking in Val Zemola and Val Cimoliana in Northern Italy, a truly underrated and untouched part of Italy that takes us up in to the mountains and down in to the valleys and fields that make up this section of the Dolomites, all while exploring the native flora and fauna that live here.

Both Val Zemola and Val Cimoliana are nestled within the Friulian Dolomites in Northern Italy, renowned for its untouched, isolated nature and its unique flora and fauna. It is an increasingly popular area for hiking and other outdoor activities, with its very low population density also holding great appeal.

After meeting in Erto on day 1, we then begin our trek in earnest by heading towards Rifugio Cava Buscada, an old quarry that contains fossils, marmots, eagles and more.

Day 2 is when we head to Rifugio Maniago, and along the way we are able to go up to the mighty Duranno Pass, giving us the chance to see the colonies of Ibex that live there, as well as nice views out over the landscape.

Day 3 is our last in Val Zemola, involving walking around a bivouac before going to the mesmerizing and lovely Pissandol Waterfall.

Days 4-6 take us through the magical and inspiring Val Cimoliana, with highlights including climbing up the famous Campanile di Val Montanaia, the Brica Pass, which features some of the most gorgeous flowers in the entire Dolomites, and Leone’s Pass, an absolutely breathtaking section that give us amazing views back over the post-glacier valleys.

After 6 days our journey finishes, hopefully having made you fall in love with this part of Italy and encouraged you to return and explore more.

These 2 parts of the Dolomites are a true natural wonder – book now to experience!

To explore Val Cimoliana more in-depth, check out our 6-day trek from the Rifugio Pordenone in Val Cimoliana, here!

For a more rugged adventure, try our 6-day hut-to-hut trek in Italy’s Friulian Dolomites, near Cortina d’Ampezzo, here!

Price includes

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive

We will arrive in Erto and start our hike towards Rifugio Cava Buscada, an old quarry turned into a mountain hut. We will visit the quarry with its amazing fossils and its new
inhabitants, the marmots. We will try to spot the eagles that live up on Mt. Palazza and then enjoy the great local cuisine of Roberta.

Day 2: Duranno Pass

From Rifugio Cava Buscada we will do a great traverse, passing by some old “casere” towards Rifugio Maniago. From Rifugio Maniago we can go up to Duranno Pass to meet the ibexes – one of the greater colonies of the Dolomites lives here – and then go back
down to the hut for the night.

Day 3: Casera Galvana

We will close our round tour of Zemola Valley by going to Casera Galvana, the bivouac much described by the famous Italian writer Mauro Corona in his books, and then
descend down to see the Pissandol waterfall before going back to Erto.

Day 4: Campanile di Val Montanaia

Going up to see the world famous Campanile di Val Montanaia and to the Montanaia Pass, with a great view over the Central Cadore area and the great Marmarole massif
(7km – 1000m d+ – 1000m d-), then coming back the same way.

Day 5: Brica Pass

An amazing round trip will take us up through the val Binon to Brica Pass, seeing some of the most amazing flowers of the Friulian Dolomites, and then down through Brica
Valley, with its enchanting bivouac – the right place to feel lost in the wild.

Day 6: Finish

A magical round trip along the Val Monfalcon di Forni and Val Monfalcon di Cimoliana, crossing the Leone’s Pass (this is actually my favourite hike in the world!), we will
ascend and descend two really different valleys and admire the wonders done by the glaciers that stood until 10,000 years ago, stopping for lunch at the Marchi Granzotto bivouac.

About the guide

Lucia

4.5

(4)

Mountain Leader

My love for the mountains grew up with me in the flats of Romagna, thanks to my family that let me spent all my vacations in the Dolomites when I was a child. The Dolomites and the mountains between Romagna and Tuscany are the most vivid memories I have of my childhood.
Then I forgot the outdoors for a few years, and spent some time following the other great passion I have: travelling. When I wasn't at school I spent all my time wandering from one hostel to the other all around Europe with my best friend, always searching for new landscapes and new emotions.
I graduated from high school as Business and Programming Consultant, then I completely changed my core subject as I attended the Undergraduate Courses in Anthropological Sciences at Bologna's University. My thesis project brought me back to the mountains, with a research in Landscape and Disaster Anthropology that took me to Erto for the fieldwork, the town where I spent the last six years!
After that I attended the Graduate Courses in Cultural Anthropology, Ethnology and Ethnolinguistics at Ca'Foscari University in Venice, and this time I wrote a thesis on Alpinism. The subject was again Landscape and Risk Anthropology, but this time fieldwork took me to all the best climbing sites in Europe and beyond: Mont Blanc, Arco, Siurana, Montserrat, Elbsandsteingebirge, Céüse, Osp, the Todra Gorge in Morocco and other more...
Once finished with University I decided to turn my passion into a profession, so I took part in the selection for the courses organized by the UIAGM Mountain Guide's Association, and after a year of hiking and studying I became a Mountain Leader.
Now I take other people with me to discover the wonderful vertical world of our mountains, and enjoy the great times together in the outdoors.

Languages

Italian | English

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What people are saying about Lucia

It was lovely day. It is one of the best day we had in Italy. Lucia was very friendly and professional. We really liked the hike and she adjusted the hike according to our ability. We saw the open air museum for war . It was interesting. At the end , we had our lunch in the hut . The food was very delicious . I highly recommended this experience. Don’t miss it if you are in Dolomites.

I approached Gauthier about doing a hike with Lucia at the 11th hour and he was quick to respond. They tailored the hike to suit my 10 year old. While the terrain is something we could have navigated on our own - it was fabulous having Lucia as our guide. She knew all the WW1 history of the area, and the geology around how the Dolomites were formed. It was fascinating

jack

i cannot say enough good things about lucia! she got me through to the top both physically and mentally. give her 10 stars!!!! the hike itself gets 5 stars...my age limited my enjoyment of it to about 1 star. i simply bit off more than i could chew. at age 65, 5 star experience, but at nearly 87 ....too much for me.