Alta Val Venosta: skiing and wonderful hikes
The Alta Val Venosta tourist resort is a true paradise for families in every season. In winter you can enjoy countless thrills on the skis and more, in summer trekkers, bikers and nature lovers find here their heaven, with the many activities they can choose from.
During the winter season Alta Val Venosta is a white Eden: where Austria, Switzerland and Italy meet, you can ski on 115 km of groomed tracks, in a ski area featuring modern snowmaking systems and lift facilities distributed in the three ski resorts of Belpiano, Malga di San Valentino and Nauders, on which you can ski using the same ski pass. We shouldn’t forget the small Maseben ski resort in Vallelunga, especially recommended for families. Cross-country skiing lovers can enjoy here 90 km tracks.
If you are looking for other sports than skiing, you can have fun sledding, practicing ice skating, curling and snowkiting on the Resia Lake, where in January many events take place, like a world championship, hikes and horse rides.
During the good season you can admire the wonderful nature and reach places of rare beauty, some of them part of the Stelvio National Park. You can walk on about a total of 200 km of paths, and thanks to the lift facilities easily reach high altitude treks. Moreover, you shouldn’t miss the exciting tourist train ride across the Stelvio pass, Bormio and Tirano, and back through the Lower Engadina or Merano with the Val Venosta tourist train.
If on the other hand you prefer a holiday on your bike, you are in the right place! The Alta Val Venosta offers countless mountain bike trails: from easier paths suitable for the whole family along the Resia and San Valentino lakes, to the more difficult ones taking you up to an altitude of 2600 m! You don’t necessarily have to take your bike with you: here you can find several bike hire shops with many useful advices.
If you prefer water sports, on the Resia Lake you can go on relaxing boat tours or practice kitesurfing.
In the South, Alta Val Venosta begins with Malser Haide. Besides the famous Resia Pass, it includes other small towns. On the south side of the pass there is the municipality of Curon Venosta, with four hamlets: Curon, Resia, San Valentino and Vallelunga.
Curon
This village is known for the Romanesque bell tower surfacing from the Resia Lake, memory of the village of Curon Vecchia, submerged after the building of the dam in 1950. On the lake shores lies now Curon Nuova.
Resia
The village of Resia lies at the foot of the pass of the same name and is surrounded by wonderful landscapes facing, on the right, the glaciers of the Austrian border, and on the left the peaks often reaching an altitude of 3000 m between Italy and Switzerland. Most part of Resia Vecchia was submerged by the artificial lake too. Southwest lies Roja, at an altitude of 2000 m, with a church featuring Gothic frescoes going back to the XV century.
S. Valentino alla Muta
This small village lies on the shores of the S. Valentino Lake, also called the chartreuse lake, because once it was property of the monastery of S. Valentino. From here you can admire the imposing Ortles Massif, that, with its 3905 m, is the highest mountain group of Tyrol.
Vallelunga
Vallelunga valley stretches eastward from Curon to the imposing Palla Bianca glacier, perfect for ice climbing, and is characterized by many small masi and hamlets. Worth a visit is the so called Krampusloch or Devil’s Hole: a rock resembling a human figure and taking on a particular shade thanks to the plants and algae growing on it. Near the valley you find the head of the Adige River and the path taking to the Palla Bianca refuge at an altitude of 2544 m.
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