Classic hut-to-hut routes · Italy

Alta Via 1

The gentlest of the Dolomite high routes, north to south from Lago di Braies to Belluno, past the war-scarred Lagazuoi and under the Civetta wall.

In short

Alta Via 1 is a trek of about 120 km through the Italian Dolomites, from Lago di Braies in the north to Belluno in the south, taking 8–12 walking days. Almost every night is spent in a rifugio, at roughly 60–80 euros per person with half board, and the season runs from late June to late September. Our table holds 31 huts and shelters along its stages.

Also written as: Alta Via delle Dolomiti n. 1 · AV1

Distance
~120 km
Days
8–12
Total ascent
not in our source
High point
Forcella del Lago, 2,486 m
Season
late June to late September

Alta Via 1 is the Dolomites walk people mean when they say they want to do the Dolomites. It runs south from the lake at Braies through the Fanes plateau, over the Lagazuoi with its First World War tunnels, past the Cinque Torri and along the enormous north-west face of the Civetta, and drops to Belluno.

It stays on paths. There are short protected sections you can avoid, no glacier and no scrambling that needs gear, which is why it is the one to start with. The rifugi are excellent and busy, and many take bookings only by phone or email.

Who it suits
Level: Confident walkersWalkers who want the Dolomites' scenery without via ferrata, and anyone doing their first Italian hut route.
The nights
Rifugi almost every night, several run by the same families for generations; half board is the norm and worth taking.

Stage points and the shelters near them

Published path grades around the stage points run T1 to T6, from 8 of 9 stages. That describes the terrain there, not the exact line of the route. A via ferrata grade appears somewhere along it.

31 shelters within 4 km of the stage points, from the shelter table. Distances are from the stage point, not walking distances.

  1. 01Lago di Braies

  2. 02Rifugio Fanes

  3. 03Rifugio Lagazuoi

  4. 04Rifugio Nuvolau

  5. 05Passo Staulanza

  6. 06Rifugio Coldai

  7. 07Rifugio Carestiato

  8. 08Rifugio Pian de Fontana

  9. 09Belluno

    No shelter in our table within 4 km of Belluno; this stage usually ends in a village or a private inn.

How booking works

Alpine Club huts on this route take reservations through hut-reservation.org, the shared system of the German, Austrian and Swiss clubs. We link straight to it and earn nothing from a hut booking.

Members of any Alpine Club pay a reduced rate at all club huts, whichever club they joined, and membership usually includes mountain rescue cover. On a week of hut nights it pays for itself. Join the ÖAV

When and how to book

Alta Via 1 has no single booking system. Most rifugi on the route are private and booked directly, by email or a form on their site, and each opens bookings on its own date, from autumn to February. Huts of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) can also be booked on prenotarifugi.cai.it.

Local guides advise booking 3–6 months ahead, ideally in January for the summer, and July and August weekends fill months in advance. Rifugio Lagazuoi is known for filling first.

In CAI huts the deposit may not exceed the price of the night, and it is refunded if you cancel by 18:00 three days before arrival. Other huts set their own rules: at Rifugio Tissi, for example, the 20-euro deposit per person is never refunded.

What it costs

CAI's official 2026 tariff caps a dormitory bed at 30–39 euros for non-members and 24–31.20 euros for Alpine Club members. Each hut sets its own half-board price, with at least 20% off for members.

At Rifugio Tissi on the route, half board in a dormitory is 76 euros, or 60 for members. A realistic budget for Alta Via 1 is 60–80 euros a night per person with half board, beer not included. Wild camping is banned, so every night is in a rifugio or a bivacco.

Another source, other numbers

The official Dolomites site gives the route as slightly longer, about 125 km in 12 stages with 7,300 m of ascent and 8,400 m of descent. The difference comes from variants and how it is measured; the days shrink if you skip sections.

Getting there from Tel Aviv

Venice is the convenient airport for both ends of the route, Belluno in the south and the Cortina area, and Venice and Milan had direct flights from Tel Aviv in summer 2026, Wizz Air among them.

After the disruption of 2026, direct routes from Tel Aviv open and close often, so check the current schedule before fixing dates, and book the huts before the flight.

Plan Alta Via 1 around my datesOpens the planner with this route's area and length filled in.

Common questions

Every answer below is counted from the 31 shelters our table holds along this route. Where a shelter does not state something, it is counted as not stated rather than assumed.

How long is Alta Via 1, and how many days does it take?
About 120 km, usually walked in 8–12 days. The highest point on the route is Forcella del Lago, at 2,486 m.
When can you walk it?
The season is late June to late September. Of the 31 shelters along the way, 2 publish when a warden is present, and the most common season among them is June to October, stated by 1 of them.
Where do you sleep?
In 31 shelters within 4 km of the stage points, of which 31 are run by an Alpine Club. 0 of them can be booked online through the clubs' own system; the rest take a phone call, and every number we hold is on the shelter's own page.
Do you need to book ahead?
1 of the 31 shelters state that a reservation is required and 5 that it is recommended. The other 25 do not say either way, which is not the same as saying no.
What if you arrive out of season?
1 of the 31 shelters state that a winter room is left open. That is a room, not a service: no warden, no meals, and you carry what you need.
What is the highest place you sleep?
The highest shelter we hold on this route is Rifugio Lagazuoi, at 2,752 m.
When should you book rifugi on Alta Via 1?
3–6 months ahead, ideally in January for the summer season. There is no single opening date: each rifugio opens its own bookings, some only in February.
How much does a night in a Dolomites rifugio cost?
Roughly 60–80 euros per person with half board. A bed alone in a CAI hut costs up to 30–39 euros under the official 2026 tariff, and Alpine Club members pay 24–31.20 euros.
Can you camp on Alta Via 1?
No. Wild camping is banned, so every night has to be in a rifugio or a marked bivacco, which is why booking early matters so much.

Guides for planning it

Other classic routes

Distance, days, ascent, high point and season are approximate and taken from Wikipedia, Alta Via 1. Shelters from refuges.info (©Les contributeurs de Refuges.info, CC BY-SA 2.0 FR) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL).

Facts last checked: 25 October 2026

Sources