Your summer holiday in the Dolomites begins the moment you step outside
You want just one thing: to get out. Out of the city, away from the daily grind. You want to lace up your hiking boots, open the door, and walk until the air grows thinner and your mind clears. For six months of the year, the sun warms the rock faces of the Dolomites. Your lungs fill with mountain air, and your legs decide how far you’ll go today. Your summer holiday in the Dolomites starts right here: with that tingling sensation in your feet and the certainty that a summit is waiting for you out there. Or two. Or the pool.
Summer in the Val d’Ega/Eggental valley feels like a culmination
It happens sometime between May and June. The air is getting milder, the days are getting longer, and the Dolomites look as though someone has turned up the contrast. Everything becomes sharper, richer, more intense. The meadows are buzzing, the water in the streams still carries the freshness of the glacial winter, and your skin tingles with anticipation as you step out onto the balcony in the morning. Your holiday at our hiking hotel in Welschnofen begins right at this very moment: when the mountain peers down at you and you know that you’re heading out today.
This feeling lasts well into October, when the larch trees grow radiant and you have the hiking trails almost to yourself. In between lie months in which every day casts a different light on Mt Catinaccio/Rosengarten, and as you lounge by the infinity pool in the evening, you ask yourself: why don’t I do this more often?
Your hiking hotel in Welschnofen has the perfect route for everyone.
Even by bus.
You’ll receive the Eggental Guest Card from us on arrival. It gives you free use of lifts and buses throughout the valley for the duration of your stay. That puts an end to the biggest excuse: too far, too complicated, too much hassle. Just hop aboard and away you go. It gives your car a rest, too.
And the routes? For those who want to start off gently: the path to Lake Carezza/Karersee is flat and shaded, and takes just an hour. For those with ambitious calves: ascending Mt Latemar, where it’s just you and the sky once you reach the top. For those who want both: summits in the morning, the pool in the afternoon. Your summer holiday in the Dolomites, at your own pace.
When your hiking boots need a break
How about …
- … biking: trails through the Val d’Ega/Eggental valley, ranging from forest tracks to single tracks, with climbs that are well worth the effort.
- … golf: Carezza Golf Club is situated at 1,200 metres above sea level and offers views of the Dolomites so stunning that some players’ tee shots go awry because they’re gazing at the scenery instead of the ball.
- … excursions: Bolzano and its arcades are half an hour away, Lake Caldaro/Kalterer See just under an hour away.
And afterwards? The pool is waiting at Friedrich. The silver quartzite in our spa releases the last remaining tension from your shoulders.
An honest breakdown of a summer holiday in the Dolomites
7-day summer holiday in the Dolomites. 43km walked. 1 pair of walking boots broken in. 14 lengths of the pool after the mountain.0 mornings started with the ringing of the alarm. 1 golf ball lost to the panorama. Priceless: your holiday at the Friedrich.
A beautiful game
Not far from Friedrich, golfers will find two courses that are spectacular in terms of both scenery and golf and which belong on everyone’s must-play list:
- Petersberg Golf Club (18 holes, par 71, approx. 1,200m)
South Tyrol’s oldest 18-hole course is set on the high plateau on Mt Regolo/Reggelberg, nestled amongst ancient trees. Numerous doglegs call for precise long play, while the rough ranges from tricky to merciless. There’s also a driving range, two putting greens, a pitching green, and a practice bunker. For beginners, there’s a golf school run by a PGA pro, which offers free taster sessions. Season: mid-April to mid-November. Dogs allowed. - Carezza Golf Club “The Mountain Beast” (9 holes, par 36, approx. 1,700m)
South Tyrol’s oldest golf course, covering 60 hectares at the foot of Mt Catinaccio/Rosengarten and Mt Roda di Vaèl/Rotwand. A 400-metre climb between the first tee and the final green demands both stamina and concentration. There’s an outdoor and indoor driving range, a putting green, a pitching green, and a practice bunker. Season: May to October.
What makes Friedrich an ideal base camp for golfers: first you play your round, and once you’ve swapped your golf shoes for bare feet on warm silver quartzite and your glove for swimwear, the infinity pool will relieve tired muscles after 18 holes or 400 metres of elevation gain. In the evening, you sit down to Christof’s five-course meal and chat about the putt that ended up hanging on the edge of the hole (and then dropped in after all) while the mountains outside glow in the evening sunlight.
Katja’s tips
From romantic to active, from way up high to following in the Empress’s footsteps: Katja’s tips are just as varied as the range of things to do in the Val d’Ega/Eggental valley.
The village circular walk takes you on a leisurely stroll all the way around Welschnofen right from the hotel. Just the thing for feeling the valley beneath your feet and warming up your legs for the next few days of summit ascents.
The farm walk via the Jocher and Hagner guest houses takes you past old farms in the Val d’Ega/Eggental valley. The air smells of hay, and the pace is leisurely enough for good conversation.
Take the cable car up, then walk along the Hirzelweg trail down to Lake Carezza/Karersee. The bus will bring you back to Welschnofen, and in the evening, the infinity pool is twice as enjoyable.
The Val d’Ega/Eggental valley mountain cinema. You sit side by side, with the Dolomites stretching out before you as if on a screen, and the programme changes with the light.
The Empress Sissi tour. The path winds gently through the forest, and it’s so quiet that you can hear your own breath.
The Mt Catinaccio/Rosengarten circuit is the tour for you. You’ll be out in the mountains all day, and the panoramic views will make every drop of sweat worthwhile.
