Catching the Foliage in the Dolomites | UNESCO World Heritage Site

Our first stay in the Dolomite Mountains during the Fall season was far more exciting than we would ever imagined. The Foliage was on fire.
The views we were blessed to admire, were like from a movie. Or like calendar pictures. However, you want to say it we couldn’t not keep those moments for ourselves so here is little collection of Fall 2022 in the Dolomites with its exact locations.

WHEN IS THE FOLIAGE IN DOLOMITES
As we all know, one cannot exactly predict when the colors of leaves change. Our photos this year were taken between October 15. and October 25. It varies every year and especially here in the mountain area it really depends also on the altitude. Then is also important to keep in mind to find out which places are best for the colors. Regarding the types of trees and other vegetation.

ALPINE HIKES AND LAKES IN THE FALL SEASON
Even when the Fall is warm and sunny, in the higher altitude there is already cold. So be sure to be well prepared if you want to make a hike in the Dolomites during this time of the year.
Last week we saw a story on social media of our Follower, that one lake in South Tyrol is just a trap. Because in person it doesn’t look like on the internet. We were surprised because we believe it looks magical there! The real reason was that she visited the lake in late October and was comparing it with the pictures from early May. Obviously, it was more fully and shiny in the Spring. That is something to think of when you are planning your trip. Even though the Fall season in the Dolomites is truly magical (probably like any other season here), the lakes will not be in their best condition let’s say. But of course still pretty awesome.

GARDENA PASS
Passo Gardena (Italian) is a high mountain pass in the Dolomites of the South Tyrol which connects the valley of Gardena and Badia.
From the summit but also during a drive up, you can admire breathtaking panoramas, including the famous Sella Ring, in which four linked passes (Gardena, Sella, Pordoi, and Campolongo) encircle the spectacular Sella group.

The route becomes busy with tourists, motorcyclists, and cyclists from late Spring until early Autumn. There are restaurants and huts on the pass itself, to allow hikers access to the dramatic Dolomite mountains also by sunrise or sunset.
When the leaves of the trees start to turn yellow-orange and red the sunshine makes them look like on fire! It is very hard not to stop for a picnic or hike. There are a lot of spots where you can leave the car and escape the ordinary to the fairytale world of nature.

ROLLE PASS
The Rolle Pass or Passo Rolle (Italian) located in Trentino connects the Fiemme and Primiero valley. The pass road was built between 1863 and 1874 when the area still belonged to Austria.
Along the road, one can admire the peak of the Cimon della Pala, with a tiny chapel in sight. On the top, there is a huge parking place and a few spots for coffee/snack break.

The pass lies within the Parco Naturale Paneveggio – Pale di San Martino, which has been a protected area since 1967 by the Autonomous Province of Trento. It covers an area of about 190 km², while its lowest elevations are at 1,100 m and reaches up to impressive 3,200 m above sea level.
The nature park offers a great variety of landscapes: spruce and deciduous forests, mighty rock faces and green alpine pastures, quiet mountain lakes and rushing streams, peat bogs and habitats for countless species of animals – in other words, everything you could wish for to really immerse yourself in nature. The impressive dolomite towers of the Pale di San Martino, the dark porphyry rock of the Lagorai chain and the dense Paneveggio Forest, also known as the “Violin Forest” because the wood of many famous violins comes from here, characterise this nature park.