First Morning
I woke up at 5am not because of an alarm, but because the light coming through the curtains was the colour of something I had never seen before. Alpenglow — the moment just before sunrise when the highest peaks turn pink, then orange, then the deep red of cooling lava.
The Dolomites do this every clear morning. And every morning it stops your breath.
Val Gardena
The valley is long and narrow, flanked by walls of pale Dolomia — the limestone that gives these mountains their name and their ghostly colour. In winter, it is a ski resort. In summer, it is a hiking paradise where every path leads to a view that makes you understand why people moved here centuries ago and never left.
I walked the Alta Via 2 for three days. The refuges serve local wine and Schlutzkrapfen — spinach and ricotta pasta from a tradition that predates Italy as a country.
Why You Must Come
There are mountains that are impressive. And then there are mountains that change you. The Dolomites fall into the second category. They are a UNESCO World Heritage Site not because of bureaucratic paperwork, but because no photograph, no description, no amount of superlatives can prepare you for what it feels like to stand beneath them.