Italy > The Adolf Munkel Trail

Breakfast is served between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. When we arrive at ten past eight, all the other guests are already present. At the breakfast buffet, the butter and cheese are already gone, but they will probably be replenished. We’re not in a hurry. We’re given a basket of rolls, coffee, and tea. Today, we’re going to hike the Adolf Munkel Trail. Apparently, it’s one of the most beautiful hikes in the Dolomites. We’ve found two routes: a shorter one of nine kilometers and a slightly longer one of fourteen kilometers. We’re going for the latter. The hike begins at the Zanser Alm, a mountain restaurant at an altitude of 1,685 meters. Last night’s accommodation was at 800 meters. What will the temperature be at that height? Will there be a chilly wind? Just to be safe, we’re bringing extra layers. Right after we set off, the road starts to climb steeply. Through sharp bends, we go higher and higher. We follow the road through the Val di Funes valley. All the villages in this valley are along this road. At Santa Magdalena, the mountain pass to the Zanser Alm begins. At the foot of the pass, a sign indicates there’s still space in the parking lot. Carefully, we drive up the narrow road. At the top, we need to buy a parking ticket. Normally, this costs eight euros per car. But because we’re staying overnight in the valley, we’ve received a Dolomites Pass from our guesthouse. With this pass, we only have to pay two euros. At the same time as us, a bus arrives. A large group of mountain hikers disembark. We follow the crowd into the mountains. The Adolf Munkel Trail is a hiking path along the imposing rock formations of the Geisler mountain range. We follow trail number 6 to reach the Munkel Trail. As soon as we set off, we see the enormous grey rocks rising almost vertically before us. What a magnificent sight. The path climbs gradually. The hike is said to take four and a half hours.

Italy - Steep rock peaks of the Dolomites

From experience, we know it usually takes us longer than indicated. With a long walk ahead, we decide to take it easy on the first incline. The view of the rocks gets more and more impressive. After about an hour, we reach the junction of route 6 and route 35. This is where we join the Adolf Munkel Trail. We walk just below the imposing rock formations, which must still rise several hundred meters above us—though that’s always hard to estimate. On a bench with a view, we take a short break to enjoy the scenery. The weather is splendid. The blue sky contrasts beautifully with the rocks, and the temperature is perfect. We’re now at around two kilometers in altitude, and I’d estimate it’s about twenty degrees—ideal hiking weather. We pass the junction with the shorter route, but we keep going straight. The instructions for the longer route say to turn onto route 28.

Italy - The Adolf Munkel hike is one of the most beautiful in the Dolomites

When we reach the crossing with route 28, we turn right. The narrow path immediately descends steeply. To the right lies a deep valley, and to the left, a steep mountain slope. The path keeps going down and down. Looking around, it feels as though we’ve descended lower than our starting point. Between us and where we think the car is, there’s only a deep gorge with a small stream. There’s nothing for it but to keep walking. The signs point to Santa Magdalena, the mountain village at the bottom of the pass to Zanser Alm. That doesn’t seem right. Fortunately, buses also run from there up to the top, and with the Dolomites Pass, we can ride for free. After more than forty-five minutes of descent, we reach a small bridge over the gorge and stream. There are signs here: left to Santa Magdalena, right to Zanser Alm. It’s two o’clock, and we’ve been walking for four and a half hours—the exact time given at the start of the trail. The sign saying it’s still an hour and a half to Zanser Alm is a bit of a letdown. We thought we were almost there. There’s nothing for it but to climb again. At exactly half past three, we arrive back at the parking lot. We’re both glad to be back. Even so, the hike was fantastic, with stunning scenery. Later, we realize that the description of the longer route doesn’t have the same start and end points.

Italy - The impressive nature of the Dolomites

We hadn’t noticed this beforehand. We drive back by car. In Santa Magdalena, we make a brief stop. Yesterday, the guesthouse owner mentioned that they do have a card payment machine, but it’s unreliable and doesn’t always work. They prefer cash payments. We withdraw some cash from an ATM. At the guesthouse, there’s a sign on the door: “Montags geschlossen” (Closed on Mondays). Will the door still be open? Yesterday, we were supposed to get a key to the front door in case we returned after 10 p.m., but we never received it. We also had dinner at the hotel yesterday. Luckily, the door is open, but there’s no one around inside—not even for a drink on the terrace. We bring our own drinks outside. This also means we can’t have dinner in the restaurant tonight. Online, we find a few restaurants further away that seem to be open on Mondays. In the evening, we drive there. To reach them, we have to take a narrow side road. The one-car-wide road winds along the left mountain slope of the valley. There are a few passing points, but hopefully, we won’t meet any oncoming traffic. We arrive in the village of Gudon, part of the municipality of Chiusa (Klausen in German). This village, with fewer than 500 inhabitants, has three restaurants. On the terrace of the pizzeria, we wrap up our last evening in Italy. The return trip follows the same narrow road. We manage to pass the only oncoming car without a problem.