5 reasons to have this tour
1. Walking in one of the most beautiful scenary of the Dolomites mountain
2. Discovering the alpine pastures and how the cows spend their summer :)
3. Tasting the more traditional dishes at the "malghe", managed by local farmers' families
4. Learning the history of the man living here, today as in the past the alpine pastures were important and thanks to the panels located along the path and provided by the Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino Natural Park you can find out why
5. ...simply relaxing! Take a break... take off your shoes and try to walk barefoot, from the grass to the cold waters of the creeks!
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How long does it take?
1 day hiking (4 hours for the longest route, 3 hours for the shortest - without stops)
When do we suggest to do it?
From mid-June to mid-September, the period of time when the cows are at high altitude pastures. You can do it in winter also, but you need snowshoes and the difficulty increases: we suggest it to the most skilled and used to walk with snowshoes; in winter, two "malghe" are open: Malga Rolle and Malga Venegia.
Where?
Rolle Pass and Val Venegia
Who can do it?
Almost everyone: adults and young people, groups, family with children from 7 years (used to walking). Some stretches of the path can be covered with an all-terrain stroller: from Malga Rolle to Malga Juribello and from Malga Venegia to Malga Venegiota).
This hike is a sampler, you can do it as we suggest it or split it in several stages. For any further information or question, please write us at stradadeiformaggi@gmail.com
This hike starts from the parking of Malga Rolle. You can reach the Malga with your car or with the local buses service, walk about 150 mt/500ft along the main road and find the path to reach Malga Juribello (you can see the wooden sign on your right, descending from Malga Rolle). The trail is easy and properly marked and it takes more or less one hour to reach Malga Juribello.
Another option is to leave the car at the parking just before the top of the Pass (coming from San Martino village, on your left), where you see the directions for Baita Segantini, and reach Malga Juribello by the forest road. In this case, you can stop at Malga Rolle when coming back.
At Malga Rolle you can eat a whole lunch or just a snack and you can also buy local cheeses and products (do not miss the alpine pastures butter, the Botìro di Primiero di Malga) made by the local dairy, Caseificio di Primiero.
Malga Juribello, the second stop-over of our hike, was a school for dairymen: here came you people from all the Trentino region to learn how to make cheese and how to run the pasture. Now, in the original dairy you can see how cheese is made (every Tuesday at 10am), from milking to... tasting the fresh cheese!
At Malga Juribello it is possible to eat and also to sleep (overnight is possible only for groups, booking required).
If you follow our hike sampler, we suggest to stop here for a snack: with the cheese board you can taste the "malga" cheese produced here in summer and the Primiero cheese, other than some local sausage and speck (the traditional smocked ham of the Dolomites). And what to drink? A glass of super fresh milk!
The shortest hike stops here. You can go back to Malga Rolle with the forest road starting just behind Malga Juribello, follow the wooden signs to "Passo Rolle" and then at the intersection, just after the chair lift, follow the directions to Malga Rolle (west).
From Malga Juribello take the path to Val Venegia: descend the forest road starting just behind Malga Juribello and then follow the wooden signs to Malga Venegia and Malga Venegiota. Val Venegia is one of the most photographed locations in the Dolomites mountains... you'll find out soon why!
It will take about 40 minutes, with path in the woods and final passage in the Travignolo creek: only for the bravest, take off your shoes and feel alive with the cold waters of this mountain stream!
The path, recently fixed by the Natural Park, is easy and it is all downhill. We suggest to take the path directed to Malga Venegia and then to go to Malga Venegiota (like this, the way back is easier).
Once reached Val Venegia, we suggest you to stop at Malga Venegia, at the entrance of the valley. Here you can have lunch with a must: polenta (cornmeal mush), sausage and tosèla, the renowned local fresh cheese, pan-fried in butter.
The other option is to carry on and reach Malga Venegiota (about 20min more), where you can have lunch on the outside terrace. Here the little ones can meet some of the animals of the farm, while the grown up can enjoy good local home made dishes in a family atmosphere.
P.S: you can reach Malga Venegia and Malga Venegiota also from Pian dei Casoni, at the very beginning of the valley. To reach Pian dei Casoni:
- from San Martino village: go to Rolle Pass and descend till you find the crossing to Passo Valles
- from Predazzo village: follow the directions to Rolle Pass and go on till you find the crossing to Passo Valles. You can also stop at the visitor centre of Paneveggio Natural Park, where, thanks to a fence, you can see many deers!
From the crossing, travel for about 3km till you find the directions to Pian dei Casoni (on your right). At Pian dei Casoni you find a parking (be sure to pay the ticket). Leave the car here and start your ring hike.
