Alta Via 2: North
7 stages . 8 nights . Italian Dolomites
Crossing the Sella plateau on the Alta Via 2
Alta Via 2: North
Alta Via 2: North
7 stages . 8 nights

Alta Via 2: North
Self-guided walking holiday


Key information

Start: Brixen (Bressanone)
End: Passo San Pellegrino
Season dates: 14 July to 18 Sept 2025
Length: 7 days' walking
Typical walk: 14km, 900m ascent
Total distance: 96km or 60 miles
Highest altitude: 2,908m
Grade: Black 4 (Walking grades)
Group size: 2 or more trekkers

From GBP 1,380 per person

The Alta Via 2, also known as the 'Way of the Legends' (Alta Via delle Legende) is one of the most spectacular of the Alta Viae, a series of hut-to-hut trails criss-crossing the Dolomites of Northern Italy. This region of the Alps is famous for its almost impossibly sheer-sided rocky peaks and vast limestone plateaus, dotted with welcoming mountain huts offering delicious food and a warm communal atmosphere typical of Northern Italian hospitality.

The Alta Via 2 crosses several of the major ranges of the Dolomites, passing through the Puez-Odle nature park, breaching the sheer rocky walls of the Sella group and circumnavigating the Marmolada, the highest peak of the Dolomites and the site of the only significant glacier in the area. Compared to its famous neighbour, the Alta Via 1, the Alta Via 2 is notably more challenging; the days are longer, the elevations higher, and the full trail includes several sections of secured climbing routes known as Via Ferrata. The technical difficulty of the Southern half of the route cannot be understated and as such, we offer only the Northern half of the route; this makes for a well-rounded, albeit challenging, 7-stage trip, sticking to hiking terrain throughout.

Our routecards follow the main Alta Via 2 trail from Brixen (Bressanone) in the North to Passo San Pellegrino in the South, walking every step of the way over 7 days. We detour briefly from the official route around Passo Gardena to avoid unduly technical ground around Rifugio Pisciadu, hiking instead via Passo Sella to allow you to walk some of the best sections of the Alta Via 2 without any Via Ferrata. The Alta Via 2 is overall one of the most spectacular trails in the Alps, and our Alta Via 2: North trip makes for an unforgettable week of walking in a truly beautiful area.



Map

Alternative trip options
Prefer a different style of trip? Why not try one of these:
Alta Via 1 - 9 stages, 10 nights - a slightly longer and less challenging trip in the Dolomites
Alta Via 2: North Guided - Join our guided trip and hike with an International Mountain Leader in September 2025!
Alta Via 9 - traverse the Dolomites from West to East
Via Alpina: Bernese Oberland - 7 stages, 8 nights. Private rooms guaranteed on this Swiss Alpine trip!
Trip Options
The spacing of huts determines the schedules available on the Alta Via 2: North, there are some great options for longer or shorter itineraries alike. We love to work with hikers to plan a trip which best suits each group's walking style. This could be a more challenging dash, or staying at each available hut to savour the scenery and cuisine.

Make the trip shorter
The best way to make the trip shorter is to skip the ascent to Rifugio Plose using the bus and cable car, hiking from the top cable car station to Rifugio Genova on your first day. This makes for a 6-stage trip; the spacing of accommodation along the route makes it very difficult for us to shorten the full route any further than this.

A great option, if you'd prefer a shorter break, would be to hike the first 4 stages as far as Passo Gardena, finishing your trip in Corvara. This resort village in the Alta Badia has comfortable hotels, great restaurants and fantastic scenery.

Shorter walking stages
If you want to take your time over each stage, it's possible to extend your trip by splitting the route into more stages. For an 8-stage trip, we would suggest splitting the day from Rifugio Boè to Malga Ciapela with a stay at Rifugio Viel dal Pan, roughly halfway through the day. The Rifguo Viel dal Pan also offers fantastic views onto the Marmolada glacier. We really recommend this option if you are interested in summitting Piz Boè during your trip. Adding an extra night gives you more time to summit Piz Boè in the morning before the crowds arrive which is a very special experience!

Add a rest day
For those wanting a break part way through, our recommended location for a rest day would be at the hotel in Passo Sella itself, or at the small resort town of Corvara, off-route at Passo Gardena on stage 4. The rest day comes part way through stage 4 of our standard itinerary, giving 2 shorter days (to and from the bus stop at Passo Gardena) either side of the rest day. Corvara is a great place to relax, with comfortable hotels and a number of great restaurants.

We can also arrange a rest day in Malga Ciapela - this comes on the penultimate night, but would allow you to take the cable car up the Marmolada, an unrivalled panoramic viewpoint over the Dolomites.

Hike with a leader
Hike with confidence in the company of our fully qualified International Mountain Leaders (IMLs), with the navigation, accommodation and arrangements taken care of. If your group would like a guide for your trip, please get in touch for more details of our private guided trips.

Combine with the Alta Via 9
A popular option to make your trip longer is to combine the Alta Via 2: North with the Alta Via 9. Walk the first 5 stages of our Alta Via 2 route as far as Rifugio Boè and then switch to our Alta Via 9 which continues East across the Dolomites. This gives a 13 stage trip with 14 nights accommodation and covers a wide area of the Dolomites. Please get in touch if you'd like more information about combining our trips.
2025 Prices
Alta Via 2: North
14 July to 18 Sept 2025
Classic
Self-guided
6 stages
(7 nights)

GBP 1,310
Singles 220
7 stages
(8 nights)
GBP 1,380
Singles 220
Main Trip
8 stages
1 rest day in Corvara
(10 nights)
GBP 1,550
Singles 300
Combine with the Alta Via 9
13 stages
(14 nights)

GBP 2,500
Singles 380
Guided
7 stages
(8 nights)
Private Guided

Please contact us for a quote!
Accommodation

Where we stay
Our Classic mix of accommodation aims to give an enticing and varied taste of life in the Italian Dolomites. We mix lovely hotels in Brixen, Passo Sella, Malga Ciapela and Passo San Pellegrino with 4 nights in cosy, welcoming Italian mountain huts.

Private rooms
Dormitory accommodation is the norm at the huts on the Northern part of the Alta Via 2, with Rifugio Puez only offering accommodation in large mixed-gender dorms and the other huts offering a mix of large dorms and smaller shared rooms. It may be possible for us to book private rooms, depending on availability and on your group size; we'll always book the smallest shared rooms available on your dates.

Comfy and utty options
Due to the remote nature of the trail, we don't offer ready-made 'comfy' and 'hutty' trips on the Alta Via 2: North. If you'd like us to look into upgrading your hotel nights, or more basic accommodation, please let us know - please be aware that you'll still need to stay at the same 4 huts as our 'classic' itinerary. If you're combining the Alta Via 2 North with the Alta Via 9 we can offer some 'comfy' upgrades on the Alta Via 9 section. Please ask us for details.

Single Room Supplement
If any members of your group would like to stay in single occupancy rooms on the 4 hotel nights, rather than sharing a double, twin or triple room, we add our single room supplement. This covers the additional cost of booking single occupancy rooms on a per person basis. The single supplement is only applied to the hotel nights and is not applied to nights spent in huts, which do not offer single rooms.

Solo Travel
Unfortunately we do not take bookings for solo walkers on self-guided trips. Please ask us about joining one of our guided trips instead, on the Tour du Mont Blanc, Tour of the Vanoise Glaciers, Walkers' Haute Route, Alta Via 1 or Via Alpina.

Rifugio Puez on the Alta Via 2
Rifugio Puez
Route
Steep ground on the route to Rifugio Puez
Steep, technical ground on the route to Rifugio Puez, stage 3
Our approach to the Alta Via 2
Our Alta Via 2: North trip gives a complete journey on foot from Brixen to Passo San Pellegrino, walking every step of the way without the need to use public transport.

The Alta Via 2 trail is a well-defined and waymarked trail, and we follow the official route throughout our trip, except for a short detour between Passo Gardena and Rifugio Boè. Here, our routecards describe an alternative route via Passo Sella, which avoids two short sections of Via Ferrata on this stretch of the main route. The official trail here presents a far greater technical challenge than any trail we offer, and is outside of the remit of Alpine Exploratory's walking holidays. Our alternative allows you to stick to walking terrain throughout, while still sampling all of the delights and scenic highlights of the trail!

People at Alpine Exploratory
Latest research on the Alta Via 2 by Alpine Exploratory's Nicky.

The Terrain
The terrain on the Alta Via 2 provides an exciting mix of solid trails, over which you can stride out among the high peaks, combined with narrower zig-zagging hillside paths on steep, loose and often exposed terrain. Our Alta Via 2: North trip is first and foremost a walk, with no via ferrata or climbing sections.

In some places the paths are particularly steep and loose, for example on the final approaches to mountain passes and in descents made over scree; this is particularly notable on stage 3, at the Forcella della Roa and subsequent traverse to Rifugio Puez, and on the long scree descent from Forcella Pordoi (stage 6). These sections require steady balance and a head for heights.

There are sections of trail where a cable handrail is installed as an aid to walking on some of the narrower, more exposed paths; these are distinct from the Via Ferrata found elsewhere in the Dolomites (including on the full Alta Via 2), but these sections still present more challenging terrain than many other trails in the Alps. Please ask us for further details and photos of these sections.

Is it for me?
The Alta Via 2 is an outstanding trek with a mix of challenging mountain passes, excellent views and comfortable mountain huts. It is manageable for fit mountain walkers who are happy to walk for up to 9 hours a day over rocky and often exposed ground. Some of the stages on the route are long, but transport options exist to shorten the two longest days if needed. Some of the mountain passes are notably steep, loose and rocky, calling for good prior mountain experience and steady footing. Additionally, while the route is generally well-waymarked, there are also several stretches where the trail crosses barren, rocky plateaus, where navigation can be challenging in poor visibility.

We therefore wouldn't recommend this trip for those new to multi-day trekking in the European Alps; a slightly less challenging route, such as the Tour du Mont Blanc or Alta Via 1, would be great preparation for the more demanding sections of our Alta Via 2: North trip. We also recommend extra care when considering the Alta Via 2: North for those with old injuries or niggles in their knees and ankles that tend to get worse on rocky and uneven terrain; there are some long and steep descents on scree in some places, where sure-footedness and good balance are key, that may aggravate these kinds of injuries.

A level of self-sufficiency on the AV2 is necessary as daily baggage transfer is not available. You’ll need to carry with you everything you need for the trip; it’s not too much and makes for a satisfying daily routine. We can arrange for bags to be transported from the start point in Brixen to your hotel in Passo San Pellegrino - please just ask.

Difficulty
Our Alta Via 2: North trip is first and foremost a walk, with no glacier crossings, via ferrata or rock climbing. There are, however, sections of steep and rocky ground which require steady foot placement and an ability to cope with walking along some narrow and exposed paths. In places, an additional challenge comes not in the terrain underfoot, but in the long distances and significant amounts of ascent or descent. We therefore grade the route as a Black 4 overall. Please let us know if you’d like more detail on the trickier bits of our route.

How to get there
Aeroplane wing over the Alps on route to Venice
Flying over the Alps on the way to Venice
Your holiday starts in the Alpine town of Brixen and ends at Passo San Pellegrino, a ski resort spread along the road pass between the small towns of Moena and Falcade.

Brixen is a stop on the main train line between Italy, Austria and Germany via the Brenner Pass - this is the route of the Munich-to-Venice long-distance train, and as such is well-linked to a range of airports. Munich, Innsbruck, Verona and Venice all lie along this train route, and all work well for inbound flights.

From Passo San Pellegrino, it's possible to head West to rejoin the Brenner railway at either Trento or Bolzano, for trains back to Munich, Innsbruck or Verona airports, or to travel East to Belluno and onwards to Venice and Treviso airports. All options work well, but Venice gives the shortest journey!

Joining the rail network at Trento or Bolzano gives easy connections to most major cities in Italy, Austria or Germany, if your Alta Via 2 hike forms part of a longer holiday. In Italy, we love Venice, Rome and Turin and we will be glad to chat about onward travel plans if you'd like to visit any of these for some well-earned relaxation!

Travel to and from the trip is not included in the holiday price. We take care to give the most useful notes possible about all the travel options. We supply these both on booking and in your info pack, and we offer personalised tips at any point. The aim is that our walkers arrange their travel by the simplest and most scenic means as suits their plan.

Please ask us if you have any questions about getting to the route; we'll be delighted to advise.

Included
  • Bespoke accommodation itinerary - tailored to suit your particular requirements
  • Breakfast every morning
  • Dinner at Rifugio Plose, Rifugio Puez, Rifugio Boe and your hotels at Passo Sella, Malga Ciapela and Passo San Pellegrino (6 nights on our main trip)
  • Detailed Routecards AVD1-7 of the Exploratory system, printed on waterproof paper
  • The 3 topographical maps covering the route
  • Downloadable GPX Tracks covering the route
  • Expert advice and local information
  • A comprehensive 'Season Update' following our pre-season recce
  • Full support during your trip from the Alpine Exploratory team (9am until 9pm in the Alps)
Not included
  • Travel to and from your trip
  • Local transport whilst on the trip unless specified
  • Travel insurance
  • Lunches, snacks and drinks
  • Dinner on any other nights
  • Baggage transfers (only possible from Brixen direct to Passo San Pellegrino)
Got questions about the Alta Via 2?
Feel free to ask us any questions you have about any aspects of your planning and preparations! Lucy, Steph, Nicky, Rob, Evie, Ben and Amy will reply with expert advice. We spend a lot of time walking our routes and more broadly exploring ski and hiking trails around the world so do feel free to ask anything at all.


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Alta Via 2: North Self-guided

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The Alpine Exploratory Team
The Alpine Exploratory team in Edinburgh

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Views down Val Mezdi from Forcella d'Antersass
  Looking down Val di Mezdi from Forcella d'Antersass, stage 5   


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