After four dreamy days staying in a traditional farmhouse close to the Austrian border, it was time for Craig and me to venture south-west and base ourselves in a different area of the Dolomites, known as Val Gardena. 

There were a couple of route options for our drive there:

Option A) Follow the main highway around the outskirts of the Dolomites. 

Option B) Take the scenic route, travelling across three mountain passes. 

Luckily our little Fiat Panda didn’t get a vote, so we picked B. 

The day started with fiery red clouds filling the sky. It was an absolutely stunning morning, but the red clouds gradually weakened to orange, then yellow, and finally white, leaving an overcast sky. 

We hit the road and headed south, stopping after an hour to hike up to Lago di Federa. The route is said to be one of the top hikes to see larch trees turning yellow during autumn, so it was high on my list. 

The trail was easy to follow and climbed gently towards the end goal – the fabulous lake which had a dramatic steep wall of mountains rising to the west. But to the south was a pointy peak shaped like a witch’s hat, and it’s the reason most people visit. 

It was a calm morning so the lake was completely still, offering a dreamy reflection of the mountain and golden larch trees. We were a couple of weeks early for the autumn colours to really kick off, but it was still a beautiful sight. 

Around the back of the lake was a rifugio where we decided to grab our first slice of apple strudel. There seems to be a rule that it’s to be sold at every rifugio in the region, and I was excited to try it. 

We headed to the bar inside and placed an order for two hot chocolates and a slice of strudel to share. Just as we were about to pay I realised the cake cabinet was below me, and on the middle shelf was a lone, slice of apple strudel. I didn’t want the end of a strudel, the part that’s 90% pastry and 10% apple, I wanted a middle slice full of cinnamon-spiced goodies. 

So in a split second, I gave Craig the eye and halted our purchase “We’ll take a slice of cheesecake instead, please” I said to the shop clerk. 

Maybe we’d have been better off with the crusty bum of the strudel, because the cheesecake was extremely grainy, and not what we were expecting. I guess we were used to velvety smooth unbaked cheesecakes, whereas this one was baked and made from eggs and ricotta cheese. 

Luckily the syrupy hot chocolate and mountain of whipped cream kept us more than satisfied. 

Once we made it back down to our car we headed up our first mountain pass of the trip, to Passo di Giau. With every kilometre we drove the clouds seemed to disperse a little more, until we climbed up to 2236m and were treated to glorious blue skies. 

The pass was uncomfortably busy, with cars parking on the road and causing traffic jams. It was the weekend too, which meant we had a mix of slow Sunday drivers and crazy motorbikes revving their engines as they sped past. 

We didn’t want to get our little rental car scratched, so we parked far away and walked up to the pass which was dominated by a large traditional house and an unusual-shaped peak that looked like stacked slabs of rock. 

It was a stunning area with mountains all around us, and we even discovered a pond which had just enough water in it to create some stunning reflections of the spiky mountains. 

The route down the other side of the pass was a rollercoaster ride, with relentless hairpin bends to navigate. Our GPS was basically just me calling out “Sharp left….sharp right!” As I followed the route on a free phone map. 

We noticed on every bend a sign said ‘Tornante’ with a number next to it. Eventually, we realised it was counting down the bends until we reached the bottom of the valley where we could take a few breathers before climbing back up the next pass. 

There was a police block stopping all vehicles from passing so Craig got out of the car to stretch his legs. We weren’t sure what was happening, but then the sound of singing echoed through the valley and we saw a hundred or so villagers marching down the cobbled lane in matching garments. 

It was a funeral procession and I wondered if every villager got a similar send-off, or whether it was an important figure. Either way, it was a very sweet thing to witness and we didn’t mind the hold-up. 

Once the road reopened, we began our next climb up to Passo Pordoi, at 2239m. The route offered incredible views of the boxy-shaped mountain range, and it was much quieter and more enjoyable than Giau. 

We wound up passing a couple of picturesque reservoirs with water as clear as gin. The pebbles were visible metres down and the mountains reflected on the glassy surface. 

We had one more pass to climb up to finish our scenic drive, and near the top was a unique gondola, known as a ‘Coffin Lift’. Instead of a typical lift where you sit down, this one was designed so you stand up. 

Entering it was chaotic with people having to sprint after their cabin and leap on board, before a worker sealed the door from the outside.

Just before sunset we arrived at our end goal – a studio apartment within a large farmhouse. that was nestled in a lush green valley in an area known as Val Gardena. It was our base for the next three days and we were treated to some pretty special weather conditions for our next few hikes!