The route follows the old Val Gardena railway line. Although the trail is interrupted by a few road crossings, this does not detract from its beauty, and you can enjoy wonderful views of the Sassolungo, the Sassolungo and the Sella Group, which have made the Val Gardena famous throughout the world.

Reachability

From Bolzano along the Brenner Road to Waidbruck, and from there into the Val Gardena valley to St. Christina. We can find parking near the parish church (reserved parking space) and at the primary school.

Description

From the car park by the church in the centre of St. Christina (1,400 m), we walk down towards the primary school and turn left onto a tarmac road (signposted ‘Planetenweg’) which leads to a few guesthouses. After just three hundred metres, a series of information boards about the solar system marks the start of this lovely walk to Wolkenstein. The footpath features numerous benches offering wonderful views of the Dolomites and Wolkenstein Castle. After a large children’s playground, the walk continues on level ground for a while until we return to the built-up area of St. Christina. Here, our path crosses a residential street twice, with a steep descent at each junction. With a little effort, we cross the wooden bridge over the Cislesbach (1,434 m) and follow the signs to Wolkenstein. The path is entirely tarmac-surfaced and lit, and continues along the old railway line above the valley floor with a gentle, continuous incline. After about 2.5 km, we reach the residential area of La Pozza. We cross a quiet road and, passing meadows and a few houses, arrive at a statue commemorating the Val Gardena Railway. We then cross the road again and follow the cycle path to Wolkenstein. At the Hotel Portillo, we cross the main road and arrive at the restaurant ‘L Ciamin’. With a few short, steep inclines, the cycle path continues to the sports stadium (1,550 m), where it finally ends. At the church, we turn into Via Nives and follow the pavement to a pedestrian crossing: instead of heading down towards the main road, we take the footpath on the left towards the Hotel Sun Valley, where our walk continues past a pay-and-display car park. This final section of the route is flat and ends in Plan at the railway workers’ leisure club “Casa Alpina DLF Bologna”, the former terminus of the Val Gardena railway (1,580 m). We return to our starting point in St. Christina via the same route.