The Dolomites Road Trip: Cortina, Lago di Braies & Alta Badia

Cortina d'Ampezzo sits in a natural amphitheatre of jagged limestone, its pastel facades and bell tower framed by the pale spires of the Tofane and the Cristallo massif. This is the grande dame of the Dolomites, a place where alpine grit meets Italian elegance, where you might pass ski mountaineers in the morning and immaculately dressed strollers along the Corso Italia by afternoon.

There is something inherently cinematic about the light here. At dawn the peaks blush rose in the phenomenon known as enrosadira, then fade to bone-white by noon. Cortina rewards those who slow down, sip a cortado on a sunlit terrace, and let the mountains do the talking.

Cortina wears every season beautifully. Summer, from roughly June to September, offers wildflower meadows, long hiking days and warm afternoons ideal for exploring the surrounding valleys and refuges. Autumn brings golden larches and quieter trails, a photographer's dream.

Winter transforms the town into a glamorous ski destination, with reliable snow and buzzing mountain huts. Spring can be muddy and transitional in the high country, so for hiking aim for high summer, and for skiing plan around the deep winter months.

Ride a cable car up toward the Tofane or the Faloria for a sweeping panorama of the entire Ampezzo basin. Serious walkers should consider the trails around the Cinque Torri, a cluster of dramatic rock towers that also holds open-air remnants of First World War fortifications.

Back in town, wander the pedestrian Corso Italia and browse the boutiques and delis. Do not leave without trying casunziei, the beetroot-filled ravioli dressed with butter, poppy seeds and mountain cheese, or a plate of canederli. Warm your evening with a glass of local grappa and the deep hush that falls over the valley after dark.

Cortina is where the Dolomites put on their finest evening dress. Come for the peaks, stay for the unhurried alpine glamour that lingers long after you leave.

Lago di Braies is the image the Dolomites are dreaming of. Cradled beneath the sheer wall of the Croda del Becco, its water shifts from jade to deep emerald depending on the light, so still on a calm morning that the mountains seem to hang upside down within it.

The old wooden boathouse and its rowboats are among the most photographed sights in the Alps, and for good reason. Yet there is more here than a picture. Walk five minutes from the crowds and you find a serene forest-fringed shore, the smell of pine, and the faint creak of oars carrying across the water.

Summer, particularly from June to September, is the classic window, when the trails around the lake are snow-free and the water is at its most luminous. Because the lake has become extremely popular, arriving very early in the morning or in the late afternoon makes an enormous difference to the atmosphere.

Autumn adds golden reflections and thinner crowds. In deep winter the lake freezes and the whole basin turns silent and spectral, a different kind of magic entirely for those prepared for the cold.

The essential experience is the walk around the lake, a gentle loop that hugs the shore and delivers a new composition at every turn, with the classic boathouse view saved for the end. Give yourself time to simply sit and watch the light move across the Croda del Becco.

If conditions and the season allow, renting a rowboat is unforgettable, drifting out into the middle of the lake where the reflections are most perfect. For the more ambitious, this is also a gateway to longer high routes into the Fanes region, one of the most beautiful protected areas in the range.

Lago di Braies teaches patience. Wait for the crowds to thin and the surface to still, and it will hand you a moment of pure alpine stillness.

Alta Badia is the gourmet heart of the Dolomites, a cluster of Ladin villages such as Corvara, La Villa and San Cassiano set among rolling high pastures and the dramatic backdrop of the Sella and Sassongher massifs. This is a place where centuries-old Ladin culture endures, its distinct language still spoken and its cuisine quietly ambitious.

What makes Alta Badia special is the balance of wildness and refinement. You can spend the morning on a demanding mountain trail and the evening at a table where alpine ingredients are treated with real artistry. Few corners of the Alps blend natural drama and culinary care quite so seamlessly.

In summer, roughly late June through September, the meadows bloom and the high plateaus open up for hiking, cycling and long lunches at mountain huts. It is a golden season for those who love to walk and eat their way across the peaks.

Winter is the other great draw, when Alta Badia becomes part of the vast Dolomiti Superski network, offering some of the most scenic pistes in Europe. Spring and late autumn are quieter shoulder periods, best suited to travellers happy to embrace a slower pace.

Seek out authentic Ladin cooking, from turtres, fried pastry pockets filled with spinach or sauerkraut, to hearty barley soup and rich cheese dumplings. The area has long championed high-quality mountain dining, so a leisurely lunch at a well-regarded rifugio is time well spent.

Hike or ride toward the base of the Sassongher for panoramic views, and explore the trails that traverse the vast Alpe pastures. Take time to notice the Ladin heritage in the architecture and place names, a cultural layer that gives these valleys a character all their own.

Alta Badia proves that mountains can be soulful as well as spectacular. Come hungry, in every sense, and let the Ladin valleys nourish you.

Val di Funes is the valley that launched a thousand desktop wallpapers, yet it remains disarmingly humble. Its emblem is the tiny church of Santa Maddalena, standing alone in a green meadow with the serrated ridge of the Odle group rising behind it like a stone crown.

This is quieter, more pastoral country than the resort valleys. Cattle graze on impossibly steep slopes, farmhouses cling to the hillsides, and the whole scene feels almost too perfectly composed to be real. It is the Dolomites at their most idyllic, a landscape that rewards those who simply stop and look.

Summer is the standout season, from June to September, when the meadows are lush and green and the Odle peaks stand out sharply against blue skies. This is also the best window for hiking the trails beneath the ridgeline.

Autumn brings warm golden tones to the pastures and larches, arguably the most photogenic time of all. Winter blankets the valley in snow and quiet, transforming the little church into a serene, almost fairytale scene, though many high trails will be off-limits.

The two great viewpoints are unmissable. The church of Santa Maddalena framed by the Odle is the iconic shot, best captured in soft morning or evening light from the surrounding meadow paths. Nearby, the small church of San Giovanni in Ranui sits in its own meadow and offers an equally cinematic composition.

Lace up your boots for a section of the trails that traverse the base of the Odle within the Puez-Odle nature park, where the scenery grows wilder with every step. Reward yourself afterward with local speck, mountain cheese and a slice of strudel at a farmhouse-style eatery.

Val di Funes is proof that the most powerful landscapes need no embellishment. One church, one meadow, one jagged ridge, and you will never forget it.

The high mountain passes of Sella and Gardena are where a Dolomites road trip reaches its dramatic crescendo. These serpentine roads climb through switchback after switchback, opening onto raw, elemental scenery dominated by the great fortress of the Sella massif and the surrounding towers of rock.

This is driving as pure cinema, every bend framing a new spectacle of scree, spire and sky. Cyclists tackle these passes as legendary climbs, motorcyclists carve the curves, and travellers pull over again and again, unable to resist yet another photograph of the light hitting the peaks.

The passes are firmly summer territory, generally accessible from around late spring to autumn once the snow has cleared. High summer, from June to September, offers the most reliable conditions and the longest days to linger at the top.

Early autumn is especially rewarding, with golden larches, crisp air and fewer vehicles. In winter the roads may close or become treacherous, and the region shifts entirely to skiing, with the famous Sella Ronda circuit looping around the massif on pistes rather than tarmac.

Stop at the summit of each pass and simply take in the scale of it all. From Passo Sella there are staggering views toward the Sassolungo, whose great tooth of rock defines the skyline. Passo Gardena links the valleys of Val Gardena and Alta Badia, and rewards you with sweeping panoramas of the Sella walls.

If you have time and legs for it, short walks from either pass lead quickly into stunning terrain, and a mountain hut lunch high above the valleys is an experience in itself. Drive slowly, stop often, and let the theatre of the peaks unfold at its own pace.

Sella and Gardena are the passes where the Dolomites reveal their full drama. Take the high road, roll down the windows, and let the mountains take the wheel of your imagination.