Alpe di Siusi: Where The Dolomites Feel Almost Too Perfect

Traveling to the world’s largest Alpine plateau is like an elevator ride from a swanky hotel lobby to an even swankier rooftop penthouse.

That is what happens on the morning we leave Ortisei for Alpe di Siusi.

The walk to the gondola station through the quaint, Bavarian-style village is easy. Life is just waking up around us as the early morning sun rises over the Dolomites. We board the gondola and begin our ascent.

We rise above Ortisei. Winding streets, village squares, and houses become tinier, like pieces on a game board—all hugged by the green landscape. An endless horizon opens up before our eyes.

And then we arrive.

The doors open. We step outside, and it feels as though someone has pulled back a curtain.

Alpe di Siusi is spread before us.

The Dolomites rise dramatically around the plateau, their pale rock faces catching the morning sunlight.

Some of the higher peaks still wear caps of snow, even though summer has arrived in the valleys below.

In front of us, the landscape rolls away in every direction—an enormous green carpet broken by trails, meadows, scattered trees, and traditional mountain huts.

Yellow wildflowers splash across the grass.

Bees move from flower to flower.

Blue-winged butterflies drift through the meadows, appearing and disappearing almost as quickly as they arrive.

And everywhere there are pastures.

This is not the manicured landscape of a city park. It feels alive, surrounded by the kind of scenery that seems almost too perfect to be real.

We start walking. There is no urgency.

That may be one of the best things about Alpe di Siusi. You don’t have to conquer it. You don’t have to race from one attraction to another. The experience is simply walking into the landscape and immersing yourself in it.

The trail winds through open meadows.

We stop to take photographs. I use my GoPro Max 2 360 camera to capture video.

The 9-foot invisible-pole attachment records panoramic views, much like a drone. I’m thrilled with the results.

Natural beauty surrounds us from every angle as we hike along the bowl-like rim of the main trail.

There’s intimacy in this enormous landscape.

The sounds are just as incredible as the sights.

It’s so quiet we can hear the buzz of insects in the wildflowers and the crunch of our shoes against the trail.

And then, every so often, another hiker approaches.

We exchange gracious hellos. Heads nod. Smiles follow. It’s a quiet acknowledgment of the grandeur around us.

The air is exceptional. Fresh and breezy. Up high, we’re closer to the sun, and we quickly shed layers of clothing.

But our warming spell is brief. Clouds roll over the distant peaks, pushing toward us with bulldozer force.

The sun soon vanishes. Winds begin to gust. Summer instantly turns to winter, and we’re layering again.

Alpe di Siusi is all seasons in a day, and we’re prepared.

A mountain hut just off the trail is a welcome sight. Bowls of brothy dumpling soup—a regional favorite—provide the warmth, nourishment, and fuel we need for the remainder of our hike.

The clouds soon roll by, exposing an endless blue sky and rising afternoon heat. Summer is back as our journey ends.

We pause at a popular café and lookout across from the gondola station. It’s a moment to let the scene of this soaring mountain backdrop and green meadows below soak into our souls one last time.

We toast the moment!