Val Gardena and Alpe di Siusi: the Infinite Meadow

The Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm in German) is a natural phenomenon with no equivalent in the Alps: a 56 km² grass meadow — the largest in Europe — suspended at 1,800 metres between the Dolomite massifs of the Sassolungo and the Sciliar. Seen from above it looks like an enormous green table laid out among the rock towers, with isolated farms, winding paths and grazing cattle like tiny specks on an impossibly green canvas. It is one of the most photographed landscapes in the Dolomites and, for many travellers, the image that defines what an "alpine meadow" means.

The geology of the Alpe di Siusi is an anomaly: the meadow sits on a platform of Permian sandstones and marls (260 million years old), relatively soft rocks that erosion has levelled into an almost flat surface ringed by far harder dolomite towers. It is literally an island of soft rock in a sea of hard rock, and that difference in resistance to erosion is what created this unique landscape: a green plain surrounded by vertical walls.

Val Gardena (Gherdëina in Ladin) is one of the three Ladin valleys of the Dolomites, where Dolomitic Ladin is spoken — a Rhaeto-Romance language descended directly from Vulgar Latin. The villages of Ortisei, Santa Cristina and Selva di Val Gardena are the heart of a woodcarving tradition going back to the 17th century: religious sculptures, nativity figures, masks and decorative objects carved from Swiss pine with a craftsmanship recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage.

Val Gardena's food is the most distinctly Ladin in the Dolomites: turtres (fried pastries filled with spinach, sauerkraut or curd cheese), cajincí (Ladin ravioli filled with spinach and curd cheese), crafuncins (Ladin dumplings with various fillings), and buckwheat cake with lingonberry jam. All washed down with Alto Adige wines (Gewürztraminer, Lagrein, Schiava), among the most aromatic whites and most elegant reds in all of Italy.

Practical notes: access to the Alpe di Siusi by private vehicle is restricted (permitted only before 09:00 and after 17:00 in summer). The alternative is to park at Compatsch and go up by cable car, leaving the bike in the car park. The valley road (SS242) linking Ortisei with the Passo Gardena and the Passo Sella is excellent and is the natural way into the Sella Ronda. Fuel in Ortisei and Selva. The route works perfectly as a rest day between hard days of passes.