Selva, at 1600m above sea level, is Lance's favourite botanical area outside Greece. There is access to a veritable cornucopia of beautiful alpine flowers. A wonderful week of exploration in the mountains and pastures of the Dolomites.
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The Dolomites of northeastern Italy are, as their name suggests, mountains of dolomitic limestone, which form an outlier of the Alps. Hidden between their jagged peaks, the Val Gardena is a long, east-west valley with the resorts of Ortisei, San Cristina and, finally, Selva at its upper end. Selva is at an altitude of around 1565m, surrounded by meadows and then, as the valley walls steepen, by spruce and larch forest, above which rise the grey and orange cliffs of the surrounding mountains. The eastern end of the valley is blocked off by the massive, statueless plinth (to paraphrase Reginald Farrer) of the Sella Group, a row of twelve 2900m peaks, but more spectacular still, to the southeast, is 3181m Saslonch, an eruption of cliffs, pinnacles, teeth and towers, cleft, as if cut by an axe, by the Dantersasc valley.
Flora. The main habitats are the woodland, denser when spruce and larch, more open when pine. Around the villages are meadows and pastures, maintained by summer cutting of the hay and a few grazing cattle, while at higher altitudes are more natural meadows, often with much groundwater, that grade into marsh and bog. At the base of the high peaks are screes – and moraines where there is water underneath – with some of the most attractive alpine plants, while on the peaks themselves is a limited but interesting flora.
Meadow plants include gentians, geums, lousewort, globe flowers, butterwort, vanilla orchids, fragrant orchids, frog orchids, rampions, false helleborine, bellflowers, forget-me-not, dianthus, meadow clary, milk-vetches, bistort, alpine bistort, birdseye primrose, avens, arnica and orange lily. Rockier places have edelweiss, gentians, alpenrose, saxifrages, pink cinquefoil, gypsophila, mountain avens, dwarf willows, alpine toadflax, alpine asters and chamois ragwort. Woodland has wintergreen, yellow violets, alpine clematis, monkshood, spotted orchids, wood cranesbill, baneberry, aruncus, meadow-rue, hepatica, valerian, helleborines, Solomon's-seal, May lily, martagon lily and herb paris. In the boggiest areas are grass-of-Parnassus, marsh orchids, cotton-grass and bogbean, while the high screes have gentians, alpine poppies and least snowbells. See our Dolomites flowers page.
Wildlife may include marmots (best seen from cable-cars), shy chamois, and red squirrels (which may be black or red). High altitude birds include ring-ouzel, snowfinches, nutcrackers and, if you are very lucky, wall-creepers, black woodpecker and blackcock.
There will be a maximum of only 12 walkers in the group (plus leaders) so that everyone can have some individual attention, if required. The walks fee is £155 for six consecutive days of botanical walks, and includes a copy of the Dolomites plant list worth £7.50.
ITINERARY 22-27 June 2008
Altitudes of locations are given in order to indicate the rise and fall of the routes. Since we do not have specific times for our cable-car/chairlift/bus returns at the end of the day, you can, if you want, stay out longer after the walks.| Sunday | Castel Wolkenstein | Meet 09.00 at Selva – Ciampinoi |
We walk up through Selva past the main church and then through the meadows towards Larciunëi (1608m). From here we enter the spectacular U-shaped valley of Vallunga, and the Puez-Odle Natural Park. Passing through a traditional alpine pasture and past the small but ancient chapel of San Silvester (1632m) we head a little way upvalley (1673m) for our picnic lunch, before returning along a dirt track on the north side of the valley to join the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross). There will be an optional, and steeper, diversion to the 13th-century Castel Wolkenstein, a small ruined fortress built into the cliff wall. Return into Selva by a different route. Botanical highlights may include Daphne cneorum, dragonmouth, spiked bellflower and alpine clematis.| Monday | San Cristina Falls | Meet 09.00 at Selva – Ciampinoi |
The walk heads westwards from Selva (1565m), down to cross the stream (1520m) then up through the rich woodland along the south side of the valley, in the direction of San Cristina, to arrive in the pretty meadows of the slightly confusingly named hamlet of La Sëlva (1570m). Entering spruce woodland briefly, we emerge at Ciaslat (1605m) on a path between boggy pastures along the rim of the valley that takes us to the tiny hamlet of Prënsa (1560m), and then a zigzag descent by road, path and dirt track to the San Cristina waterfall (1425m). We bridge the Gardena river into Ruacia (1409m) on the outskirts of San Cristina. Here, we will show you where to get off the bus on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, and, if you wanted to shorten today's walk, you could catch a bus back to Selva. A short way uphill (1440m) we join the broad path which runs along the course of the long-gone railway line. After a km or so we reach the suburb of La Poza (1506m), before heading back into Selva. Botanical highlights may include martagon lily, May lily and wolfsbane.| Tuesday | Vanilla Meadows | Meet 09.20 at San Cristina – Drosses/Maciaconi |
Lance will meet you at the San Cristina bus stop (1425m), from where we walk to the base of the Monte Pana chairlift (1390m). This is 2-seat chairlift takes us up to 1615m, and we join the longer 4-seat Mont de Sëura chairlift. On arrival at the top of Mont de Sëura (2025m), we will head along a dirt track through rough meadows and through a small section of high-altitude alkaline woodland. The track leads to the broad, stone-filled stream-bed of the Ruf di Strënc (1968m), probably more or less dry by the time we arrive, but full of interesting alpine plants. Returning from the stream-bed, we will head up across meadows to Piz Ciaulonch (2114m) and our picnic lunch. After lunch we will go a short distance to an area of rocky woodland, before heading down along the Mont de Sëura ridge and the chairlifts back down to San Cristina, from where you can catch a bus back to Selva. Botanical highlights may include vanilla orchids, pasque flowers, yellow marsh saxifrage and alpenrose.| Wednesday | San Giacomo | Meet 09.20 at San Cristina – Drosses/Maciaconi |
Lance will meet you at the San Cristina bus stop (1425m), from where we head uphill a little way to join the level Planetary Way path (the old railway line) into the centre of the village (1453m). A brief steep climb takes us up to the hamlet of Ulëta (1562m) from where a path takes us further up into woodland. After a rest stop, we follow a broad, comparatively level dirt track most of the way along to the isolated 12th-century San Giacomo church (1565m), the oldest and probably most picturesque in the area, with stunning views of Saslonch for our picnic lunch. More woodland paths lead us to the Col de Flam ridge (1400m) and a gentle zigzag descent to Ortisei and its main square (1275m). This is where you can catch a bus back to Selva, and is also the meeting place for Thursday and Fridays' walks. Botanical highlights may include wintergreens, St Bernard's lily and butterfly orchids.| Thursday | Parnassus Pastures | Meet 09.30 at Ortisei main square |
Lance will meet you at the Ortisei main square bus stop (1225m), from where we cross the river (by footbridge!) to reach the Siusi cable-car. This takes us up to Mont Sëuc (2005m) with remarkable views across the Alpe di Siusi, said to be the Alps' largest area of alpine pasture/meadow in Europe. To the east is upright Mt Saslonch, to the south is the wall of Crode del Lago, while to the southwest is the immense block of Sciliar (Schlern). A short chairlift journey will take us down the southern side of the ridge to 1850m. A path takes us out across the Alpe di Siusi – marshy underfoot in places – on either side of the valley of the Ruf da Piz stream. Picnic en route, and a clockwise circular route back to Mont Sëuc. We have a refreshments stop at the café for wonderful views of Saslonch, before our cable-car descent to Ortisei, from where you can catch a bus back to Selva (or do a little shopping). Botanical highlights may include bearded bellflowers, butterworts and grass-of-Parnassus.| friday | Edelweiss Edge | Meet 09.30 at Ortisei main square |
Lance will meet you at the Ortisei main square bus stop (1225m), from where we take the escalator up to the base of the Seceda gondola and cable-car. This goes up the Val d'Ana valley in two stages (via Furnes, 1725m) to the edge of the Seceda ridge (2456m). From here we will walk eastwards through alpine meadows to the spectacular col at Forcelle Pana (2450m), continuing eastwards below the jagged Odle-Fermeda peaks and a picnic lunch stop at Pieria Longia with a view of the remarkable butterfly-wing rocks. The path continues past scree and boulder-field, before we turn down valley to the Firenze hut for a refreshment stop, before the final stretch through to the Col Raiser cable-car station (2107m). The cable-car takes us down towards San Cristina (1551m), from where we follow back roads and pathways, through Plan da Tieja and La Poza, to Selva. Botanical highlights may include androsace, edelweiss and gentians. Subject to demand, we may offer a repeat of this itinerary 29 June-4 July 2008. Please let us know if you are interested.
TRANSPORT
The Gardena Pass covers summer ski-lifts and buses within the Val Gardena area (Sella refuge to Ortisei). The 2007 price is €60 per person – for 7 consecutive days (activated on its first use) – cheaper than paying for our planned use of chairlifts/cable-cars and buses (approx. €72.70 in 2007). It is also quicker and more convenient to have a pass rather than queueing to pay, and simpler if we need to change our plans and use extra transport at short notice, e.g. due to the weather or extra exciting botany.They can be purchased from the tourist offices, the Ciampinoi cable-car office, and some hotels (if a guest). One person can purchase a number of passes, but will need each person's passport. The instructions say you should carry photo identity with you when using the pass. The pass consists of two cards; one for buses, one for ski-lifts. Put the bus pass into the ticket machine as you get on the bus, telling the driver where you want to go. The ski-lift pass should be waved in front of the detector at the gate – do not put it in the slot which is for single tickets only. The tickets are coloured according to gender.
The Val Gardena Express bus runs up and down from Ortisei via San Cristina to Selva and on to Plan throughout the day. There are also longer distance buses, all of which cover the section from Ortisei to Plan and vice versa. The buses can be very full and you may want to be at the bus stop nice and early. See map for the location of the bus stops. A timetable can be picked up from the tourist information office.
Ski-lifts are either enclosed gondola cabins holding 6+ people (simply walk on/off) or open 2-seater chair-lifts, or semi-enclosed 4-seater chair-lifts. Staff of the chairlifts are very helpful with getting on and off, which is simpler anyway than it might seem before you have done it. Make sure you have your trekking poles and rucksack in a good position. Since you will be sitting still on the open chairlift, you will be considerably cooler than when you are walking. Since it is not practical to put on extra clothing while on the chair lift, you should do this before getting on board (it could, for example, start to rain halfway up!). Stand on pads or marks and the chair comes in behind you. As you take off, pull down a security bar from behind the seat to secure you in position - this also provides you with a footrest. As you reach the end of the chairlift, signs indicate when you should lift the security bar (remember to take your feet off the footrest!). Step off briskly, moving to left or right out of the way of the moving chair.
MEETING PLACES
There are three meeting places: walks 1 and 2 start in Selva, walks 3 and 4 in San Cristina, walks 5 and 6 in Ortisei.We will meet where we get off the bus in San Cristina or Ortisei – please be at the Selva bus stop at 09.00 so that you can catch the first bus you can get on (they're sometimes crowded) after 09.00. All buses going down valley from Selva go to San Cristina and Ortisei. We will therefore meet in San Cristina around 09.20 and Ortisei around 09.30. Green discs on the map mark the three meeting places.
Selva Meeting Place. Near the bus-stop at the base of the Ciampinoi (pronounced Cham-pin-oh-i) cable-car, opposite the Aaritz hotel.
San Cristina Meeting Place. Outside the large Maciaconi supermarket, near the Drosses hotel. Ask for San Cristina Drosses on the bus. Coming down from Selva, there is a gently curving section of country road along a steep hillside, before the road swings sharply right to the start of the built-up area and the bus stop. Lance will point this meeting place out to you on the second day's walk.
Ortisei Meeting Place. In the town's large central square (where the Val Gardena Express bus turns round). Lance will point this meeting place out to you on the fourth day's walk. N.B. If you were on a bus, from Selva, going beyond Ortisei (ie to Bolzano, Bressanone or Castelrotto), these do not always go into the Ortisei central square but drop off on the riverside main road a short walk away (see map of Ortisei).
WALKS INFORMATION
The Val Gardena area is hilly. The walks are on dirt tracks, paths and occasionally on short stretches of surfaced road. The footpaths and dirt tracks can be fairly stony and/or slippery in places. The roads off the main road can be steep, as can the paths. Obviously this area is not suitable for anyone incapacitated by vertigo, particularly since we will be using open chairlifts, gondolas and cable-cars. You must be reasonably sure-footed on steeply sloping tracks and paths.The order of the walks may be affected by the weather. If the weather comes in we may have to quickly move on homeward. If the weather is truly awful, we will try and substitute an activity such as nearby towns/museums/shops. or we may delay the start of the walks – it is still daylight at 9pm. (Bring a picnic tea!). The actual itinerary of, in particular, the Parnassus and Edelweiss walks will be determined on the day, by Lance, depending on the weather, but also how long we spend botanizing at each site.
Please do not hurry on the paths, or go far ahead. It is your responsibility to keep Lance in your sight when we are walking. We will stop frequently as a group, to look at views, plants, other wildlife, to rest, etc., so you should not need to stop on your own and become separated from the group.
Please bring a picnic lunch along with you for all the walks. On some of the walks there may be café stops, but we cannot guarantee that these facilities will be functioning on the day. Please note that all your meals/picnics/refreshments while with the group are paid for by yourself.
Weather. The weather in the Dolomites can be very variable and change quickly, even in summer – expect some changes to the itinerary. You should carry/wear full waterproofs (perhaps an umbrella), warm clothing (incl. gloves and hat), and sturdy waterproof footwear that grips in slippery conditions. Although we do not plan to walk through permanently wet areas, it is possible that there may be mud or puddles on the path – and there may just be that photogenic plant in a pathside marsh. A pair of trekking poles is strongly recommended. You will also need sunhat, suncream, water, personal first aid etc.
Biting flies may be a problem occasionally in the woodland, in sunny weather, particularly if there are domestic animals nearby. Insect repellent can be useful.
FACILITIES IN RESORT
Holiday Queries. If you are on a package holiday, please note that any queries in resort regarding your accommodation or airport transfer should be addressed to the holiday company representative, and not to Lance.If not on a package, assume that accommodations will only take cash, not credit/debit cards (unless they have already advised you otherwise). There are outside cash machines at the banks - we found our debit card would not work at the Risparmio Bank but would at the Reiffeisen Bank (conveniently next to the Selva tourist office). Banks elsewhere in Italy may have the cash machine inside the bank entrance: outside banking hours you may need to use your bank card in the card reader slot to unlock the outer doors. Currency is the Euro. Banks usually open 0800-1300 and 1445-1615, Monday-Friday.
Opening/closing times of shops are strictly adhered to. Food shops usually open 0800-1200 and 1500-1900, and may be shut on Sundays – so you may need to purchase the first day's picnic on Saturday. Some supermarkets make a small charge for plastic carrier bags.
The Tourist Office in Selva is on the main street (Mëisules 213). Opening hours in July 2006 were Mon-Sat 0800-1200 and 1500-1830, Sunday 0830-1200 and 1700-1830. They also have internet facilities, but you will need to produce your passport to use them.
For a detailed large-scale map of the area, the Tabacco map #5 "Val Gardena/Gröden", scale 1:25 000, can be purchased locally. Less detailed maps of Selva itself and of the surrounding mountains are available free from the Tourist Office.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The excellent Val Gardena website, www.valgardena.it, has lots of information, including webcams.Languages. Although the Val Gardena is politically in Italy, for just 6.2% of the locals in Selva their first language is Italian and for just under 6% it is German. The majority is brought up with Ladin, a language related to Etruscan with about 30,000 speakers in this and nearby valleys. Assuming you do not have a Ladin phrasebook with you, you will often find people in shops and hotels will speak at least some English, although they may initially talk to you in German.
Many of the places in the area have three names – in Ladin, Italian and German. The first two are usually similar, but the German is usually very different. In the itineraries most of the names of well-known places are in Italian, but the more obscure are in Ladin.
| Ladin | Italian | German |
| Sëlva | Selva | Wolkenstein |
| S Crestena | San Cristina | St Christina |
| Urtijëi | Ortisei | St Ulrich |
| Dlieja da Sacun | San Giacomo | St Jacob |
| Saslonch | Sassolungo | Langkofel |
| Val Gherdëina | Val Gardena | Grödnertal |
| Balsan | Bolzano | Bozen |
| Bressanone | Brixen | |
| Castelrotto | Kastelruth |
SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR SELVA HOLIDAY
Package Holiday Possibilities
SEE WEBPAGE SELVA HOLIDAY INFO for full detailsThe walk date is based on Saturday flights if going for one week. All packages fly (from a number of regional UK airports) to Verona, Italy. Holiday packages are available with Inghams and Tui (Crystal and Thomson) in their Lakes and Mountains brochures.
Do-It-Yourself
SEE WEBPAGE SELVA HOLIDAY INFO for full details.You can fly to North Italy extremely cheaply, and use carhire (from £135 per week), or public transport (returns €29 by bus, from €34 by bus and train, in 2007), to resort. Accommodation in Selva is bookable via the excellent town website or on arrival in resort via the tourist information centres.
The rail journey from Venice to Bolzano goes via Verona, making Verona-Catullo (VRN) airport the most convenient to fly into. If you were having a hire car from the airport, then Venice MarcoPolo (VCE) has a bigger selection of flights.
The Val Gardena website www.val-gardena.net has downloadable maps of Selva, San Cristina and Ortisei.
Further Links
Saslonch and other mountainsNational Parks
Alpe di Siusi webcams
Rasciesa, above Ortisei
Bolzano Natural History Museum
Further Information
Plant List for the Dolomites - see DolomitesFor fascinating descriptions of trips to the Dolomites in the 1900s, read Reginald Farrer's The Dolomites, Cadogan Books. His descriptions are remarkable for both the differences and similarities with the situation today. We were able to find Eritrichium nanum simply by following his narrative.
Lance Chilton and Marengo 2008
17 Bernard Crescent
HUNSTANTON
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England
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