Tre Cime di Lavaredo
UNESCO World Heritage Site (The Dolomites, 2009, System 5 Northern Dolomites); Parco Naturale Tre Cime / Drei Zinnen · Auronzo di Cadore, Veneto
Three near-vertical dolomite towers standing in a row on the Veneto and South Tyrol border, the most photographed rock formation in the Alps and the emblem of the whole range: Cima Grande in the middle at 2,999 metres, Cima Ovest and Cima Piccola on either side, their sheer north faces dropping around five hundred metres in a single sweep. A toll road climbs from Misurina to Rifugio Auronzo at about 2,320 metres, which puts you at their feet without walking a step, and a loop of roughly ten kilometres runs right around the group past three mountain huts, with the head-on view of the north faces from Rifugio Locatelli. The front line ran through here in the First World War and tunnels still cut through Monte Paterno above the path. Since May 2025 the road has been on compulsory online booking against a licence plate, with a daily cap on cars, and summer slots go weeks ahead, so the old advice to drive up early and pay at the gate no longer works at all.
Rifugio Auronzo, Forcella Longeres, Auronzo di Cadore, Veneto, 32041, Italy
The toll road opens around late May and closes in late October or early November, weather permitting; it opened on 23 May in 2026. Open 24 hours in the main season with the toll booth staffed roughly 08:00-20:00, narrowing to daylight hours in late autumn. Access needs a booked online slot. The huts run from roughly mid-June to late September.
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