Alta Via 1 vs Alta Via 2: distance, climbing, cables and booking compared
Alta Via 1 is the shorter, lower and gentler of the two: in the Treksup app, 11 stages and 6,530 m of climbing, with two short protected passages and one knife-edge ridge. Alta Via 2 is 13 stages and 11,683 m, with equipped ground on nine of them and a high pass on equipped rock. Both book rifugio by rifugio, and on Alta Via 1 the first huts open their 2027 bookings on 1 and 2 November 2026.
The two side by side
| Alta Via 1 | Alta Via 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Start and finish | Lago di Braies to the La Pissa bus stop above Belluno | Bressanone to Feltre |
| Stages | 11 | 13 |
| Distance | 117 km | 158 km |
| Climbing | 6,530 m | 11,683 m |
| Highest point | 2,717 m, Lagazuoi | 2,952 m, on the Sella (day 5) |
| Biggest climb in a day | 994 m, Fanes to Lagazuoi | 1,899 m, Bressanone to the Città di Bressanone hut |
| Italian grade | EEA | EE |
| Grade in the app | hard | very hard |
| Equipped ground | two short protected passages and the Forcella de Zita ridge | on nine of the thirteen stages |
| Season | rifugi open about the third week of June, closing from mid-September | end of June to end of September |
| Half board, 2026 | €60 to €80 | €60 to €82 |
Figures are the app’s lines: Alta Via 1 on the trail authorities’ own geometry in Veneto and South Tyrol, Alta Via 2 assembled from OpenStreetMap. Elevation on both comes from a terrain model, so treat the climbing as close rather than exact. Both lines are shorter than the routes’ published totals: the app’s measurement notes put Alta Via 2 at 158.5 km against a canonical 180 km, and Alta Via 1 here stops at the La Pissa bus stop rather than in Belluno.
Cables, ladders and via ferrata
Alta Via 1
- Graded EEA, for experienced hikers with equipment. The app’s reading: mostly non-technical walking, two short protected passages and one knife-edge crossing.
- Day 1 has a short cabled passage below the gap at Porta Sora al Forn.
- Day 10 crosses the ridge to Forcella de Zita Sud: a knife edge with a short scramble at the top and a few fixed cables on the descent. Do not cross it in wind, rain or cloud. It is the one part you cannot leave out.
- The variants are where the hardware is: the direct drop from Nuvolau over the Ra Gusela has a ladder and cables, and the app recommends a via ferrata kit there; the First World War tunnels down from the Lagazuoi need a helmet and a headlamp. The app draws the unprotected lines.
Alta Via 2
- Graded EE, for experienced hikers, yet with more equipped ground than Alta Via 1: the letters alone mislead. The route authority asks for walkers who do not suffer from vertigo and have a good sense of direction.
- Nine of the thirteen stages carry equipped or cabled ground. The app says none of it needs a via ferrata set on the main line, and all of it is worse wet.
- Day 8, the Sentiero delle Farangole, crosses the Passo delle Farangole at 2,932 m on equipped rock, the one stage the authority calls climbing rather than walking, with no way round on the main line.
- Day 4 climbs to the Pisciadù on a steep equipped path. The Tridentina via ferrata next to it is a different thing: it needs a harness and a set.
- On days 8 and 9 the Altopiano delle Pale is bare limestone with cairns for waymarks; in cloud there is nothing to navigate by.
Booking the rifugi
Neither route has a central booking platform. The Italian Alpine Club’s portal, CAI Prenota Rifugi, covers the club-run huts only. Treksup is not a hut operator: you book each rifugio yourself.
Alta Via 1: dates are out
| Rifugio | What its own site says |
|---|---|
| Vazzolernight 7 | 2027 bookings open online on 1 November 2026 at 12:00, moved from 5 October. |
| Carestiatonight 8 | 2027 bookings open on 2 November 2026, online only. |
| Nuvolaunight 4 | 2027 bookings on its website from January 2027. Planned season 20 June to 20 September 2027. |
| Lagazuoinight 3 | Books online with a credit card. 50% of the total is kept as a deposit and is never refunded; cancel within 3 days of arrival or do not show, and the whole amount is charged. |
| Coldainight 6 | Closed since 27 September 2026, back in June 2027 (read on 12 October 2026). |
The app names Lagazuoi, Nuvolau, Coldai and Pian de Fontana as the ones that fill first. Deposits are common: the Dolomiti Belluno tourist board gives €20 a person at Rifugio Tissi, kept and not refunded.
Alta Via 2: no 2027 dates yet
| Rifugio | What its own site says |
|---|---|
| Pueznight 3 | Books on its own booking site. Because of a water shortage, water is sold in bottles only. |
| Pisciadùnight 4 | Books on its own booking site. The 2026 summer season closed on 4 October. |
| Rosettanight 8 | A request form or the phone, with a different number in and out of season. Summer 2026 ran from 20 June to 27 September (the page also says 28). |
| Pradidalion day 9 | By phone or email. Half board in 2026: €65 for CAI members, €82 for others. Season mid-June to end of September 2026. |
| Bivacco Feltreon day 11 | Unstaffed and cannot be booked at all, says the app. |
The app names Pisciadù, Rosetta, Pradidali and Mulaz as the ones that fill first: Rosetta and Pradidali sit in the Pale di San Martino, where day walkers arrive by cable car. None of the Alta Via 2 rifugi we read had published a 2027 booking date on 20 October 2026, and the Mulaz site did not answer.
Season
For Alta Via 1 the app gives the third week of June to mid-September, and the huts confirm the edges: Nuvolau plans 20 June to 20 September 2027, and Coldai closed on 27 September 2026. For Alta Via 2 the route authority gives the end of June to the end of September; on the Passo delle Farangole old snow lies longer than anywhere else on the route. On both, afternoon thunderstorms are normal in high summer. For Alta Via 1 the app says to start early and not to start a protected section if cloud is building before noon; for Alta Via 2, to ask the guardian about the day’s equipped section before you leave.
Getting there and back
- Alta Via 1. Coach from Venice to Cortina (Cortina Express or ATVO, about two and a half hours, from about €12.50), bus 445 to Dobbiaco, then bus 442 to Lago di Braies. From 1 July to 15 September the Braies valley road is closed to cars from 09:00 to 16:00, and bus seats must be booked and paid in advance. At the end, Dolomitibus line 1 runs from the La Pissa stop to Belluno station in about 20 minutes.
- Alta Via 2. Both ends are on the railway: Bressanone on the Brenner line, Feltre with its own station. The app has not checked those timetables and says so. Dolomitibus line 16 runs from the Passo Croce d’Aune down to Feltre, two guaranteed runs a day all year.
Which one for whom
Pick Alta Via 1 for your first hut trek in the Dolomites: about half the climbing of Alta Via 2, buses at both ends, and one ridge, on day 10, that you cannot leave out. Book in November and January, not when your dates happen to be fixed.
Pick Alta Via 2 once you have done Alta Via 1 or another hut week; the app’s training advice says exactly that. You need to be steady on equipped rock, able to navigate a bare plateau in cloud, and ready for thirteen days and over 11,000 m of climbing with no rest day. The southern stages are the emptiest on the route, and help is further away there.
Both routes in Treksup
Alta Via 1 and Alta Via 2 are paid routes in Treksup: every stage, water, where to sleep and how each rifugio books come with the paid tier. Their safety briefs, trail conditions, alerts and weather are free, as on every route. 7 routes are open in full for free.
Get Treksup on the App StoreQuestions
Is Alta Via 2 harder than Alta Via 1?
Yes. In the Treksup app Alta Via 2 has 13 stages against 11, 11,683 m of climbing against 6,530 m, and equipped ground on nine stages, including the Passo delle Farangole at 2,932 m on equipped rock. Alta Via 1 has two short protected passages and one knife-edge ridge.
Do I need a via ferrata kit for Alta Via 1 or Alta Via 2?
Not on the main lines, according to the app. On Alta Via 1 the app recommends one only for the Ra Gusela variant below Nuvolau. On Alta Via 2 the equipped sections need no set, but the Tridentina via ferrata next to the Pisciadù path does.
When do the Alta Via 1 rifugi open bookings for 2027?
Rifugio Vazzoler on 1 November 2026 at 12:00, Rifugio Carestiato on 2 November 2026 (online only), and Rifugio Nuvolau from January 2027, according to their own sites on 20 October 2026.
Does Treksup book the rifugi?
No. Treksup is not a hut operator, takes no commission and holds no beds. You book each rifugio yourself.
Read next
Sources
- Treksup route data, Alta Via 1: line from Regione del Veneto and Provincia di Bolzano open data with OpenStreetMap; stage structure from the official Cortina stage pages and Parco Nazionale Dolomiti Bellunesi, checked 1 August 2026; Coldai closure read on its own site, 12 October 2026; half board and the Tissi deposit from Dolomiti Belluno, “Staying in mountain huts: 2026 prices and rules”, 3 September 2026, read 18 September 2026; transport checked against Cortina Express, the Braies booking site and Dolomitibus, 11 September 2026
- Treksup route data, Alta Via 2: OpenStreetMap relation 404914; stage structure, times, grade, season and the vertigo warning from dolomiti.it, “Alpine path of the Dolomites no. 2”, read 2 August 2026; Dolomitibus line 16 from IAT Feltre by mail, 12 September 2026; half board from Dolomiti Belluno (as above) and Rifugio Pradidali
- Rifugio Vazzoler: rifugiovazzoler.com, read 20 October 2026
- Rifugio Carestiato: rifugiocarestiato.com, read 20 October 2026
- Rifugio Nuvolau: rifugionuvolau.it, read 20 October 2026
- Rifugio Lagazuoi, booking and cancellation: rifugiolagazuoi.com, read 20 October 2026
- Rifugio Puez: rifugiopuez.it, read 20 October 2026
- Rifugio Pisciadù: rifugiopisciadu.it, read 20 October 2026
- Rifugio Rosetta: rifugiorosetta.it, read 20 October 2026
- Rifugio Pradidali, information and prices: rifugiopradidali.com, read 20 October 2026
- Rifugio Mulaz: rifugiomulaz.it did not answer on 20 October 2026
- CAI Prenota Rifugi: prenotarifugi.cai.it, as described in the Treksup route data
Huts publish their dates late and change them, as Vazzoler did this year. Check each rifugio’s own site before you plan around a date. Treksup is not a hut operator and books nothing. Page written 19 October 2026, rifugi read 20 October 2026.