Val Venosta

Characteristics

Val Venosta — Vinschgau in German — is the westernmost valley of South Tyrol, running from the Reschen pass down to Meran along the young river Adige. It is one of the driest regions in the Alps, and that climate shapes everything: apple orchards and apricots on the valley floor, dry pine slopes above, and glaciers on the Ortler-Cevedale massif at the head of the side valleys.

The villages are small and old — Glurns still sits inside its medieval walls, Laas lives from white marble, Laudes is a village of farms and barns with its own shop, bakery and two restaurants. The language is German, the cooking is South Tyrolean, and the Vinschgerbahn runs down the valley from Mals to Meran.

• Altitude: roughly 500–1,700 m in the valley, Ortler at 3,905 m
• Language: German, with Italian as the second language
• Nearest airports: Innsbruck about 1½ hours, Verona about 2½
• Where to stay here: Apart Vinschgau in Laudes

Why we love it here

The season here is longer than anywhere else we know. The Waalwege — paths that follow irrigation channels dug centuries ago — are often walkable from March to November, and you are walking past orchards with a 3,900-metre glaciated peak in view. That contrast between the gentle and the serious is the whole character of the valley.

It is also a valley that is very well set up for visitors. Trails and Waalwege are well marked, the cycle path has bike rental and a shuttle back up the valley, the train and buses connect the villages, and there are huts and farm restaurants wherever you end up. You get the infrastructure of an established holiday region without it having turned into a resort. In April the orchards blossom while the Ortler is still white.

Winter activities

• Watles — small and sunny, popular with families, with a toboggan run.
• Sulden am Ortler — around 44 km of pistes under the Ortler, reaching up to 3,250 m.
• Schöneben and Haideralm above the Reschensee, linked into a single area with views the length of the valley.
• Ski touring — Tellakopf (2,525 m) from the Eckhof in Taufers as an easy first tour; Piz Sesvenna (3,205 m) from Schlinig is a long glacier tour for experienced ski mountaineers only.
• Cross-country and winter walking in Langtaufers, Sulden and Martell — and the lower Waalwege, which often stay snow-free.

Summer activities

• The Vinschgau cycle path — about 80 km from Lake Reschen down to Meran, mostly flat or gently downhill, with a seasonal bike shuttle or the train from Meran to Mals to bring you back.
• The Stelvio Pass — 48 hairpins from Prad, or the Umbrail from the Swiss side, for anyone who wants the climb rather than the descent.
• Waalwege — Schluderns, Naturns, Algund: level along the channels, with short climbs to reach them.
• Alpine hiking — the Laaser Tal to the Obere Laaser Alm, Piz Chavalatsch (2,763 m) as a long rope-free summit, or the Ortler normal route for experienced alpinists with a guide.
• Reschensee — a regular valley wind for kitesurfing and sailing, and the church tower standing in the water.
• Slow days — the marble quarries at Laas, Churburg castle above Schluderns, and apricot season in July.