Skiing in Val Gardena: from Ortisei to Selva

Figures and altitudes

Val Gardena and Alpe di Siusi publish their figures together: 181 km of slopes and 79 lifts for the whole zone. Nobody publishes figures for Val Gardena alone. Alpe di Siusi gives 62 km and 22 lifts for its own part, which leaves roughly 119 km and 57 lifts on the Val Gardena side. The sum matches the Dolomiti Superski lift list, which puts 57 lifts under Val Gardena.

According to the South Tyrol Open Data Hub, the zone runs from 1,236 to 2,518 m. On the Val Gardena side the lowest point is Ortisei and the highest is the Seceda, where the Fermeda chairlift tops out at 2,519 m according to the Dolomiti Superski lift data.

The sources do not quite agree. The Val Gardena website says 181 km in the heading of its ski pass page and 175 km in the text of the same page. The Open Data Hub has two records for the zone, one with 175 km and 81 lifts, the other with 181 km and 80. We use 181 and 79, the figures that match on both valleys' websites and in the lift list.

• Val Gardena/Alpe di Siusi zone: 181 km of slopes, 79 lifts
• Alpe di Siusi part: 62 km, 22 lifts
• Val Gardena part, by subtraction: about 119 km, 57 lifts
• 2026/27 season: from 4 December 2026, planned closing 4 April 2027

The slopes and who they suit

The best-known run is the Saslong, which comes down from Ciampinoi towards Santa Cristina. Dolomiti Superski rates it difficult, and every December it hosts the men's World Cup. The longest is La Longia, more than 10 km with 1,273 m of vertical from the Seceda to Ortisei, rated intermediate. The tourist office calls it the longest slope in South Tyrol.

The other difficult runs are spread across almost every sector: Ciampinoi 3 and La Ciampinoi above Selva, Cir, La Ria and Vallelunga at Dantercepies, Paprica and Piz Sella 5 at Plan de Gralba, Catores and Gran Pela on the Seceda, the Direttissima at Ortisei and Alpha at Monte Pana. Most of the network is intermediate, and nearly all the runs at the Passo Sella are too.

Easy slopes are concentrated at Monte Pana above Santa Cristina, at the foot of Selva (Nives, Biancaneve, Cadepunt, Larciunei) and at Ortisei between Furdenan and Palmer. If you ski little and want wide runs, there are more of them on the Alpe di Siusi, which you reach by lift.

• Ortisei, Seceda and Col Raiser: Ortisei-Furnes gondola and Furnes-Seceda cable car, Col Raiser gondola from Santa Cristina, Rasciesa funicular
• Santa Cristina and Monte Pana: Santa Cristina-Monte Pana chairlift, Mont de Seura chairlift, beginner drag lifts
• Ciampinoi and Saslong: Ciampinoi gondola from Selva, Saslong gondola from Santa Cristina
• Plan de Gralba and Piz Sella: Piz Sella cable car, Piz Seteur gondolas, Gran Paradiso and Comici chairlifts
• Dantercepies: gondola from Selva, Cir and Val Setus chairlifts on the Passo Gardena side
• Passo Sella: Sasso Levante chairlift and the chairlifts towards Col Rodella

Getting there and where to park

By car you come on the Brenner motorway (A22). From the north, leave at Chiusa and take the valley road: 20 km to Ortisei, 28 to Santa Cristina, 32 to Selva. From the south, leave at Bolzano Nord, head for Ponte Gardena and take the road up the valley from there.

Once in the valley you hardly need the car, because each village has its own base lifts: in Ortisei the gondolas to the Seceda and to the Alpe di Siusi, in Santa Cristina the Saslong, Col Raiser and Monte Pana lifts, in Selva Ciampinoi and Dantercepies. Guests of accommodation that belongs to the local tourist associations get the free Val Gardena Guest Pass, valid on the valley and local ski buses. The Saltria-Monte Pana line and the night bus are not included; children up to 6 travel free.

If you come for the day, the public car park list on the Val Gardena website shows location, capacity and, for many, live free spaces. Among those listed: the Plan de Gralba car park and the Dantercëpies garage in Selva, the Monte Pana chairlift car parks in Santa Cristina, the Garage Central and the Cavallino Bianco garage in Ortisei, and the car parks at the Passo Sella and the Passo Gardena. In winter Ortisei has no coach park.

Ski pass

There are two options. The Val Gardena/Alpe di Siusi pass covers the 79 lifts of the zone, up to the Sella and Gardena passes, and includes the gondola between Siusi and the plateau. Since the two areas merged there is no pass for Val Gardena alone or for Alpe di Siusi alone. The Dolomiti Superski pass covers all twelve zones of the consortium and is the one you need for the Sellaronda.

The ski pass offices are in Ortisei at the valley station of the Alpe di Siusi gondola (Mont Sëuc), in the centre of Santa Cristina and in Selva at the Ciampinoi gondola. Buying day or multi-day passes online at least two days ahead gives you 5% off, down to 3% if you do not reuse your My Dolomiti Card, and you collect the card from the pick-up boxes at the valley stations: Plan de Gralba, Ciampinoi, Dantercepies, Mont de Seura, Saslong, Col Raiser, Seceda and Ortisei-Alpe di Siusi.

The discounts that matter for families: children born between 2018 and 2022 ski free if an adult buys an identical full-price pass at the same time (one child per adult, at ticket offices only); juniors born between 2008 and 2017 get about 30% off and seniors born in 1960 or earlier about 10%. Prices are published by Dolomiti Superski and we do not repeat them here: the overview is in our Dolomiti Superski ski pass guide. If you bought valley passes between 2022 and 2025, see the page on the refunds agreed with the competition authority: according to the valley's website the measures start on 15 October 2026.

Two rules apply on every slope: a helmet, for everyone, and third-party liability insurance that covers skiing. The insurance is not included in the ski pass.

Beginners, children and snow parks

For your first days on skis there are three areas. At Monte Pana, above Santa Cristina, easy slopes, beginner lifts and the Kids Fun Park, with trails, waves, tunnels and a small race course. In Selva the practice slopes are at the foot of the village. In Ortisei, at the Furdenan lift, a children's area with small obstacles, an airbag and a timed slalom.

For freestyle: at Piz Sella, above Plan de Gralba, the Snowpark Sassolungo, served by the Gran Paradiso chairlift, and the Funpark Sassolungo, served by the Comici I chairlift, with jumps of various sizes and a boardercross. In Selva, between Dantercepies and Risaccia, the Funslope Selva sits right on the Sellaronda and is reached by the Risaccia drag lifts.

The valley website lists ski schools, mountain guides and rental shops. For a week with small children, keep in mind that the zone's largest network of easy slopes is on the Alpe di Siusi, one gondola ride from Ortisei.

Beyond downhill skiing

Cross-country: the tourist office counts more than 133 km of trails across Monte Pana, Vallunga and the Alpe di Siusi. The Monte Pana centre has more than 30 km, from Mont Dessot (2.5 km, easy) to Val Scura (7.5 km, difficult), plus an 8 km link trail to the Alpe di Siusi, rated difficult. In Vallunga, above Selva, the loops lie between 1,600 and 1,800 m: 1.5 and 3 km easy, 5 km intermediate, 10 km difficult. Park at the La Ciajota car park behind the Carabinieri sports centre. The wider picture is on our cross-country and sledging page.

Sledging: the longest run, according to the tourist office, is on the Rasciesa above Ortisei, and the Rasciesa funicular also runs in winter (last season from 20 December to 29 March). A helmet is compulsory on sledge runs, and sledging on ski slopes is not allowed.

Snowshoeing: the Vallunga snowshoe walk is one of the easiest in the Dolomites. For the others, the tourist office recommends going with a mountain guide and checking snow and avalanche conditions first. Ideas and rules are on our snowshoeing page and in the snowshoeing guide.

Links to other ski areas

Val Gardena connects with the Alpe di Siusi at two points: the gondola from Ortisei, which reaches the plateau at Mont Sëuc, and the Saltria-Monte Pana ski bus, which Dolomiti Superski lists among the lifts of the zone. The Alpe di Siusi also suggests a loop through both parts, the Alpe di Siusi/Val Gardena Ronda, with 25 km of slopes: Alpe di Siusi, Ortisei, Seceda, Col Raiser, Dantercepies, Ciampinoi, Piz Sella, Monte Pana and back to Saltria by ski bus.

From Selva the Sellaronda leads to the Passo Gardena and Alta Badia one way, and to the Passo Sella and Val di Fassa the other. You need the Dolomiti Superski pass; route, timing and direction are in our Sellaronda guide. For a comparison with the other zones, see the guide to the Dolomites ski areas.