The Lagorai looks nothing like the Dolomites around it, and you spot it right away: the rock here isn't pale limestone but dark volcanic porphyry, which gives the whole range a rugged, severe look. The chain runs more than fifty kilometres and counts as the wildest, least-touched mountain area in Trentino: almost no lifts, few huts, and a lot of silence. Along the ridges runs the Translagorai, a high traverse of roughly eighty kilometres from Panarotta to Passo Rolle, only for those who are genuinely fit. And then there are the lakes: more than a hundred are scattered across the high plateaus, and that's where the range gets its name.
Walking in the Lagorai means taking the solitude and making it your companion. Up here nature is in charge and people are passing guests, and you see it in what they've left behind: along the whole crest, which was the Austro-Hungarian front line in the First World War, kilometres of trenches, positions, galleries and barrack ruins still remain. Outings need fitness, self-sufficiency and an honest read of the weather, because shelter is few and far between. In return you take home one of the most genuine and intense experiences the mountains of Trentino can offer.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Lagorai suitable for beginner hikers?
Only in part. There are short, easy loops around the lakes, but ridge traverses like the Translagorai are serious business: you need good fitness, self-sufficiency and high-mountain experience, because huts are scarce and far apart.
Why does the Lagorai look so different from the Dolomites?
Because it isn't pale dolomitic limestone but volcanic porphyry. Hence the dark colours, the rugged profile and that severe air that sets it apart at once from the pale walls of the groups nearby.