San Martino di Castrozza: what to see, do and where to stay

San Martino di Castrozza sits at about 1,487 metres in a basin under the huge Pale di San Martino Group, the largest massif in the whole of the Dolomites. The place has an old soul. It grew up around a religious hospice and turned, across the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, into one of the first mountaineering resorts of the Dolomites, a haunt of the early Alpine climbers. The Pale, with their vast, lunar high plateau, stand behind it always.

The resort belongs to the Primiero, a borderland between Trentino and Veneto that has kept its own distinct history and culture. All around it spreads the Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino Nature Park, set up by the Province of Trento in 1967, protecting a wide range of habitats: Norway spruce forest, alpine pasture, and the almost otherworldly rock of the high mountain. It's a fine base if you're after protected nature and big views.

In summer the cable car climbs from the Colverde station to the Pale plateau, above 2,600 metres, where the trails run through rock and silence, and the Val Venegia, cut by the headwaters of the Travignolo, is one of the best-loved spots in the area. In winter you ski at the foot of the Pale in a quiet, intimate mood. But the valley is at its best at dawn and dusk: from the Baita Segantini the Cimon della Pala mirrors in a small lake, one of the most photographed scenes in the Dolomites.

When to go & weather — San Martino di Castrozza

Summer, June to September, is the time to ride the cable car from the Colverde station up to the Pale plateau and hike in the Paneveggio Park, with Val Venegia a favourite. Winter, December to March, brings skiing at the foot of the Pale in an unhurried, intimate mood. On the clearest summer mornings and evenings, the Baita Segantini, with the Cimon della Pala reflected in its little lake, gives you one of the most photographed scenes in the Dolomites. Autumn turns the Val Venegia larches a brilliant yellow.

How to get there — San Martino di Castrozza

You reach San Martino from the Primiero, coming up from Feltre over the Cereda pass, or down from the north over the Passo Rolle, which links the basin to the Val di Fiemme. On the A22, exit at Egna-Ora or Trento and follow the state road toward Rolle. From the east, the A27 gets you in via the Belluno basin. The nearest rail stations are Feltre and Borgo Valsugana, both with scheduled buses, and seasonal direct coaches run from Trento and the Veneto. The Passo Rolle is just eight kilometres from the village, about twenty minutes by ski bus in winter.