Rifugio Lavarella

A hut on the Fanes plateau, renowned for housing the highest brewery in Europe.

Rifugio Lavarella stands at around 2,050 metres on the wide Fanes plateau, inside the Fanes-Senes-Braies Nature Park, one of the most fascinating and legend-soaked stretches of the Dolomites. Meadows, small lakes, and rock faces sit all around, the Frenner family has run it for over a century, and it stays calm and quiet, well clear of mass tourism. Here is the part you do not expect: the Ga.Beer microbrewery, reckoned to be the highest in Europe. Since 2019 they have brewed craft beer with mountain water down in the basement, in small batches, and you cannot get it anywhere else.

You walk in on a route that usually starts from San Vigilio di Marebbe or from Val Badia, up the trails that climb to the Fanes plateau. The kitchen does Ladin and South Tyrolean food, and the beer brewed on site is the obvious thing to drink with it. There are plenty of beds, both private rooms and dormitories, so it makes a fine base for the park, from the lakes to the waterfalls. Stay over and you get the full, legend-filled mood of the Fanes plateau.

The most common starting point is San Vigilio di Marebbe, in Val Badia, or Val Badia itself, where the trails climb up to the Fanes plateau. You drive to the parking areas where the routes begin, with fees and valley access rules to be checked for the current year, since some park roads have restrictions. From there you walk up the trails that rise towards the wide plateau in the Fanes-Senes-Braies Nature Park. The best window runs from summer to early autumn, when the trails are clear of snow and the hut is open. Expect a walk with some effort for the height gain and the distance. Set off in the morning so you arrive without rushing and have time for the park's lakes and waterfalls.

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