Description

This itinerary is a simple hike, almost entirely in the forest. The loop starts at the far north-west of the territory of Primiero, by Travignolo stream. The trail has the peculiarity of passing through three municipalities, each one belonging to a different mountain community: Primiero San Martino di Castrozza (Primierotta), Moena (Ladina-Fassana) and Predazzo (Fiammazza), developing in almost equal portions on the three territories.

Along the way, the route touches different mountain environments, keeping a constant beautiful overview of the Dolomites of the Pale di San Martino on its eastern side, from one of the most fascinating perspectives of the mountain group.

It should be noted that this route was redesigned after the crashes of the Vaia storm in October 2019, which made some portions of the previously existing paths basically not applicable anymore, thus changing the original itinerary that reached Malga Bocche from the valley of Travignolo.

The starting point is on the road SP81, along the stream of Travignolo. A few hundred meters before the location called Pian dei Casoni (easy to spot, given the large car park located at the end of Val Venegia), on the left side there is a comfortable gravel road, from which the hike starts.

The route is gently ascends following the wide path. After half an hour of walking, the path gradually leaves the forest behind, while rising at higher altitude and approaching the nice pasture of Alpe Lusia, where horses and cows somehow make more complete the already awesome view of the hut Malga Bocche.

From Malga Bocche (1.946 m a.s.l.), in addition to the Pale di San Martino and Passo Rolle, a remarkable view of the Lagorai mountain range and the peaks of Bocche and Lastè can be appreciated. The malga deserves a special mention for its position and its characteristics that made it the winner, in 2015, of the prize of “Malga most beautiful in Trentino”.

From the hut, the route follows the signs towards Paneveggio. The downhill gravel road plunges back into the forest, comfortably leading to Paneveggio (about 1,450 m a.s.l.). Located not far from the starting point, Paneveggio offers the possibility of visiting the Park’ Visitors Center and to take a look at the deer behind the dedicated fence. The deer, now populating the Travignolo Valley, was reintroduced into the territory of the Park during the 1960s, after its disappearance. Also, with a tiny effort, it is possible to walk from the Visitors Center towards the Tibetan bridge, located above the Travignolo stream; a small oasis that is definitely worth visiting before heading back to the start.

Paths

• From the road SP81 towards Passo Valles, right before the location of Pian dei Casoni, take the gravel road uphill towards Malga Bocche,
• From the hut of Malga Bocche (1,946 m a.s.l.), follow the Signpost No. 623 towards Paneveggio,
• Follow the signs pointing to Paneveggio along the gravel road,
• From Paneveggio (1,450 m a.s.l.), follow for a short stretch the main road SS50 towards Passo Rolle, then the paved road SP81 towards Passo Valles until getting back at the start. ✓

PANEVEGGIO: VISITORS CENTER AND VIOLINS’ FOREST

• The Visitor Center of Paneveggio Pale di San Martino Park hosts a small museum on the Paneveggio spruce forest and on the most representative animals of the area, including deer and grouse.
• Paneveggio is well known for its flora quality and has a long tradition in managing and preserving it. For this reason, it is famous throughout Europe for the quality of its timber production.
• Now known to its visitors as the Violins’ Forest, the Paneveggio forest is known for the quality of the resonance of its fir trees, used by luthiers in the past.
• The world wide famous luthier Antonio Stradivari from Cremona used the “sonorous” firs of Paneveggio and Fiemme Valley. Stradivari seems to have visited these areas on an annual basis, in order to choose the best pieces for crafting his famous violins.

Links

• Parco Naturale Paneveggio Pale di San Martino: https://www.parcopan.org/