Ortisei

For the third stop on our Grand Tour of the Südtirol Cindy and I chose the charming mountain town of Ortisei (or-tuh-say). Ortisei (also known as St. Ulrich in Gröden in German or Urtijëi in Ladin) is the largest and liveliest of the three towns in the Val Gardena, an alpine valley that runs about fifteen miles from west to east in the heart of the Dolomites.  From the lowest point near Ponte Gardena the valley climbs through Ortisei and Santa Cristina to the highest point at Selva di Val Gardena.

Ortisei is the largest village in the Val Gardena and is situated around 4,000 feet above sea level.  It’s one of the most popular destinations in the Dolomites for either day-tripping or extended summer or winter holidays thanks to the stunning scenery, abundant year-round activities, and a convenient location not far from Bolzano.  The pedestrian zone in the center of the town has a wide range of shops for clothing, sporting goods, and of course souvenirs of all kinds.  The town center is also home to beautiful churches like the charming Chiesetta di Sant’Antonio (St. Anthony’s Chapel) as well as the Museum Gherdëina, which is dedicated to the preservation of local history as well as Ladin culture.  And let’s not forget the numerous bars, cafes, and restaurants serving the traditional fare that makes dining in this area such a memorable experience.

While Ortisei’s local economy is primarily focused on tourism there are also strong ties to a long history of woodcarving.  Local artisans have been creating large statues, small figurines, and amazingly complex nativity scenes for many generations.  There are any number of shops and galleries throughout the valley that offer not only a chance to see the finished products but also to watch in-person demonstrations of the intricate carving process.

The geographic highlights in Val Gardena include the 10,400 foot Sassalungo massif, the stunning Seceda ridgeline, the meadows of the Alpe de Suisi, and the perfectly-formed Vallunga valley. There’s also the dramatic carved wooden cross on top of Resciesa and the Viel de Pan trail with its clear view of the Marmolada glacier.  What we really enjoyed were the countless small rifugios (mountain inns and restaurants) scattered around the area with hot food, cold beer, and stellar views of the surrounding terrain from their outdoor terraces. All of this, combined with a summer season that stretches from early June to mid-October, makes Val Gardena a paradise for hikers and mountain bikers.

Once the snow starts to fly the valley offers an equally impressive offering of winter sports such as downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, and winter hiking.  The local ski area is home to the Ski World Cup Val Gardena, a major tour event that’s been held every year since 1972.  Ortisei is also an excellent base to explore the world famous Sella Ronda, a 40 kilometer ring of interconnected ski trails and ski lifts that allow you to completely circumnavigate the imposing Sella massif.

As with our first stop in Alta Badia, the Ladin (lah-deen) culture is strong in this area.  Of the 10,000 people living in the valley around 90% claim Ladin as their primary language with balance speaking either German or Italian. Fortunately for us most everyone speaks at least some English, so finding our way around town, shopping, and dining were fairly straightforward.  When all else fails there’s always Google Translate.

Luis Trenker (1892-1990) is perhaps the most famous son of Ortisei, at least from a local perspective.  Trenker was a film producer, director, writer, actor, architect, alpinist, and bobsledder.  This Renaissance man is the namesake of the popular Luis Trenker Promenade, a delightful paved walking trail that winds along the valley floor for just over five miles from Ortisei to Selva di Val Gardena.  We enjoyed this trail on our first afternoon in town – see the blog entry below for more details.

Another famous (and arguably more current) local is the musician Giorgio Moroder.  He was the founder of Oasis Records, now a division of Casablanca Records, but is probably best known for his 70’s disco songs and 80’s movie soundtracks.  He produced many of Donna Summer’s biggest hits like ‘Last Dance’ and ‘MacArthur Park’ as well as movie classics such as ‘Take My Breath Away’ from Top Gun and ‘What A Feeling’ from Flashdance.  He has earned three Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, four Grammy Awards, two People’s Choice Awards, and over a hundred gold and platinum discs.

Our lodging in Ortisei was a two bedroom, two bath terrace apartment in the Apartments Montblanc.  This was one of two apartments on the ground floor of the owner’s home, so we received a warm welcome and personalized attention during our stay.  The home was built in 2020 and is quite modern in every way.  As we had hoped this location was convenient to the bus stops, grocery stores, and the main pedestrian zone in Ortisei.  We were also just a short walk to the cable car stations for Seceda and Alpe di Siusi as well as the funicular to Resciesa.

Our travel from Innichen to Ortisei took about 2-1/2 hours.  We started out on a Pustertalbahn regional train headed west to Fortezza where we switched to a Trenitalia (Italian state railway) train.  That second train took us south through the Val Isarco to the Bahnhof in Waidbruck.  At Waidbruck we boarded a Südtirolmobil bus for the last leg of our trip, a 25 minute ride up the Val Gardena.  From there it was an easy ¼ mile walk to our apartment.

Our first visit to Ortisei certainly lived up to our expectations.  We did a tremendous amount of research in preparation for this trip so it was nice to have this segment work out as planned.  No doubt we’ll be back sometime soon, maybe even when there’s some snow on the ground. Be sure to check out our blog below for more details about our week of adventures in beautiful Val Gardena!