Val di Fassa Circuit: Self-Guided Six Peaks Trek

Arrive at your basecamp hotel in Val di Fassa, where you will collect your trek materials, including your detailed itinerary, GPS instructions, specialized hiking maps, and route instructions. Take time to review your navigation kit and familiarize yourself with the route. Explore the village, prepare your gear, and rest up for tomorrow’s adventure into the mountains.

Your trek begins with a transfer to Passo San Pellegrino at 1,920 meters. Following your detailed route instructions, you’ll ascend into the Monzoni Group along southern slopes that see relatively few hikers. This quieter trail offers excellent opportunities to spot alpine ibex, remarkably tolerant and tame creatures that often pause for photographs. Take your time here; one advantage of self-guided hiking is setting your own pace for wildlife watching.

As you descend toward the Contrin valley, the stunning Sassolungo Group emerges across the valley, offering a spectacular preview of peaks you’ll reach in two days. Your route notes guide you safely to tonight’s mountain hut.

Hiking: 10 km | ↑790m ↓680m | 5 hrs
Accommodation: Mountain hut in Contrin valley

Today’s route crosses several mountain passes, bypassing the technical sections of Marmolada by traversing ridges east of Monzoni. You’ll descend into Ciampac, a stunning grassy hollow that forms a natural amphitheater. This serene basin makes an ideal spot for a leisurely break, enjoy your packed lunch surrounded by wildflower meadows with the imposing Sella Group rising across the valley.

The afternoon brings a long but manageable ascent toward Fedaia Pass along an ancient pilgrims’ route. The trail winds through a broad gorge at the foot of mighty Marmolada, where countless streams cascade down, fed by the Dolomites’ largest glacier. Your navigation tools guide you to Fedaia Lake and tonight’s rifugio.

Hiking: 18 km | ↑1,190m ↓1,180m | 7 hrs
Accommodation: Mountain hut at Fedaia Lake

Following the historic Road of Merchants, your route climbs toward the Sella Group, a petrified coral atoll from a prehistoric ocean. This panoramic trail runs along exposed ridges, offering continuously stunning views of the Marmolada glacier behind you and Fedaia Lake far below. The Sella presents itself as an imposing fortress with kilometer-high cliffs and narrow gorges.

Upon reaching the plateau, you’ll enter an otherworldly landscape that genuinely resembles another planet. At nearly 3,000 meters, this heavily eroded terrain stretches in rugged, barren splendor, with sharp rock formations and ancient weathered stone dominating in every direction.

Tonight’s mountain hut, spectacularly positioned on Sella itself, offers extraordinary sunset views across dozens of surrounding peaks.

Hiking: 12 km | ↑1,250m ↓740m | 6 hrs
Accommodation: Mountain hut on the Sella plateau

Rise early for sunrise from your spectacular location, and the first light touching the surrounding peaks creates an unforgettable display.

Today you’ll summit Piz Boè at 3,152 meters, the highest point of the Sella Group and your entire trek. The route takes you deeper into Sella’s surreal lunar landscape, crossing the lifeless plateau where elevations range from 2,500 to 2,900 meters. The summit rewards your challenging ascent with 360-degree panoramas stretching to distant horizons.

After savoring this achievement, your descent follows a dramatically different route through a stunning narrow gorge with thousand-meter walls rising on either side. This natural corridor creates an almost cathedral-like atmosphere before opening up at the foot of the Sassolungo Group, where tonight’s welcoming rifugio awaits.

Hiking: 12 km | ↑900m ↓1,220m | 7 hrs
Accommodation: Mountain hut at the foot of Sassolungo

After two demanding days, today offers a more relaxed pace as you circle the Sassolungo range. This compact massif rises dramatically above surrounding alpine meadows, its distinctive profile towering in isolation.

You have two route options: circumnavigate the entire massif for comprehensive views of the surrounding ranges, the Gardena Valley, and the Alpe di Siusi plateau, or take the more direct southern route crossing through the range via its only trail, ascending to nearly 2,700 meters through a spectacular gorge. Both routes deliver impressive scenery, and the flexibility to choose based on your energy level demonstrates the freedom of self-guided trekking.

Hiking: 10 km | ↑870m ↓780m | 6 hrs
Accommodation: Mountain hut near Sassolungo

Today, you will venture into the Antermoia Group, a vast high-altitude wilderness with minimal vegetation and chaotically scattered peaks separated by just a few passable gorges. This relatively little-traveled area offers genuine mountain solitude, far from any roads or cable cars.

The route ascends through an eastern gorge polished smooth by ancient glaciers, leading to Lake Antermoia at 2,495 meters. The scene here is breathtaking: still, cold waters surrounded by yellowish cliffs soaring 400 meters straight up, creating a stunning contrast between golden rock and deep blue water. This location arguably stands as the most visually spectacular spot on the entire circuit. Take time to savor it, perhaps enjoying lunch by the lake’s shore in this hidden mountain sanctuary.

Hiking: 16 km | ↑930m ↓1,290m | 7 hrs
Accommodation: Mountain hut at Lake Antermoia

Your final full day brings you from Antermoia’s wild gorges to the Rosengarten range, completing your circuit of six massifs. This mountain range is essentially a petrified coral reef stretching ten kilometers, remarkably preserved for 230 million years.

The highlight awaits at Torri di Vajolet, massive rock pinnacles resembling a fairytale castle’s towers. The trail passes beneath them before climbing to the opposite slope, where an even more spectacular viewpoint reveals their full majesty silhouetted against the sky. Another magnificent section is the Shepherds’ Trail, running along a ridge with panoramic views of Rosengarten peaks above and vast talus slopes descending into valleys below.

The day concludes with your descent back to your familiar basecamp hotel in Val di Fassa, completing the circle.

Hiking: 10 km | ↑810m ↓780m | 6 hrs
Accommodation: Hotel in Val di Fassa

Your self-guided Dolomites adventure concludes. Depart from Val di Fassa carrying the satisfaction of having navigated one of the Alps’ great treks, with memories of spectacular landscapes, wildlife encounters, and the freedom of hiking at your own pace through some of Europe’s most stunning mountains.

This 9-day itinerary is also possible to shorten or lengthen to suit your holiday plans. Ranging from 6 to 10 days, we can suggest a trip option to suit your time, budget, and level of activity.

The Fassa Valley allows you to reach alot of the famous landmarks, and with the flexibility of this tour, you can choose what to see and experience.

If you haven’t got time for the full itinerary, get in touch, and we’ll help you plan your ideal trek.