Geopark Bletterbach/ il GEPOPARC Bletterbach

One Sunday morning we set off to see the biggest canyon in South Tirol, the Bletterbach. It's a huge gorge rich in fossils, and indeed you can see numerous finds including fossilised dinosaur footprints, fishes, gastropods and plants in the nearby geological museum at Radein/Redagno (the website is only in German and Italian) and at the Visitors' Centre at the carpark of Bletterbach.  

Visitors' Centre and the car park

We left our car at the car park near the Visitors' Centre (3 euros per day) and followed the signs for Malga Lahner/ Lahneralm  (http://www.lahneralm.com) at 1583m above the sea level. There in the traditional mountain surroundings we had a delicious meal of simple mountain food, including sausages, cabbage salad and potatos. Apparantly in Autumn they serve deer and lamb so you can say that their food is seasonal. In summer it's very busy both, with local people and turists. When we went there in August we had to wait 1 hour for our meal, but when we returned there in October there were no huge crowds and we didn't have to wait at all.

From the malga we went back to the Visitors' Centre from where we followed the signs for the Bletterbach Canyon. It's really impressive and worth the hike although you won't be able to go there with a buggy. The path is quite steep and difficult and it's advisible to wear a pair of mountain boots.

Don't dispair, however, because there are many gentle paths for buggies in the area, including the Forest Educational Path. It's well signposted and accompanied by various displays of information on wildlife, though only in German and Italian. My childen loved playing with one of the boards, pressing different buttons to hear the sounds of various birds.

How to get there: Follow the highway A22 towards Bolzano, get off the highway at Egna/Cavalese/Ora and follwo the signs for Aldino and then for Bletterbach, park at the Visitors' Centre.

Duration: from about 2 hours onwards, depending if you want to go an visit the canyon as well.


Level: easy if you stay on the Forest Educational Path, more difficult if you want to see the Canyon.

Refreshments, toilets and baby changing facilities: at Malga Lahner/ Lahneralm and at the Visitors' Centre.

Useful websites:  

http://www.suedtirol.info/Aldino_Redagno_Aldein_Radein/Advice_and_suggestions_for_families/D-807-en-Geoparc_Bletterbach_gorge.html

http://www.aldein-radein.com/en/bletterbach.html

http://www.suedtirols-sueden.info/en/dolomites/unesco-bletterbach.html