Come by train or on foot to an unforgettable trekking experience in the Stelvio National Park. You will discover the raw beauty of Rabbi Valley (Trentino Alto Adige). Ready to go?
A growing wonder just outside Trento
When I got to Malè railway station, in the heart of Val di Sole, I almost regretted stepping off the train due to the awesome sights I was getting used to while watching outside the window.
The first scenes of this beautiful sights are just outside Trento, when the train leaves the wide valley of river Adige and suddenly turns right to follow the path of river Noce.
Once passed Mezzolombardo, the valley closes itself, but just to disclose the second magnificent series of beautiful landscapes in the passage through Non Valley. Beyond this valley you can see another bottleneck that anticipates the growing impact of the next valley.
As you enter Val di Sole you can already feel like you are in the High Alps, thanks to its vertical stones, dense forests and long lasting winters. Unfortunately, I have no time to explore it because I have to get off the train in Malè, where I will get to know Rabbi and its territory.
A raw nature that gradually discloses itself
Val di Rabbi does not reveal everything about itself all at once, its beauty does not astonish at a first glance like other alpine valleys do, showing their majesty already at the first km and gently offering the best position for a beautiful photo without efforts to walk.
Val di Rabbi reveals its genuine and raw charm only to whoever has the patience to climb its stairway to the sky.
I pass easily through the bottom of the valley because I am looking forward to exploring one of the most unspoilt places of the Stelvio National Park, which is one of the 5 Historic National Parks and covers 1300 Kmq of the Alpine area.
Wide suspended valleys, witnesses of ancient and mighty glacial erosions: here steep climbs, which are usually cut in the stones, alternate to wide plains, where the farther you go, the more you will discover new natural landscapes.
You will see first fir forests turning into ancient larches, then alder shrubs that are resistant to avalanches, then meadows with flowered bogs and lastly, just under the picks, scree covered with lichen and bare vertical rocks.
The final part of the tour: a good reason to remain up in the mountains
Why have I climbed up to this point?
There is no famous pick here, no easy access to the near glaciers of Ortles and Cevedale. This is a place for people in love with the unspoilt nature and silence.
Indeed, as often happens in the mountains, the best comes when you start feeling the efforts you are making, the lust for climbing is already satisfied and your mind is ready to welcome the beauty of the view.
Here above there is a whole new world to see slowly, to explore enjoying every single meter because it can disclose wonders that are invisible from below.
Here above you can see Sternai little Lakes and the path linking them like pearls of a necklace. Here you will enjoy the view over the Careser glacier from Bocca di Saent. Here there is Campisol Valley, which is an ancestral corner of paradise.
Here it is worth waiting for the night and spending another day to enjoy the mountains in their most natural way.
My favourite itinerary in Stelvio Natural Park
Day 1. Starting from Trento you have to catch the train directed to Non Valley and Val di Sole. In a couple of hours you will reach Malè, where a bus will drive you through Rabbi Valley up to Coler parking area. Here, you will have to start climbing the mountain on foot, following the directions to Dorigoni hut. The route offers many chances to have a rest while admiring the landscape and the natural monuments of the Saent Waterfalls and the ancient larches. During the evening you will reach Dorigoni hut, which will be your starting point for the following hikes.
Day 2. The high Saent Valley is worth a daily exploration. In the morning you can go up to Bocca di Saent where you will admire the Careser glacier esplanade and the picks of the near Cevedale mountain range. Then you can come back to the hut and in the afternoon you can go hiking on the other side of the valley, along an easy path leading to Sternai little Lakes. You will be spoilt for choice in choosing the most suggestive and panoramic view.
Day 3. You will reach Giogo Nero and enter Ulten Valley. From here you can further climb up to the panoramic Collecchio pick or go down to Fontana Bianca Lake and Saint Gertrude village. If you catch the bus, you will have to step off in Lana (Vinschgau/Val Venosta) and then catch the train to Trento.