Selva di Val Gardena / Wolkenstein

5.0

Our favourite base in the Dolomites: ski-in, lively evenings and the best start to every day trip.

Stayed here
Dantercepies and Col Bustac above Selva in January1,563 m
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Forecast at 1800 m today: low / high, modelled snow depth, and new snow in the last 24 hours.

Terrain5.0
Snow4.5
Lifts4.5
Village5.0
Mountain food5.0
Après4.5
Families5.0
Value4.5
Best for
Experts
Intermediates
Families
Beginners

Is Selva the best place to stay in Val Gardena?

For a skier, yes. Selva (Wolkenstein in German, often just called "Val Gardena") is our favourite village in the region. It's bigger than Santa Cristina, has a lot of ski-in places to stay, and sits right on the Sella Ronda, so it's the best place to start the day whichever way you go.

It's also one of the two liveliest villages in the valley, on par with Ortisei: quite a few clubs and many good restaurants. Prices are on the mid-to-high side for the region, about the same as Ortisei.

The skiing

Our favourite local run comes down from Ciampinoi: take the gondola to the top and ski back down along the lift line, past the mid-station. It's long and wide, with lots of changes in steepness, so you get to ski at different paces and styles in one run, and it's surrounded by forest. The Saslong World Cup downhill is next door above Santa Cristina.

Day routes

Ski from Selva

5 day routes from here, with how to start each one from Selva.

Sella Ronda orange (clockwise)

Full dayRed runsIntermediate and up
  • Dantercepies gondola
  • Passo Gardena
  • Colfosco and Corvara
  • Passo Campolongo
  • Arabba
  • Passo Pordoi
  • Down to Plan Frataces
  • Passo Sella
  • Back to Val Gardena

From here: The Dantercepies gondola leaves from the village.

The circuit around the Sella group, clockwise. It's our preferred direction: a bit steeper and faster than the green, though the difference isn't big. The long, wide red from the Pordoi side down to Plan Frataces, near Canazei, is one of the best runs of the day.

Start before 10:00 and cross the last pass before 15:30. That's the official advice, and missing a link means a long taxi ride home.

Sella Ronda green (anticlockwise)

Full dayRed runsIntermediate and up
  • Ciampinoi
  • Plan de Gralba
  • Passo Sella
  • Down to Plan Frataces
  • Passo Pordoi
  • Arabba
  • Passo Campolongo
  • Corvara and Colfosco
  • Passo Gardena
  • Back to Selva

From here: The Ciampinoi gondola leaves from the village.

The same circuit the other way round, through the Città dei Sassi boulder field under the Sassolungo. The red down from Passo Sella to Plan Frataces is long, wide and scenic, with an amazing vibe.

Same timing as the orange: start before 10:00 and cross the last pass before 15:30.

Marmolada and Punta Rocca

Longest dayBlack runsGood skiers who keep the pace
  • Sella Ronda to Arabba
  • Lifts to Passo Padon
  • Down to Malga Ciapela
  • Marmolada cable car, 3 sections
  • Punta Rocca 3,265 m
  • La Bellunese
  • Back to Arabba
  • Finish the Sella Ronda

From here: Either Sella Ronda direction from the village. Leave by 9:00.

The big one. Ride either Sella Ronda direction to Arabba, cross to Malga Ciapela and take the three-section cable car up the Marmolada, with restaurants and souvenir shops on the way. From the observation deck at Punta Rocca you see the Marmolada glacier and the whole Sella group in front of you, often with the clouds below. Then ski La Bellunese down, about 12 km, long, steep and bumpy, and finish the Sella Ronda you started. If you have time, the Porta Vescovo detour from Arabba adds a couple of nice reds through the forest.

The difficulty is pace. Leave by 9:00 (10:00 at the latest, and only if you're well prepared), have lunch in or near Arabba, ideally after the Marmolada, and leave Punta Rocca by 14:30 at the very latest, only if you're fast and skip lunch. It can be very windy at the top even on a clear day.

Alpe di Siusi, the far point

Shortest dayBlue runsAll levels
  • Cable car from Ortisei
  • Alpe di Siusi plateau
  • Compatsch
  • Puflatsch lift
  • The Puflatsch black
  • Back across the plateau

From here: The longest approach from here: down the valley through Santa Cristina and Ortisei.

Across the valley from Seceda lies the Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm), Europe's largest high-alpine meadow. The runs are mostly basic blues, so beginners and intermediates will love it. Strong skiers should head for the far edge near Compatsch: the combined gondola-and-chair lift goes up to the Puflatsch (Bullaccia) plateau at about 2,100 m, where you ski along the top on a red and turn left onto a short black. It's very steep, streamlined and usually well groomed, a chance to just full send it and check your top speed in your app.

Alta Badia: Corvara to Santa Croce

Full dayBlue runsRelaxed, suits less experienced skiers
  • Corvara
  • Col Alt gondola
  • Piz La Ila
  • Red or black to La Villa
  • Through to Badia
  • La Crusc gondolas
  • Santa Croce 2,045 m
  • Same way back

From here: Orange Sella Ronda as far as Corvara.

A nice, easy day trip with lots of blues. From Corvara, take the Col Alt gondola and ski down into the valley where many pistes meet: a good place to just ski and explore. Cross to Piz La Ila and take the red or the black down to La Villa (both are good), ski through towards Badia, then two gondola sections take you up to Santa Croce, the furthest point, by its pilgrimage church. Ski the same way back.

From Val Gardena, Corvara is half a Sella Ronda away, so count the time to get back over Passo Gardena.

All Dolomiti Superski day routes

Getting there

Take the train from Milan to Bolzano (Bozen), usually changing at Verona; it's a very good link. From Bolzano, and from Chiusa or Bressanone, regional buses run up the valley, so you don't need a car or a private transfer. Bolzano and Bressanone (Brixen) are both sizeable Alpine towns and nice to walk around if you have an hour between trains.