Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Reschenpass area. The drowned Romanesque church tower in the lake here might be the
region's de rigueur roadside photo op, but is still oddly affecting.
Sleeping
Gasthof Grüner Baum
( 0473 83 12 06;
www.gasthofgruenerbaum.it
;
Piazza della Città 7, Glorenza ; d €116; )
Gra-
cious Gasthof Grüner Baum combines arresting contemporary architecture, authentic
charm and quiet luxury - free-standing baths, antiques and handcrafted furniture are
standard issue in the rooms.
BOUTIQUE HOTEL
€€
Getting There & Away
Val Venosta is serviced by the SüdtirolBahn Venosta line, from Merano; from Malles,
Swiss Post buses run to Zernez across the border and SAD bus 273 runs to Nauders in
Austria. Südtirol Express runs coaches to Zurich.
Part of the ancient Via Claudia Augusta forms an easy, and intriguing, 80km bicycle
trail from Merano to Malles.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Parco Nazionale
dello Stelvio
It's not quite Yellowstone, but 1346-sq-km
Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio
( 0469 0 30 46;
www.stelviopark.it
)
is northern Italy's, and the Alps', largest national park, spilling into the
next-door region of Lombardy and bordering with Switzerland's Parco Nazionale
Svizzero.
It's primarily the preserve of walkers who come for the extensive network of well-or-
ganised mountain huts and marked trails which, while often challenging, don't require the
mountaineering know-how necessary elsewhere in the Dolomites. Stelvio's central massif
is guarded over by
Monte Cevedale
(3769m) and
Ortles
(3905m), protecting glaciers, forests
and numerous wildlife species, not to mention many mountain traditions and histories.
Ski facilities are rare, but Stelvio has a couple of well-serviced runs at
Solda
and the
Passo dello Stelvio
(2757m), both of which offer the novelty of year-round skiing. The latter
