Elite sport, archaeological parks and scenic adventures in Val Senales

The images of the tarpaulins covering the glacier to protect it from accelerated melting speak unequivocally of the effects of climate change; yet in Val Senales, the glacier is not merely a destination to be reached and photographed, but rather a sort of living archive where nature, history and archaeological research converge. The cable car, which climbs almost vertically from the village, leads to one of the most spectacular settings in the Alps, dominated by the peaks of the Ortles-Cevedale range, and which takes on a different character in summer, with the ski runs giving way to hiking trails and the high-altitude mountain huts becoming welcoming terraces where one can find milder temperatures. The ‘figure’ that characterises Val Senales is Ötzi, the Similaun mummy discovered in 1991 by two hikers on the Giogo di Tisa at an altitude of 3,210 metres (the site is a destination for guided hikes) and is now the focal point of visits to the Val Senales archeoParc or a climb to the Iceman Ötzi Peak viewing platform on the Croda delle Cornacchie at an altitude of 3,251 metres. From here, the view stretches across 126 peaks over three thousand metres in Italia, Austria and Switzerland, whilst the art installation ‘Our Glacial Perspective’, situated just a few minutes’ walk from the Glacier Hotel Grawand, at the top station of the Alpin Arena Senales lift (from this summer, the Cabrio Adventure is also available – a panoramic structure that accommodates up to ten people on the cabin roof), invites visitors to reflect on the relationship between humankind and the environment through a dialogue between art and landscape. Down in the valley, too, there is no shortage of opportunities to experience the mountains, from Mountaincart rides along woodland trails to via ferrata routes and the Ötzi Rope Park adventure park. Last but not least, Val Senales also offers its guests a calendar of international sporting events: from 30 July to 1 August, the glacier hosts the Alpine Trail, a trail running event that attracts professional athletes and enthusiasts alike to routes with a maximum length of 58 kilometres and over 3,600 metres of elevation gain.