A trip to the Dolomites wouldn’t be complete without seeing the famous Seceda ridgeline.
Hiking to the Seceda ridgeline and beyond is the perfect way to explore the heart of the Puez Ödle Nature Park and if you plan road-tripping the Dolomites, add this place to your bucket list!
How To Reach The Seceda Ridgeline
- Distance: 6km / 3.7 mi
- Walking time: 3-4 h
- Hiking difficulty: easy/moderate
- Elevation gain: 400 m / 1300 ft
- When to go: June – October
- Map: Tabacco 05 (Val Gardena)
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If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below!
The closest lift that is operational for most of the summer (June 1st – October 15th) is the Col Raiser Gondola. Its lower terminal is in the town of Selva di Val Gardena in a small subdistrict called Plan Da Tieja. There is a big parking lot behind the gondola station.
Since it is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area, there are signs all over town pointing to it.
A return journey costs 20 Euro and the tickets are valid for one week. This is valuable information in case you were planning an overnight stay in Puez-Odle Nature Park.
If you don’t want to take the cable car, then the hiking trail to get to the upper terminal (path 1 onto 1A) zigzags underneath the gondola, in and out of the tree line with a few glimpses southward to the peaks of Sassolungo and Sassopiatto.
Far better views are to come so by taking the cable car you aren’t going to miss anything and I highly advise that you take advantage of it, saving the energy for what’s to come.
With your gondola ticket, you will be given a hiking map of the area with a few ideas of where to walk. Whilst it’s not the most sophisticated map it will keep you on the right path.
Hiking in the Dolomites is always easy. With plenty of signs and route markings everywhere, it’s hard to get lost. However, if you want peace of mind or plan on exploring the area around Puez Odle National Park more, then purchase Tobacco Map nr 05.
To reach the Seceda ridgeline from the upper Col Raiser gondola terminal take path nr 2. It is really more a backcountry road than a hiking trail.
The quickest route heads steadily uphill then take a right turn onto path 1A, then another right again onto path 6, eventually bringing you to the famous viewpoint. Frankly speaking, there’s a multitude of paths and unnamed desire lines that you can take there but these are the main arteries.
It takes around an hour from the Col Raiser upper terminal to the viewpoint.
NOTE: If you’re hiking from the lower terminal, where the Col raiser gondola leaves from, then just stay on path nr 1A from earlier on and follow it all the way to the Seceda ridgeline viewpoint. In this case, it will take you 3 hours to reach it.
Once you’ve admired the view at the top of the Seceda chairlift it’s time to explore the area more. Head directly towards the famous spires on path nr 1. This will take you past some incredible huts and viewpoints of the cliffs to your left and Sassolungo to your right.
After around 30 minutes on path number 1, barely left onto path nr 2B to reach Malga Pieralongia. There are signs pointing to it. Nearby you can find the incredible “Lion King Rock” – a small, shark-tooth-looking spire (see photo above).
From here follow the signs via ferrata Sass Rigais, before turning right onto path nr 13B then 13, and descending to rifugio Firenze.
This is a great place for a cold beer on their huge patio area, overlooking the Puez Odle Altiplano. From Rifugio Firenze, it’s only 15 minutes back to the upper Col Raiser Terminal or a 1.5-hour hike back to the lower terminal along the access road behind the hut (Path nr 1).
If you want to experience the sunrise at the Seceda ridgeline then unfortunately the gondola isn’t of much use as it only starts at 8 am.
What I suggest is to take the last gondola the evening before, stay overnight in Rifugio Firenze and walk the 45 minutes to 1-hour hike to the Seceda viewpoint in the morning.
Rifugio Firenze is a great place to explore more of Puez Odle Nature Park especially if you want to scramble to its highest peak Sass Rigais or experience classic Dolomiti cuisine and culture.
If you have any questions about this hike or would like to add something, post it in the comments. I will be happy to help!
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Hello, do you know if by chance there is a bus I can take to get from Passo Falzarego to Ortisei? I know there might not be since it is a high mountain pass and the alternative would be to go back to Dobbiaco and take the train to Waidbruck.
Hi Maxwell. There are buses that stop at Passo Falzarego. You might just have to look for connections. For example Falzarego to Corvara and then Corvara to Ortisei. Sued Tirol Mobil is a pretty good site to look for connections. Bus stops are marked on google maps so you will be able to check for the exact names of bus stops when zooming in onto the locations. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have more questions!
Hi Marta – first a big thanks for your travel guides which my girlfriend and I have used in many countries! For this Seceda hike, I thought I’d double check the chairlift schedule as these can change. The website linked below seems to suggest that it is now possible to take the Cableway Ortisei – Furnes, then the Cable Car Furnes-Seceda over the summer from 28 May to 2 Nov: https://www.seceda.it/en/summer
Can I check if these cableway/car options are indeed reaching the same destination that you hike to in this post?
Hi Joe, Yes they are reaching the same destination. In fact, Furnes is actually better as it takes you directly to the viewpoint. My post needs updating as it was written in 2018 when the schedules were quite different.
Hi Marta – My wife and I like best to find one location and do day hikes from there for a week. Rent house/apartments through VRBO or airbnb. Loop hikes of course are best but out and back work for us as well. Hikes of 3-6 hours. Can you recommend good locations for us? Prefer not to be in big ski towns with large complexes and hotels! ANy suggestions would be much appreciated as I am having trouble finding options. Thanks!
Hi Gray! Thanks for stopping by. I do have an article about the best places to stay in the Dolomites which is in the photography section of my guide. I recommend that you check it out.
If you plan on staying for a whole week I recommend either somewhere in Pustertal (Dobiacco, San Candido or Monguelfo with the latter being the least touristic). From there you have easy access to such hikes as Durrenstein, Val Fiscalina, Lake Dobiacco circuit, Lago di Braies to Seekofel, Monte Piana and also a few via ferratas if you were interested in those. Another great place would be Cortina, but it is quite touristy, however San Vito Di Cadore is only 15 minutes drive from Cortina and a lot less touristy, yet still with great access to many hikes in the area. I have an article about via ferratas in the Cortina Area. The hikes easily accessible from Cortina are Croda Da Lago Circuit, Lake Sorapiss, Tre Cime Circuit, Lagazuoi Tunnels, Passo Falzarego to Passo Giau via Cinque Torri, just to name a few. I hope that helps! Let me know if I can help further! P.S. I have guides for most of these hikes I have mentioned.
You guides are amazing!
Thanks loads Brennan! I hope you find them very useful!