AUGUST 2024
Seceda is one of the iconic peaks of the Dolomites, it even is the highest peak of the Val Gardena region. When I was doing research for our visit to Seceda I read a lot of complex blogs that explained how hard the hike to Seceda was. Actually there are low intensity options as well, you can easily spend a day doing easy hikes with kids, or like me, when you are having lower back issues.
Practical information
The easiest way to get to Seceda is from Ortisei. In Ortisei you can buy tickets for the gondola which takes you all the way up to Seceda, you only need to transfer once. A roundtrip with the gondola costs € 45 per person and it decreases your hiking time so much, that it really is worth it. There are several car parks in Ortisei, but there is only one carpark for campervans. We parked our campervan at the gondola to Alpe di Siusi. Here there is about 20 spots where you can park a campervan in Ortisei. We arrived at around 9AM in June and there were plenty of spots available.
Ortisei definitely is worth a visit too. It is a super cute and colorful alpine town and we had a little walk around time to explore.
Seceda photospots
Because I had a herniated disc I tried to limit my hiking time at Seceda and mainly focused on admiring my surroundings and taking pictures. We visited in June and Seceda was the busiest spot that we visited in the Dolomites. Probably because it is absolutely stunning and really easy to get to!
When we stepped out of the gondola, we immediately walked down the pathway that leads to the Seceda ridgeline. We got super lucky that there was some mysterious fog surrounding Seceda, which created a super cool effect in our pictures and made it easy to edit out a few other people 😉
On the way down to Seceda we also encountered lots of yellow wildflowers, which was perfect for my yellow sweater! This view actually is the backside of the view that you see in Val di Funes.
The other viewpoint which I really loved was Panorama sulle Odle, which is only a short walk up from the gondola. From here you get that whole panoramic view, with the green field in front of the Seceda ridgeline.
Don’t forget to look in the other direction, as you can see the other mountain peaks of the Puez-Odle Natural Park.
Food at Seceda
There are a few mountain huts near the Seceda gondola. I don’t think you can make a bad decision here as the Italian alpine food is very good. We chose to have lunch at Restaurant Seceda directly at the gondola, it offers stunning views over the moutains and the food (especially the knödel) were delicious.
Other things to do near Seceda
There are two activities near Seceda which I particularly enjoyed:
Passo Val Gardena: We had to drive the Val Gardena mountain pass to get to our next destination, but I would have driven it for fun! At times the pass is steep and curvy so you need to be comfortable with that, but we loved the views along the way. Bonus: it is completely free! You can actually do lots of little hikes along the way and I should have done more research. I wish we would have stopped longer to take some pics with Cinque Torri.
Alpe di Siusi: This is a stunning alpine meadow, which we had visited on a previous trip to the Dolomites. You can actually combine a visit to Seceda and Alpe di Siusi in one day, but you will make lots of gondola costs and I would advise to take it slow and fully enjoy both locations.
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