A scenic tour through the Valle di Landro and across the alpine pastures of Prato Piazza down to Braies Vecchia and Dobbiaco Nuova
Image gallery: MTB tour to the Prato Piazza
A beautiful round trip with varied scenery along good forest tracks and cycle paths in the Fanes-Senes-Braies Nature Park awaits us. We start at the Dobbiaco railway station and ride through the Valle di Landro, which connects Dobbiaco with Cortina d'Ampezzo. After about two kilometres, we reach Lake Dobbiaco, where the cycle path continues further into the valley along the lakeshore.
Following the upper course of the Rienza River, we continue to the lovely Lake Landro. After the lake, we switch to the Alemagna state road (SS51) for a short distance to reach the hamlet of Carbonin. At the junction for Misurina and the Three Peaks of Lavaredo, we keep right towards the Passo di Cimabanche and Cortina. After about 500 metres, we finally see it: the forest road leading up to the Prato Piazza, also known as Plätzwiese in German. Now we face our first real climb.
Ten hairpin bends and 550 metres of elevation to tackle before we reach the highest point. During the ascent, views open up towards the Monte Cristallo and the Croda Rossa d'Ampezzo, a 3,146-metre high rock giant which dominates the alpine landscape of the Prato Piazza.
An exceptional sight! Once at the top, we continue for about three kilometres on a flat gravel path that winds from the Vallandro Hut (Dürrensteinhütte) to the Prato Piazza Hut. It is easy to see why this area is considered one of the most beautiful in the Val Pusteria Dolomites.
We cannot resist stopping for refreshments before heading back. The descent follows the asphalted mountain road down to Ponticello, where the Braies road leads to the end of the valley. Joining the "Pusterbike" cycle path, we enjoy a relaxed ride back to Dobbiaco.
Author: AT
Experienced: June 2018
Last updated: 2026
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- Starting point:
- railway station of Dobbiaco (1,210 m a.s.l.)
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- Overall time:
- 04:20 h
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- Total route length:
- 45,5 km
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- Altitude:
- from 1.133 m to 2.001 m
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- Altitude difference (uphill | downhill):
- +879 m | -879 m
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- Route:
- Dobbiaco - Lake Dobbiaco - Lake Landro - Carbonin - Prato Piazza - Ponticello - Braies Vecchia - Braies di Fuori - Villabassa - Dobbiaco
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- Signposts:
- "E1" (Munich-Venice cycle route), "Plätzwiese", LS80 / LS47 (Braies Valley), Pusterbike cycle path
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- Destination:
- Prato Piazza (2,001 m a.s.l.)
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- Resting points:
- Vallandro Hut, Prato Piazza mountain inn (both from may to October/November), bars and coffee shops in the single villages and at Lake Dobbiaco and Lake Landro
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- Track surface:
- 25.3 km asphalt roads, 20.2 km gravel paths
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- Recommended time of year:
- Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
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- Download GPX track:
- MTB tour to the Prato Piazza
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- More information:
- The overall time shown above refers to the cycling time only, not including breaks or stops.
We highly recommend checking the weather and trail conditions in advance and on site before starting this tour.
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