A challenging mountain tour from the vast expanses of the Villandro Alp to the two peaks in the Sarentino Alps
Image gallery: Mountain tour Monte Villandro and Sarentino Ridge
A beautiful July day, two peaks - this is our summer hike. Our starting point is the car park at the Gasser Hut, the gateway to the hiking and local recreation area of the Villandro Alp. It can be reached via the road from Villandro, passing the hamlet of Oberland.
We follow trail no. 6 and head west across flowering alpine meadows, past mountain huts and through dwarf pine forests. We then reach the Totenkirchl church at an altitude of over 2,000 metres. This tiny chapel is still a place of pilgrimage and stands at the transition into the Val Sarentino. This is also where the path up to the summit of the Monte di Villandro begins.
Before we reach the summit, trail no. 2A first leads us up to the Totensee lake and the Forcella dell'Alpe saddle. Only then have we scaled the table mountain, walking across the barren rocky and grassy landscape for the final stretch to the summit cross. The wild landscape at 2,500 metres has a distinct atmosphere, characterised by a peaceful silence and nature just waking up from its winter sleep, with vibrant mountain primroses, anemones, rhododendrons, and gentians.
Only the whistling of marmots and the courtship song of the northern wheatear interrupt the quiet from time to time. From the summit, we can look down onto the Val Sarentino. Soon we continue southwards: The next peak, the Forcella Sarentina, or Sarner Scharte, awaits us - a trail up here also leads from Sarentino. Although the weather today barely allows for a clear view, we can still make out distant peaks as far as the Monte Baldo near Lake Garda.
We descend via trail no. 3. While we have enjoyed well-maintained paths up to this point, a slightly more difficult section now follows down to the bivouac and further through a rocky landscape to the Sella dei Sentieri in the Sarentino Alps. The final stretch on trail no. 7A to the Moar in Plun Hut, a well-graded track, is much more relaxing. After some refreshments at the hut, we walk the final kilometre down to the hiker's car park at the Gasser Hut.
Author: AT
Experienced: July 2013
Last updated: 2026
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- Starting point:
- hiker's car park at the Gasser Hut (1,753 m a.s.l.)
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- Overall time:
- 06:00 h
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- Total route length:
- 17,8 km
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- Altitude:
- from 1.753 m to 2.508 m
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- Altitude difference (uphill | downhill):
- +818 m | -818 m
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- Signposts:
- no. 6, 2A, 2, 3, 7A, 6
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- Destination:
- Monte di Villandro (2,509 m a.s.l.) and Forcella Sarentina (2,458 m a.s.l.)
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- Resting points:
- Gasser Hut (all year round), Pfroder snack station at the Totenkirchl church, Mair in Plun Hut (both from May to November)
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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:
- Mountain tour Monte Villandro and Sarentino Ridge
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- More information:
- The overall time shown above refers to the walking time only, not including breaks or stops.
If you want to undertake this hike, we recommend checking the weather and trail conditions in advance and on site before starting this hike!
