Badia, the heart of the Alta Badia between the Puez-Odle and the Fanes-Senes-Braies Nature Parks
Follow the Val Badia road up the valley, past San Martino in Badia, and you will reach Badia. To its east, high up in the mountains of the Dolomites, lies the Fanes-Senes-Braies Nature Park, which extends as far as Lake Braies.
This is also where you will find the Sasso Santa Croce Massif with its pilgrimage church. Below it lies Oies, the birthplace of Saint Josef Freinademetz. To the west, on the other side of the valley, there's the Gardenaccia plateau and the Puez-Odle Nature Park. Abtei, as the holiday resort is called in German, is the heart of the Alta Badia and is made up of several hamlets.
These include the small village of San Leonardo below the mighty Sasso Santa Croce Massif, Pedraces with its Lake Sompunt, San Cassiano with the Museum Ladin Ursus ladinicus, and La Villa, with the famous Gran Risa ski slope, a venue for Ski World Cup races.
The municipality maintains its customs with events such as the St. Leonard Parade, a traditional horseback procession. The small hamlets characteristic of Badia lend the municipality its rural charm. These village-like settlements, known as Les Viles, consist of several farmsteads at more than 1,200 metres above sea level and shared facilities such as a well, oven, chapel, and roads.
In summer, the lifts depart directly from the villages to destinations such as the Summerpark La Crusc and the Gardenaccia Hut. In winter, these lifts provide access to the Alta Badia Skiing Area. With 130 kilometres of pistes, cross-country ski trails, and toboggan runs, it defines winter sports.
