Ganda - Appiano - South Tyrolean Wine Road - Oltradige

The wooded Monte Ganda above the settlement of Ganda on the border to Caldaro is very popular among hikers and mountain bikers

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Video : The Ice Holes of Appiano
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Ganda is one of the eleven villages that belong to Appiano: It is a purely residential area, but meanwhile has more than 2,000 inhabitants and has therefore been declared a separate district.
Foto: AP, © Peer
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From the Crocevia settlement, which still belongs to San Michele and where the bus also stops, the route leads to Ganda di Sotto and Ganda di Sopra.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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Decades ago, in the 1950s, the first residential buildings were built in Ganda di Sotto on the municipal border to Caldaro on the Wine Road.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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View from the Wine Road near San Michele Appiano to Ganda di Sopra and the wooded Monte Ganda - with Mt. Mendola towering above.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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Ganda (Gand) is actually a large landslide area: According to legend, there was once a town here that disappeared under the rock masses due to the wicked behaviour of its citizens.
Foto: EMS, © Peer
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The place name also refers to the piles of boulders that can be seen everywhere: It is derived from “ganda” or “glanda” and means “stone rubble”.
Foto: MF, © Peer
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Numerous hiking trails lead through the forests on Mount Ganda, here the meadows on the Appiano High Route around Masaccio (Matschatsch).
Foto: AT, © Peer
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The famous Ice Holes can also be reached from Ganda - hidden in the forest above the village is a place where you can find icicles even in summer.
Foto: ED, © Peer
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The natural spectacle: This phenomenon, which is worth seeing and above all feeling, is explained by the physical principle of the wind tunnel.
Foto: MF, © Peer
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Here are the Appiano Ice Holes (Eislöcher)… icicles at the exit of the caves in the rocks, a spectacular sight and a welcome cooling in summer.
Foto: ED, © Peer
video : A day in Appiano

There, where the Oltradige area transitions from Appiano into its second half, Caldaro, are the houses of Ganda. The hill above it also bears the same name: Monte Ganda. The debris cones at its foot are the scene of a special natural phenomenon that attracts numerous hikers in summer: the famous Ice Holes. Air flows in from the top through the quartz porphyry layers of the boulders, cools down and leaves the rocks at the bottom as a stream of cool air. In this place, in the middle of an otherwise Mediterranean climate, unique high alpine vegetation grows.

Traces of early human settlement have been found in Ganda. The area on the South Tyrolean Wine Road was already appreciated by the Romans, who cultivated vines here. However, the first traces of settlement, such as pottery shards found in the municipal area of Appiano, go back much further, to 5000 BC. There are no historic buildings in Ganda itself: The magnificent Ganda Castle already stands in Pigeno, which belongs to San Michele. The first residential buildings were built in Ganda di Sotto (Untere Gand) from the 1950s, followed by Ganda di Sopra (Obere Gand).

The location is ideal for excursions on foot or by bike. The Caldaro district of Pianizza di Sopra borders on Ganda (Gand), above which rises Mt. Ganda (Gandberg) with its shady forests. Boulders are scattered all over the area. From here, you can also reach the Mendola Pass and Mt. Macaion by mountain bike: Bend after bend, you climb the famous pass road up to 1,362 m a.s.l., which shows you beautiful Lake Caldaro and the whole Oltradige area from a unique perspective.

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