Senales - Val Senales valley

Picturesque villages such as Certosa, Madonna di Senales and Vernago belong to the Val Senales, where the majestic glacier rises.

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01/23/2022 -4° +4° Weekly weather forecast
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The snow-sure ski area on the Senales Glacier is called Alpin Arena Senales and offers 30 km of slopes starting at 3,200 m a.s.l.
Foto: AB, © Peer
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Not only the winter sports facilities and Europe’s highest hotel are impressive, but also the view on the mountain world.
Foto: AB, © Peer
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The ski area on the border between South Tyrol and Austria also offers winter sports enthusiasts a sledge run and cross-country ski tracks with a total length of 7 km.
Foto: AP, © Peer
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In winter, the challenging ski tour on the 3,739 m high Weißkugel, the highest peak in the Ötztal Alps after the Wildspitze, starts in Maso Corto.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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Various mountain huts and snack stations remain open in winter and invite you to a nice stop and a hot cup of tea.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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The moderately difficult Lazaun sledge run starts at the Malga Lazaun and ends at the valley station of the glacier lifts.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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The Lazaun Cable Car… there is also a 2 km long circular cross-country ski track - the second cross-country ski track in the Senales Valley can be found on Mount Hochjoch.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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Breathtaking views, an idyllic high mountain landscape and larch forests - that’s the rustic Bergl Alm hut in the Senales Valley.
Foto: AT, © Peer
video : From Val Senales to Unterstell
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Summer view on Certosa, the seat of the municipality of Senales, which was named after the Carthusian monastery there.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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If you follow the Val Senales road for another 5 km, you will come to Madonna di Senales, a little mountain village at an altitude of 1,500 m a.s.l.
Foto: EMS, © Peer
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The archaeological open-air and active museum archeoParc offers a permanent exhibition about Ötzi as well as an outdoor area.
Foto: EMS, © Peer
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Listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Transhumance is the only movement of sheep in the world that crosses a glacier and a national border.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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At any time of year, the emerald-green Lake Vernago, a reservoir in the middle of the Senales Valley, is a popular destination that can be walked around in two hours.
Foto: AD, © Peer
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At the end of the valley lies Maso Corto, where the Senales Glacier Railways start on the mighty glacier, a famous hiking and skiing area.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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The ascent from Vernago to the Similaun Mountain Hut (3,019 m a.s.l.) with the Ötzi discovery site next to it is one of the most beautiful hut hikes in South Tyrol.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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Not only hikers, but also mountain bikers are attracted by the rustic Val di Fosse valley in the Tessa Group Nature Park: there you can discover the Almerlebnisweg (alpine adventure trail).
Foto: AP, © Peer
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The multi-day hike along the Merano High Altitude Path leads past Monte Santa Caterina, which is dominated by its parish church on a rock.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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video : Val Senales skiing area

There, where the Merano region merges into the Val Venosta valley, the Val Senales branches off and stretches to the glaciers at the end of the valley, where Ötzi was on his way thousands of years ago. Apart from the entrance area of the valley, Senales covers the whole of the rest of the valley, the Val di Fosse in the Tessa Group Nature Park and the surrounding mountain areas, making it one of the largest municipalities in South Tyrol. There you will find the villages of Certosa, Madonna di Senales (main village), Maso Corto, Monte Santa Caterina and Vernago with its reservoir.

At the head of the Val Senales, which branches off from Naturno and covers the whole municipal area, there is the valley station of the Val Senales Glacier Cable Cars, taking winter sports enthusiasts in the skiing area on the glacier where you can ski from autumn to late spring. Those walking on foot may take a look at the world from above from the Iceman Oetzi Peak, the new viewing platform at 3,212 m a.s.l.

The memory of the past is kept alive in the valley: at the centuries-old movement of sheep from Madonna di Senales to Vent in Austria in June as well as on the search of Ötzi's traces. The "Iceman" was found in 1991 on the Similaun in the Ötztal Alps and is now housed in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano. The archeoParc Senales active museum, an alpine marathon and various events are dedicated to him.

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