Region: Lago di Sorapis, Ampezzo, Dolomites, Italy
Place To Stay: Cortina d’Ampezzo is the largest closest town to Lago di Sorapis, there are also plenty of rural villages where you can stay: Stay in Cortina d’Ampezzo | Dolomites Rural Accommodation
If you’re looking for a relaxing spa hotel after hiking or skiing, check out my Top 10 Spa Hotel picks, or if you want Hotels with Spectacular Mountain Views, click here.
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Lago Di Sorapis Trail #215 is a up and down on the same track hike, the end point is a beautiful glacial lake, framed Hollywood style at the foot of Dito di Dio (“Finger of God”). As you get really close to the top, you walk through some very large rocks, and then suddenly you see the lake and the mountain behind it, it’s an unbelievable feeling, almost spiritual.
We walked this in May, and there was still a lot of snow around at the top, but this just added to the experience. But it meant we didn’t get to see the aqua blue lake as it was frozen over which it’s famed for, and why thousands hike this route every year, but at the same time we did get the lake side pretty much to ourselves.
Most people base themselves in Cortina d’Ampezzo or Dobbiaco to hike the Sorapis and Tre Cime trails. These towns have excellent hotels — from wellness spas to budget hostels.
Where to Stay
Rosapetra SPA Resort
5★ mountain wellness resort with panoramic indoor pool, saunas, and stylish rooms. Highly rated (9.0★) and a short drive from the centre.
👉 [See photos & reviews on Booking.com]
Ambra Cortina Luxury & Fashion Boutique Hotel
Centrally located 4★ boutique hotel, styled with velvet, wood, and chandeliers. Great reviews for service and breakfast.
👉 [Check availability via Booking.com]
🧭 Tip: Staying in Cortina d’Ampezzo gives easy access to Sorapis, Tre Cime and Cinque Torri.
B&B Hotel Passo Tre Croci Cortina
Budget-friendly and closest to the trailhead.
👉 [See photos & availability on Booking.com]
Getting There: Directions, GPX and App Link
- We stayed in Cortina, and we drove from there to the start point, so make sure you got satnav in some way or another.
- You leave the beautiful town on the main roads, and head out to get onto the SR48 road to a roadside car parking area, this google maps link and address SR48, 32043 Cortina d’Ampezzo BL, Italy, will get you there.
- You will see a tourist information board at the start of the path, and a path leading you through the field into the forest.
- Follow this route on the Outdooractive App, it is free, and it will guide you around safely.
- Download my hand crafted *GPX file, and use it on your own guidance devices.
From Heathrow, we flew to Venice Marco Polo, and hired cars, Skyscanner found the cheapest flights, try the flight widget below.
Hike Profile
- Distance: 8m / 13km
- Duration: 6-6.5 hours (lots of sightseeing)
- Highest point: 6312ft / 1923m
- Difficulty: Moderatly difficult (steep short climbs), sometimes loose terrain through the woods and cliff side edges with cable guides, but season depending as snow can be thick in Spring.
- Route conditions: Well-worn pathways most of the way around, good walking shoes are a must.
Let’s get going – If you need help organising this trip, see links below.
My ‘Dolomites, Italy Resource Kit‘ at the bottom of this page, will help you organise your travel, trips, food and accommodation when planning your visit to Italy, it’s all there to help you plan, give it a go.
The hike to Lago Di Sorapis, isn’t difficult, it’s mostly well warned paths, and because this is a very popular path, the rocks underfoot in some areas have become very slippery, so be careful when stepping up. Otherwise, the path up is the same as the one down, but if you want a bit more exposure and are confident with your abilities you can come down on trail numbers 216 and 213.
If you are doing this route in the summer, you might be relieved to come down on these alternative paths, as the sheer number of people doing route 215 at the same time, can be a bit over whelming.
The start point is on road ‘SR48‘ and is very close to B&B Hotel Passo Tre Croci Cortina on the same side of the road. At the start of the path there is a tourist information board, and the path number 215 will be displayed on tree’s and signs and is the same for all the trails in the Dolomites.
It’s a beautiful start to the walk, with the pine trees lining the path through the forest, and as you wind your way around you pass some WW2 bunkers, really interesting. Continuing your walk the trees open slightly on your left to reveal the mountain ranges surrounding this area, it is spectacular.
The forest continues for a while yet as you keep heading up, winding your way through and in some areas the paths become a little less solid, but still good enough to not have to worry, but once out of the forest you find yourself in a different environment, rocky cliff edges, incredible panoramic views everywhere and very steep rock faces on your right.
It’s just a case of making your way up now, and you know you’re close as you start to make your way through large boulders and you can see the peak of Dito di Dio in front of you, to make it even more dramatic for us, we had snow to get through, it was about a foot deep but there was a path through it.
🍽️ Where to Eat in Cortina d’Ampezzo
Ristorante Lago Pianozes
Romantic lakeside dining in a forest setting, with refined Tyrolean dishes and a wine list to match. Reviewers love the tranquillity and “perfect gnocchi by candlelight”.
👉 [See reviews on Tripadvisor]
Il Vizietto di Cortina
Casual but creative Italian restaurant in town with a buzzing atmosphere, loved for its seafood pastas and vegan options.
👉 [Check Tripadvisor for reviews]
🎒 What to Do
From Venice: The Best of the Dolomites Mountains Day Trip
Spend a great day exploring the best of the Dolomites Mountains. Visit the enchanting Cortina d’Ampezzo and take a pleasant walk around Lake Misurina with its incredible stunning views.
👉 [View options on GetYourGuide]
Dolomites of Cortina: Hiking Experience with a local Guide
Enjoy a private hiking tour through the Dolomites accompanied by a professional local guide. Hike safely and at a speed appropriate to your level of experience as you discover some of Italy’s most beautiful scenery.
👉 [Find your local guide]
Dolomites Guides Get Booked Up Fast – Get Them Here
And here is the magnificent ‘Lago Di Sorapis‘ in May 2023, snow covered and dramatic, exciting, and mystical, an amazing place to be anytime of the year!
Once you are ready to walk back, you take the exact same route, but this time you can face the mountains in the distance and take those in.
We all said we need to return to the Dolomites in summer, yes it will be busier but to experience the aqua blue lakes and the beautiful green and wildlife will be a new experience again.
An option for you is the Dolomites Guided Hike with pick up options. This is recommended if you are feeling a bit unsure about guiding yourself up and down.
That’s it, you’re all done, back at the car and hopefully the weather has been good, and you have had a great experience.
It is worth downloading this route onto the Outdooractive app, it’ll re-assure you time wise and that you’re not heading in the wrong directions. There is so much space up there and lots of alternative paths you could accidently join.
Hope you enjoy this walk, and I’d love it if you could share this post either with the social media buttons that follow you down the screen on your left, or below in the footer. Also, comments are very welcome, I love meeting new people and talking, and you never know we could meet up on one of our walks.
Sim Local can reduce or even eliminate your roaming fees. Click www.simlocal.com/ + 10% Discount Using – ‘WELSHMAN’
Walk this route yourself in 3D!
The Video is a 3D walk through of this route, it will give you a unique sense of having walked through the route before you start.
I have created 3D Videos of my adventures and have shared them with the OutdoorActive community as well as my walking community.
Lago Di Sorapis Circuit Trail - Hike the Italian Dolomites - Path 215 - 3D VideoYou could arrange all your accommodation, travel, days out, meals and tickets with all the links below. I have used every one of these options in various countries, and I was very pleased.
- Find ‘accommodation’ in the Dolomites using booking.com
- Find cheap ‘bus‘ & ‘train‘ tickets for your next trip
- Rent ‘cars’ at best prices in all countries
- ‘Tripadvisor in Italy‘ – well we all know what this awesome website offers!
- Things to do in ‘Dolomites’, including niche offers you won’t find anywhere else
- Local trips or cross-country, find info and ‘book train tickets’ for popular journeys in the UK and rest of Europe.