GEOPARC Bletterbach - Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage

The walk starts at the rim and goes down, and the walls close in as it drops: bands of red sandstone, pale dolomite and dark volcanic rock stacked one above the other, which is what put this stretch of the Bletterbach inside the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage site. The marked routes split below. The red one, the Butterloch, follows the streambed to the point where the gorge narrows and the waterfall comes down the rock. In settled weather the higher mountain route is open as well, and the two can be walked together. This is a hike rather than a viewpoint: rock underfoot, steps most of the way down, and the same steps to climb at the end, when legs are already tired. Families do it all the same, and a small museum at the entrance lays out the rock sequence before anyone sets off.

• Footwear. Hiking boots with grip. The route runs over bare rock and it is uneven the whole way; poles help on the descent.
• Steps. The gorge is walked down and back up the same way, so the climb comes at the end, when legs are already tired.
• After rain. The valley route through the gorge can be closed for safety once it has rained. Ring the visitor centre before driving up.
• Fitness. Skip it without at least average fitness — there is no shortcut back out once you are down in the streambed.
• Dogs and payment. Dogs are allowed on site, and cards are accepted at the ticket desk.

Almost everyone arrives by car. The main car park sits at the entrance building, and a second one lies roughly 750 m back down the road. There is also a bus stop at the site itself, so arriving without a car is possible. From the ticket desk the walking begins straight away: the marked route drops into the gorge on steps and comes back up the same way, so the return leg is the climb.

Better: a dry spell, when the valley route through the gorge and the higher mountain route are both open and can be linked into one walk.

Avoid: the day after heavy rain, when the valley route can be shut for safety and the drive up is wasted — a phone call to the visitor centre settles it in a minute.

Down in the gorge the light is indirect, thrown back off the walls rather than falling straight in; the open views belong to the mountain route higher up.