Lake Carezza is a small alpine lake in the Dolomites, near Nova Levante in South Tyrol, northern Italy. It is known for its colour — emerald green through turquoise, shifting with the light — and for the mountains and fir woods reflected in its surface. An easy loop path runs round the lake, and an hour or two covers it. The shoreline is fenced, so the lake is seen from the path rather than entered. Two paid car parks and a bus stop sit just above the water.
Lake Carezza
Local name: Lago di Carezza
The crowd stays on the shore path; a less-travelled path climbs to a rock that looks down on the whole lake.
- Parking
- Two paid car parks: Karersee - Lago di Carezza, about 280 m from the lake, unpaved; Similde, about 430 m. Both charge a fee.
- Difficulty
- An easy walking loop runs round the lake.
- Transport
- Bus stop Karer See - Lago di Carezza, about 120 m from the lake; a second stop, Karersee - Lago di Carezza, about 155 m.
What makes it special
Fir and larch stand right at the edge of the water, and on a still surface the peaks behind them come back doubled — that reflection is what the stop is for. Colour does the rest. At midday the lake reads strong emerald green; as the sun moves it works through turquoise into deeper blue-green, and the same view is not the same view an hour later. The lake is small and an easy loop path goes round it, so an hour or two covers the circuit and the viewpoints along it. Fences run along the shore, so the water stays out of reach and everything happens from the path. The woods on the way carry wild berries — strawberry, raspberry, blueberry — for anyone looking down instead of up.
Good to know
- It gets busy: the shore path is packed with people.
- The water is out of reach: fences run along the shore, and the lake is viewed from the path.
- Toilets: free public toilets stand about 200 m from the lake, with a free drinking water point about the same distance away.
- Information boards are set within a hundred metres of the water, at the top of the approach.
Getting there
You can drive almost to the water. Two paid car parks sit above the lake, the nearer of them unpaved, and from there it is a few hundred metres on foot down to the loop path. The bus stops do better still — both are closer to the lake than either car park, which leaves the shortest walk in of anyone arriving.
Best time to visit
Best: midday, when the water reads its strongest emerald green.
Avoid: the shore path if you want the lake to yourself — it is packed with people.
The colour here is a light effect rather than a season. As the sun moves round, the surface works through green, turquoise and deeper blue, and the spot you photographed on the way in looks different on the way out.
Sun & daylight
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Frequently asked questions
How long do you need at Lake Carezza?
An hour or two. The loop path round the lake is easy going and takes in the viewpoints as it goes.Can you swim in Lake Carezza?
No. Fences run along the shore and the water cannot be reached; the lake is looked at from the path above it.Is Lake Carezza worth a detour?
It repays an hour or two if you are already crossing this side of the Dolomites. Treat it as a stop on the way rather than a day out in itself.