The Three Peaks from Dobbiaco
The Val di Landro and Lake Dobbiaco
In the upper Val Pusteria, at about 1,250 metres, Dobbiaco (Toblach) is a mountain resort at a crossroads of valleys, the gateway to some of the most famous landscapes of the Dolomites. In the late nineteenth century, with the arrival of the railway, it became a fashionable resort of the Habsburg Empire, with grand hotels such as the Grand Hotel Toblach, today a cultural centre. Here the composer Gustav Mahler spent his last summers, from 1908 to 1910, composing in a small wooden hut in the woods, the "Komponierhäuschen", his Ninth Symphony and "Das Lied von der Erde"; every summer, the Gustav Mahler Music Weeks celebrate him.
South of the town, the Val di Landro (Höhlensteintal) is a wild valley that leads towards Cortina d'Ampezzo. At its entrance, Lake Dobbiaco is a small, peaceful lake surrounded by woods and reed beds, with a path that runs around it and a nature trail. Further on, the small Lake Landro (Dürrensee) offers one of the most beautiful views of the Dolomites: the north faces of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, the Three Peaks, appear at the end of a side valley, while the massif of Monte Cristallo rises to the south. The valley was crossed by the front line in the First World War, and the remains of forts and trenches are still visible. The Tre Cime, symbol of the Dolomites, can be reached from Misurina, on the Veneto side, along a toll road to the Auronzo refuge, from where a classic loop path of about three hours circles the peaks, passing the Lavaredo and Locatelli refuges.
Tip: in summer, buses link Dobbiaco to Lake Landro and the Auronzo refuge; the loop of the Tre Cime is spectacular at dawn.
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