Hut-to-Hut Via Ferrata in the Brenta Dolomites (Italy)

Written by team member Lisette with photos from Lisette and Celina

Join Lisette, our Adventure Planning Expert, on her epic hut-to-hut via ferrata traverse of the Brenta Dolomites — if this sounds like your kind of adventure, check out our Brenta Dolomites Via Ferratas Tour, including the famous Bocchette Traverse

A Wilder Side of the Dolomites: Discovering the Brenta

There’s some mountain ranges that are so impressive that they border on bizarre. The Brenta Dolomites combine this sense of awe and adventure with relative solitude, cosy and comfortable rifugios, and finger-licking food.

Ever since I first heard of the Brenta Dolomites, I’ve been fascinated by this distinctive range. Unlike the main Dolomite mass — home to the Alta Via 1, our Best of the Dolomites Trek, and most of the iconic landscapes you’ll recognize from social media — the Brenta sit apart, isolated to the west of the Adige River. Framed by the granite peaks of the Ortler–Cevedale and Adamello, they are the only dolomite range on this side of the valley, which makes them feel noticeably wilder, more rugged, and more remote than the better-known Dolomites to the east.

Although you can reach most of the rifugios in the Brenta from the valley by foot without technical difficulty, a hut-to-hut itinerary here involves many Via Ferratas, some scrambling sections, and a few glaciers. But this is exactly the appeal to the seasoned rock climber or mountaineer: it is wild and rugged, and the terrain is varied and interesting! So when I got the opportunity to hike and climb our Hut-to-Hut Via Ferrata in the Brenta Dolomites, with my long-distance friend Greg, I was stoked!

Making our way down by train from Bavaria, the landscape changes dramatically over the course of just a few hours. Although we are still very much in the Alps, the flatlands and hilly forests of the Bavarian pre-alps give way for the high alpine lush meadows of Austrian Tyrol. Once you cross the Brenner pass, a real treat awaits: you feel the divide between Austria and Italy immediately, with South Tyrol and Trentino boasting views of vineyards and countless hilltop castles. I always love this journey, and the final bus rides were gorgeous, too, driving past lakes and through gorges. After a great pizza and a crisp night in the charming ski town of Madonna di Campiglio, we were on the trail!

Day 1 — A Gentle Start & First Brenta Mountain Rifugio

Our first day is very short, due to rockfall on the via ferrata we had planned to do on our first day. This trail is currently closed, but it ended up being no problem, since the forecast said rain all day, and those are not ideal conditions for a via ferrata, anyway! We were lucky to make it to the rifugio dry. The rifugio has a cosy, warm dining room and serves cioccolata densa, which is my all time favorite drink, and a real insider’s tip! This is like hot chocolate, but on steroids – it is very thick, served with a spoon, and more like a hot chocolate pudding than a chocolate milk. The staff is incredibly friendly here, the room is cosy, and they sell cute climbing themed jewellery and souvenirs. But our first rifugio dinner is the real star of the show.

The Brenta truly rewards the intrepid.

I had not really expected much from the Brenta rifugios, or the food, given how rugged the terrain is, and that this is not as much of an internationally popular area. But our first dinner really sets the tone for the trip: we are able to choose from a variety of options from the menu, and dinner is served with bread with – of course – high quality extra virgin Italian olive oil. I pick the cheese knödel and tagliatelle with homemade pesto and a fresh side salad, and my friend Greg gets a plate of polenta, local mushrooms in cream sauce, a spiced sausage, and a slab of local cheese, fried on the grill. Greg, having never stayed at a hut in the Alps before, expected the rifugio food to be a bowl of grey slop – boy, was he wrong! The Italians sure know how to treat their guests gastronomically: they value local, high quality ingredients, and enthusiastic and welcoming hospitality. Of course, the rifugios also serve local wines and self made grappa, and a selection of homemade cakes.

Day 2 — Bad Weather Alternative & First Big Brenta Views

After a cosy night, the forecast for the next day looks better, but not quite good good: rain is predicted from 10, and thunderstorms from noon on. Although the via ferrata to the next rifugio is short and easy, we decide to play it safe and hike around, using the bad weather alternative. This is the only time we dip below the tree line during our trek, but the views through the ever-shifting clouds are still beautiful, and before we know it, we are back in open territory. We get our first views of the impressively steep, massive, towering rock formations the Brenta is known for.

The scale of this place is truly incredible, especially when it reveals itself when suddenly the clouds open.

This next hut has been renovated beautifully and is very modern, or as Greg calls it, “ikea vibes” – lots of bright wood and a clean design. The dining room is the centerpiece here, with huge windows and a few couches where you can read hiking and climbing magazines with a view – and a cup of cioccolata densa, of course. The atmosphere at dinner is almost as if we are at a fancy restaurant in the valley. The team who designed this space deserves some praise! Dinner here is a 3 course choice menu: I choose minestrone and polenta with a stuffed pepper, and Greg has spaghetti with tomato sauce and a sausage with a salad. Dessert is a yummy little panna cotta!

Day 3 — First Via Ferrata & Glacier Crossing in the Brenta

Energized by a delicious breakfast, we hike our way up a pass in clear, sunny weather. After a few hours, we finally start our first via ferrata – in great weather conditions. Spectacular drops with ladders lead us up, down, and through the mountains, though it is all technically fairly easy for experienced climbers and scramblers. The via ferrata drops us off on a small glacier, where we decide to play safe and don our crampons, even though much of the glacier is covered in scree. Despite poor visibility suddenly setting in, the traverse down the glacier is not too steep or difficult, and we soon find a trail marker again at the edge of the glacier, leading us down through a scree field to our third rifugio.

The third rifugio is probably the most rustic, but also very charming, located a bit off the main trails through the Brenta. After some delicious local wine, knödel, schnitzel, fried cheese, crispy baked potato, and softly stewed eggplant with tomato, we are treated to a little warm chocolate cake for dessert!

Day 4 — ‘Bochette Centrali’ – The Most Famous Via Ferrata in the Brenta Dolomites

After three quiet days, a partly sunny August weekend on the Brenta’s most famous via ferrata finally means our first queue for the exposed — but well-protected and straightforward — opening traverse. Once past this brief bottleneck, the crowds thin out and we move through a rhythm of cable sections and scrambling. We pass the iconic Campanile Basso, a peak I’d long wanted to see up close, and watch climbers high on its walls. Though the route is only easy–intermediate, the sustained exposure, frequent ups and downs, and airy scrambling demand focus, stamina, and a steady head for heights. Clouds drift in and out, but when the rock towers suddenly emerge from the mist, the atmosphere feels even more dramatic and mysterious than clear skies. My favorite moment is a long horizontal traverse above a sheer drop that disappears into fog — exhilarating for Greg, who is still getting used to trusting the cables and his gear.

Over wine and dinner we reconnect with people we’ve met along the trail, swapping stories and music

At the pass above a small glacier, a frigid wind hits us like an open freezer, so we layer up and hurry to the warm rifugio below. Over wine and dinner we reconnect with people we’ve met along the trail, swapping stories and music. This evening’s rifugio is the most sophisticated high mountain hut I have ever seen, with rain-style showers, plenty of storage space by the bed, and toilets with a big window boasting great views of the mountain next door. We enjoy a stunning, long sunset, a quick warm shower, and retreat to our bunks.

Day 5 — Final Day, More Via Ferrata & Saying Goodbye to the Brenta

The next day is our last day, and it is shaping up to be a cloudy one. Since we want to avoid the chance of rain on the long and technical via ferrata we have planned, we decide instead to do the via ferrata we had to skip on our second day. It is always a bit bittersweet to miss out on a beautiful day high up near 3000 meters, but it turns out we probably made a good call. This last day has a few hours of views and then a complete whiteout. We wouldn’t have seen very much if we were up high, either. We pay another visit to the first night’s rifugio, where we have a chocolate and some fries and a chat with the friendly hut keeper who still remembers us, and we make our way towards the end of the trail. What a trip!

Brenta Dolomites Via Ferrata Trip: Final Reflections

In the end, this journey stands out as one of the most special treks I’ve ever done — adventurous, beautifully alpine, full of character, and rich with memories made alongside a dear friend.

Though the weather wasn’t perfect, we were lucky — we avoided any real storms, made only small adjustments to our plans, and still managed to complete the most iconic via ferrata in the Dolomites. We ate incredibly well, took far too many photos, had both deep and ridiculous conversations, and soaked up that wonderful mix of wild alpine terrain and warm Italian hospitality. We capped the trip with an extra day on another via ferrata north of the Brenta, a soak in a hot tub, more buffalo mozzarella pizza, and a final stop at the sun-soaked shores of Lake Garda.

Discover the lesser-known side of the Dolomites and find out more about the Brenta Traverse here. If you are interested in other Via Ferrata tours in the Alps – you can see all of our Via Ferrata offers here. Before planning your via-ferrata adventure, we recommend that you read our Via Ferrata Safety, Technique and Equipment page.