Val Gardena

What is Val Gardena like?

Val Gardena is a valley in the Dolomites of South Tyrol, about 13 miles long, running east from Ponte Gardena up to the Passo Gardena and the Passo Sella. It is Gröden in German and Gherdëina in Ladin, and the tourist office calls it the heartland of Ladin culture. Three villages sit along it, each higher than the last: Ortisei at 1,236 m, Santa Cristina at 1,428 m and Selva at 1,563 m.

For skiers, Val Gardena is one ski area, Val Gardena/Alpe di Siusi, and one corner of a much larger one. The tourist office counts more than 500 km of directly connected slopes on a single pass. The Sellaronda, the ski circuit round the Sella group, starts at the top of the valley, and the Dolomiti Superski pass covers it all.

Where should you stay?

All three villages are on the same lifts and the same pass, so the choice is about the base, not the access.

Ortisei is the main village, with a pedestrian centre, woodcarvers' shops and two mountains from the village: the Seceda by cable car on one side and the Alpe di Siusi by cable car on the other. Selva is at the head of the valley, below the Sella massif, with gondolas to Ciampinoi and to Dantercepies on the Passo Gardena: the tourist office calls it a favourite starting point for the Sellaronda. Santa Cristina sits between them, with Monte Pana above it and the Col Raiser lift to the Seceda side.

• Ortisei

  A proper town with a pedestrian centre, two ski mountains from the village and the 10 km La Longia run finishing in it.

• Selva di Val Gardena

  Two gondolas from the village, one towards the Passo Gardena and Alta Badia, the other to Ciampinoi and the Saslong, put the Sellaronda at the door.

How the villages link

The three villages are lift-linked both ways. From Ortisei, the Seceda cable car climbs to the ridge, and lifts and pistes cross Col Raiser, above Santa Cristina, to the Gardena Ronda Express and the Saslong cable car to Ciampinoi above Selva. You come back the same way, via Ciampinoi, Ruacia and the Gardena Ronda Express to the Seceda, and ski home to Ortisei on La Longia.

The Alpe di Siusi is the exception. Ortisei's second cable car reaches the plateau, but between Saltria on the Alpe di Siusi and Monte Pana above Santa Cristina you take a skibus, not a lift. The tourist office's day circuit, the Val Gardena Ronda, uses that bus.

At the top of the valley, the Dantercepies gondola from Selva climbs towards the Passo Gardena, and the lifts carry on over the pass to Colfosco in Alta Badia.

Skiing Val Gardena

The valley's best-known run is the Saslong, the World Cup men's course, which finishes at Ruacia. La Longia runs 10 km from the Seceda to Ortisei with a vertical drop of 1,273 m, and the tourist office calls it the longest slope in South Tyrol. The tourist office counts more than 60 mountain huts on the slopes.

Sella Ronda

The Sellaronda is a ski circuit round the Sella massif. It crosses four passes, the Passo Gardena, Passo Campolongo, Passo Pordoi and Passo Sella, and links Val Gardena with Alta Badia, Arabba and Canazei. You can ski it either way: orange signs lead clockwise, green anticlockwise.

The tourist offices give its length as about 40–44 km depending on the route. Val Gardena's Sellaronda page says 44 km, 23 km of it on pistes and 21 km by lift; Alta Badia's says 40 km in all, 26 km of it on pistes, and allows about six hours with breaks. Both say skiers of average ability can manage it. Val Gardena's advice is to set off by 10:00 at the latest so you finish before the lifts close.

In Val Gardena, Selva is the starting point: the Passo Gardena and Alta Badia are one way round, the Passo Sella the other. Ortisei is not on the circuit, so from there you add the lifts to Selva and back. On the Alta Badia side it passes through Colfosco and Corvara; Alta Badia's other villages include San Cassiano.

Val Gardena piste map

The tourist office publishes a Val Gardena and Alpe di Siusi lift map and a separate Sellaronda map, both as PDFs.

Lift passes

There are two passes to choose between. The Val Gardena/Alpe di Siusi pass covers the valley's own ski area. The Dolomiti Superski pass covers, by the tourist office's count, 12 ski areas in the Dolomites with 1,200 km of slopes and 450 lifts, and you need it for the Sellaronda and for skiing into Alta Badia.

If you plan more than a day or two beyond the valley, the Dolomiti Superski pass is the one. Prices depend on dates and length of stay, so we do not quote them: the tourist office's ski pass price calculator gives the current figures and sells passes online.

Getting there

By car, leave the A22 Brenner motorway at Chiusa/Klausen and follow the SS242D into the valley; Ortisei is 20 km from the exit, about 20 minutes, and Selva at the top of the valley is further. From the south, leave at Bolzano Nord and follow the SS242 via Ponte Gardena. Coming from Innsbruck, the tourist office warns that maintenance on the Lueg bridge on the Austrian Brenner motorway limits traffic to one lane each way; check whether it still applies.

Bolzano airport, 40 km away, is the nearest, with SkyAlps flights. Innsbruck is 120 km away, Verona 190 km, and Venice and Bergamo 270 km. Once you arrive, accommodation gives you the free Val Gardena Mobil Card for public transport in the valley.

When to go

For 2026/27 the Val Gardena lifts are due to open from 4 December 2026 to 4 April 2027, subject to change. Check the open slopes page for what is running on the day, and the tourist office's webcams and weather before you set off.