Ortisei:Ski resort, lifts and where to stay

What is Ortisei like?

Ortisei is the main village of Val Gardena, in South Tyrol, at 1,236 m. The valley is trilingual, so the same place is St. Ulrich in Gröden in German and Urtijëi in Ladin, the old language of the Dolomite valleys.

It is a town more than a ski station. Its pedestrian zone runs from the chapel of St. Ulrich to the Antonius church, lined with shops and cafés, and the tourist office calls it the most beautiful shopping street in the Dolomites. Woodcarving is the local trade, kept up by families for generations, and you see it in shop windows and churches across the village. The Museum Gherdëina tells the valley's history, from the carvers to the mountaineer and film-maker Luis Trenker.

Ortisei has a long ski history too: it hosted the Alpine Ski World Cup in 1970. The Seceda rises on one side of the village, the Alpe di Siusi on the other, and the Resciesa, above the village, is in the Puez–Odle Nature Park.

Ortisei suits you if you want a town with shops and restaurants at the bottom of the lifts, and do not mind a cable car ride to the snow.

Skiing in Ortisei

Ortisei's skiing is on the Val Gardena/Alpe di Siusi ski area, part of Dolomiti Superski. The tourist office counts 500 km of directly connected slopes on one pass, and Dolomiti Superski as a whole has 1,200 km of pistes, 450 lifts and 12 ski areas. For 2026/27 the lifts in Val Gardena and on the Sellaronda are due to open from 4 December 2026 to 4 April 2027, subject to change.

Two mountains start in the village. The Seceda cable car climbs in two stages, Ortisei to Furnes and Furnes to Seceda, to the ridge at about 2,500 m. On the other side of the village, the Alpe di Siusi cable car takes you up to the plateau and its gentler runs. A third lift, the Resciesa funicular, is for walkers and tobogganers rather than skiers.

Ortisei ski area

From the Seceda you can ski right back to the village on La Longia, a run of more than 10 km with a vertical drop of 1,273 m, from the Seceda to Ortisei. From the same side, lifts and pistes take you over Col Raiser and through the Gardena Ronda Express, an underground funicular, and the Saslong cable car to Ciampinoi above Selva. That is how Ortisei links to the rest of Val Gardena.

The tourist office publishes two day circuits, the Val Gardena Ronda. From Ortisei, you go up the Alpe di Siusi cable car to Monte Piz, ski across the plateau to Saltria, take the skibus to Monte Pana, then ride the lifts via Mont Sëura, Ciampinoi and Ruacia to the Gardena Ronda Express and the Seceda, and ski home. Coming back from the Alpe di Siusi side, the Pilat run brings you down into Ortisei and the La Curta escalator carries you up to the Seceda cable car.

Ortisei is not on the Sellaronda itself. The 44 km circuit round the Sella massif, 21 km of it by lift, goes over the Passo Gardena, Passo Campolongo, Passo Pordoi and Passo Sella, and Selva is the usual starting point in Val Gardena. Orange signs lead clockwise and green anticlockwise. The tourist office says skiers of average ability can manage it, but should set off by 10:00 to finish before the lifts close; from Ortisei, add the lifts to Selva and back.

Ortisei piste map

The tourist office publishes a Val Gardena and Alpe di Siusi lift map and a separate Sellaronda map, both as PDFs. Its open slopes page shows what is running on the day.

Ortisei lift pass

You can buy a pass for Val Gardena/Alpe di Siusi alone, or the Dolomiti Superski pass for all 12 ski areas, including the Sellaronda and Alta Badia. If you plan to ski the Sellaronda, you need the Dolomiti Superski pass. Prices vary by date and length of stay; the tourist office's ski pass price calculator gives the current figures and sells passes online.

Ortisei ski hire

The tourist office lists several rental shops in Ortisei. Skischool Rental Seceda is at the Seceda cable car's valley station, with skis, snowboards and heated storage, open daily from 8:00 to 19:00 for 2026/27. Rental Ski & Snowboard Dolomit is on Streda Rezia in the centre, with skis, boots and snowboards.

Ski school in Ortisei

The Ski and Snowboard School Ortisei has taught in the village since 1935 and is based on Streda Rezia. It gives private and group lessons in skiing, snowboarding and cross-country skiing, takes children from three, and runs the Floc Club for younger ones.

Where to stay

Ortisei has the widest choice of beds in Val Gardena, from spa hotels in the pedestrian zone to apartments a few steps from the Seceda cable car. The main decision is which side of the village: the Seceda side for the La Longia run and the link to Selva, the Alpe di Siusi side for the plateau and the beginners' runs. The centre sits between the two, and the La Curta escalator joins them.

Read the full guide: Where to stay→

Ortisei for families

The Alpe di Siusi is the tourist office's choice for beginners, and the ski school starts children at three. Off the pistes, the Resciesa funicular gives a toboggan run of 3 km from its mountain station to the middle station, and in the evening you can ride up for dinner at the restaurant at the top and sledge down by headlamp. The tourist office reminds you that sledging on ski runs is forbidden.

Families with children get special offers at establishments marked with a teddy bear, and from 13 March 2027 Val Gardena runs a family scheme with advantages on accommodation, ski passes, ski hire and children's lessons. Children staying with member accommodation get a birthday present at the tourist office.

Things to do in Ortisei

Start in the pedestrian zone, with the woodcarvers' shops and the churches: the parish church of St. Ulrich, St. Anna's church with its cemetery, and St. Jacob's, the oldest church in Val Gardena. The Museum Gherdëina covers the valley's history and woodcarving. Mar Dolomit is the village's swimming pool.

Eating and drinking

Ortisei restaurants

Anna Stuben, the gourmet restaurant of the Gardena Grödnerhof hotel and one of Val Gardena's three Michelin-starred restaurants, holds one Michelin star and four Gault&Millau toques. Tubladel, on Streda Trebinger, is a restaurant and pizzeria known for meat cooked over charcoal in a Catalan oven and for game, and opens in winter and summer.

The tourist office counts more than 60 mountain huts across the Val Gardena ski area, so lunch is usually on the mountain.

Ortisei in summer

The Seceda is the summer draw. At its summit, at 2,519 m, you look over the Odle/Geisler peaks, the Sella group, the Sassolungo and the Alpe di Siusi, and hiking trails lead across the meadows below the ridge to family-run huts. At the time of writing, the two Seceda cable cars run from 22 May to 2 November 2026.

Ortisei hiking

The tourist office's seven recommended hikes include routes from Ortisei to the Resciesa and its Brogles hut, and over the Alpe di Siusi. The Gardena Card covers all 17 summer lifts in Val Gardena, including the cable car up to the Alpe di Siusi; the lifts on the Alpe di Siusi itself are not included. At the time of writing, children under eight get the Gardena Card Kids for €5.

Ortisei mountain biking

The Rodaval cycle path runs about 10 km up the valley from Ortisei through Santa Cristina to Selva, with 430 m of climbing, mostly on asphalt. For mountain biking, bikes go on most lifts for a fee, but not the Col Raiser, Sole or Forcella Sassolungo lifts.

How to get to Ortisei

Ortisei is 20 km from the A22 Brenner motorway at Chiusa, about 20 minutes on the SS242D. Bus 350 runs from Bolzano and the train stations at Ponte Gardena, Chiusa and Bressanone. Bolzano is the nearest airport, and Innsbruck is about 120 km away.

Weather, snow and webcams

The village is at 1,236 m and the Seceda at about 2,500 m, so check the top as well as the street. The tourist office runs all three feeds.

• Val Gardena webcams (tourist office)
• Val Gardena weather (tourist office)
• Open slopes and snow report (tourist office)

When to visit Ortisei

For 2026/27, the Val Gardena lifts are due to run from 4 December 2026 to 4 April 2027. The family scheme starts on 13 March 2027. In summer, the Seceda lifts have run from late May to early November.

Ortisei vs Selva

Same valley, same pass, different bases.

Choose Ortisei if you want a town with shops and restaurants, La Longia home to the village and the Alpe di Siusi for beginners.

Choose Selva if you plan to ski the Sellaronda more than once and want to start it from the door.

What's nearby

• Selva di Val Gardena

  Top of the valley and a starting point for the Sellaronda; lift-linked to Ortisei via the Seceda and Ciampinoi.

• Santa Cristina

  The middle village of Val Gardena, between Ortisei and Selva.

• Alpe di Siusi

  The high plateau above Ortisei, by cable car from the village; gentle skiing and winter walking.

• Corvara

  Alta Badia's main village, on the Sellaronda over the Passo Gardena.

• Colfosco

  Alta Badia village below the Passo Gardena, on the Sellaronda.

• San Cassiano

  Alta Badia village on the Dolomiti Superski pass, further round from Corvara.