Colfosco: Landscape, History and Mountain Trails

Locating Colfosco in Alta Badia

Colfosco, called Kolfuschg in German, is a hamlet at an elevation of 1,645 metres in the municipality of Corvara and the highest village in Alta Badia. The municipal affiliation and regional classification answer different questions: Corvara is the municipality, while Alta Badia is the broader travel region. To find your bearings, it helps to distinguish between the locations: the information about the information point and the Col Alto gondola refers to Corvara, while the church, the Animal Park and the landscape references mentioned here concern Colfosco.

Colfosco can be reached via Val Badia and over Passo Gardena. Conditions on the pass may vary seasonally.

Getting your bearings and routes around Corvara

At Corvara’s tourist office, the information point is active around the clock, seven days a week. It provides information about open accommodation establishments and their availability, restaurants and mountain huts, events, and the weather. The information therefore covers both planning an overnight stay and dining, as well as planning your day. Business details may change; check opening times and availability again when making specific plans.

From the centre of Corvara, the mountain station of the Col Alto gondola can also be reached on foot via trails 24 and 30; the walk takes approximately one hour and 30 minutes. This provides the starting point, destination and trail numbers for the route. Allow for the time as an estimate and check seasonal trail and lift conditions in advance.

Activities and winter information

Colfosco is a starting point for hikes, alpine tours and mountain bike rides. You can plan your activities around hiking, an alpine tour or a mountain bike ride.

The Colfosco Animal Park is a small petting zoo that introduces visitors to rural life and nature. The animals available vary by season. If visiting the petting zoo is part of your plans, take this into account when planning your trip and check whether visits are possible during your travel dates.

In winter, the ski runs of the Alta Badia ski area extend from Passo Gardena down to Colfosco. The wider travel region of Alta Badia has 130 km of groomed ski runs. The first statement describes the route down to Colfosco, while the second gives the total size of the ski area; they offer two different scales for getting your bearings. As ski operations are seasonal, check current slope and lift conditions before a day of skiing.

Church and landscape

The late Gothic parish church of St. Vigilius in Colfosco was first mentioned in writing in 1419. The year refers to its first written mention and is not automatically its year of construction; the late Gothic style provides a separate architectural classification.

Colfosco lies at the entrance to Val Stella Alpina (Edelweiss Valley), at the foot of Sassongher, on the edge of Puez-Odle Nature Park and at the foot of the Sella Group. These names mark different points of reference: a valley, a single mountain, a nature park and a mountain group. The references therefore range from the entrance to a valley and a single mountain to a nature park and a mountain group, placing the landscape in context on several levels.

Discover more destinations: Olang, La Val, San Martino in Badia, Monguelfo-Tesido, Badia, San Candido, Molini di Tures, Gais.

See the broader travel overview: Puster Valley.