298a Tour San Giacomo-Rifugio Firenze

From the centre of S. Cristina, follow the walking path along the main road to the fraction of Soplajes. There, at the point where the promenade crosses the road, turn slightly right and follow the asphalt road until another road turns off to the right. This road, which winds through the forest, leads to St. Jakob, a fraction of Ortisei. At the upper end of the village, a road turns left uphill and after 30 metres you follow a path on the left that leads over gravel, especially in the last part very steeply, to St. Jacob's church. Here it is worth going up to the front of the church and taking a short rest on one of the benches, because the view of the Sassolungo group is magnificent.

Continue along a gravel path into the valley, i.e. briefly back along the path that led us in front of the church and then slightly uphill. This path runs idyllically and quietly through the forest, but still offers now and then a view of the Sassolungo group. Past Christauta, we continue on the gravel road. Here the road is quite steep at the beginning, but then climbs gently towards Seceda. Here the forest thins out and you see the beautiful and famous Geisler peaks for the first time. At the Fermeda hut, the road continues towards the Col Raiser mountain station. In the restaurant of the mountain station or at the adjacent Odles Hut you can enjoy traditional South Tyrolean food and then continue towards the Regensburger Hut. This trail leads through a wonderfully fragrant spruce forest. As there are also hikers on the trail, respect and caution are of course required, as always. Past the historic Regensburger Hütte, we continue downhill on a gravel road, always accompanied by breathtaking panoramas and the impressive rock faces of the Dolomites in the Puez/Geisler Nature Park.

As soon as we reach a small pond at the end of the descent, it's time to shift into an easier gear and pedal the 10-minute climb to the Juac Hut. From there, we continue downhill along a path that is also used by hikers, as before, until we reach the Wolkenstein fraction of Daunei. The Via Crucis, a flowing path through the woods, leads to the idyllic Vallunga Valley, a paradisiacal spot in the Puez/Geisler Nature Park, with its small chapel of San Silvestro and the soothing sound of cowbells grazing in the pastures. Now we have arrived in Selva Gardena and can take the cycle path along the route of the historic Val Gardena railway, which ran here until 1960, back to the starting point in S. Cristina.