Val di Fiemme: Still a real insider tip

Many bikers are drawn to Valsugana when they think of biking vacations in the Dolomites. Many leave the neighboring valley "Val di Fiemme" to the left, because they simply do not know it. What the valley has to offer, we have experienced during a short detour.

by Lisa Unterganschnigg

Val di Fiemme, with its more melodious name, is located in the northeast of Trento, in the middle of the famous Dolomites. The vast valley is part of an Italian comunità di valle and belongs to the province of Trentino in northern Italy. The former fiefdom of the Bishop of Trento is today one of the most important winter sports areas in Italy. Thanks to the Nordic World Ski Championships, which have already been held here three times, in 1991, 2003 and 2013, the Val di Fiemme is particularly well known to winter sports enthusiasts. For bikers, the high valley between the two most famous towns in the region, Cavalese and Predazzo, is still a real insider tip. Far too often it is overlooked on the way to the ever-popular Lake Garda. But while bikers flock to Lake Garda, in Val di Fiemme you can still enjoy a wonderful tranquility with an equally mild climate, good food and breathtaking scenery. The best conditions for mountain bikers who are in the mood for real, Italian "Dolce Vita".

To bike in the Val di Fiemme
"From us you can expect: the highest bike expertise in the hotel, bike services such as garage, washing area, rental, transfers, excellent maps, GPS devices and data, laundry service, après bike snacks, special promotions and offers for bikers, and much more. That's what it says on the website of the Bikehotel in Panchià, which I chose for this year's biking vacation. "That sounds good," my husband also thinks. "That describes exactly our idea." So the decision is quickly made. We're going to the north of Italy, Val di Fiemme here we come! About 200 bike kilometers await us, including cool forest roads, old military roads, casual trails and racy descents, all of which can be combined at will. As a reward there are then breathtaking views that present themselves differently after each bend.

To make sure that we choose the right tour for us and that the challenge does not become too much, we have decided to explore the Val di Fiemme together with a bike guide. The next morning Diego welcomes us with a beaming smile already at the breakfast table. Diego is one of the hotel owners and just like his brother a certified bike guide. For 20 years Diego has been biking crisscross through the Val di Fiemme and its neighboring valleys and knows the region like no other. He took part in his first mountain bike race at the tender age of 10 in the "Kids" category. Countless amateur races in road racing, mountain biking and cyclo-cross followed in the next 15 years. Diego won 50 races, including one national and seven regional championship titles. After this active racing career, the bike was of course not allowed to gather dust in the cellar. As a bike guide, Diego continues to pedal hard and loves above all the technically demanding routes.

So it is also easy for him to help us with the choice of tours. "A must for every mountain biker is the region north of Panchià. Here the Alpe di Pampeago and Reiterjoch trails lead into nearby South Tyrol. More precisely, to the small village of Obereggen, from where you go around the Latemar massif in the direction of Karersee and Karerpass, and then descend again to Predazzo. There is something for every biker," Diego starts right away with the tour planning. "To get started, we can also use the local lifts as a support to save us one or two meters of altitude," he adds with a grin when he saw my somewhat horrified expression. This tour, also known as the "Tour of the Spirits", is classified as a blue and therefore easy tour, but is by no means to be underestimated. After the journey from the hotel to Predazzo, we take the lift of the ski region Fiemme-Obereggen up to the Feudo Pass. Then we pedal briskly to the Karersee. We enjoy the wonderful picture of the peaks of the Latemar reflected in the still lake water. Arrived at the Karer pass we look forward to a rapid ride downhill to Moena and return to the hotel via Predazzo. In total, that's over 2,000 meters in altitude - even if partly covered by lift - and easily enough for me as a pleasure biker. Diego makes the bike tour a real experience. Because in addition to his experience and bike competence, he has a saddle-firm portion of humor and knows many exciting stories from his everyday life as a biker to tell. Together with his brother Mauro, he is always eager to fulfill all the wishes and heartfelt concerns of the bike-loving guests.

Bike & Gourmet
Those who spend their vacations in Val di Fiemme quickly realize that here you become a real connoisseur and not only when it comes to the mountain experience. The hosts manage their alpine pastures with great dedication. Nowhere do you have to worry that you won't be spoiled with local delicacies. On every alp, no matter how small, there is excellent pasta al dente and cappuccino for a rest, as well as delicious sweets for dessert. While we are ravenously hungry and enjoy the local delicacies, Diego makes his plan for the following day palatable to us. "How about a trip to the south or west of the region, for example? Here stretches the Dolomiti Lagorai mountain range with its wildly jagged Dolomite peaks. Around Predazzo and Passo Rolle there are varied tours with some really tricky descents."

We quickly realize that the possibilities in Val di Fiemme are limitless. A valley with exciting tours, which until now has received far too little attention from mountain bikers. That's why the Val di Fiemme is still considered a real insider tip among die-hard bikers.

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