Ortisei (St. Ulrich), Val Gardena
Ortisei is the beating heart of Val Gardena — a Ladin-speaking valley where the tradition of woodcarving has been passed down for over 300 years and where every second shop window displays sculptures that range from pocket-sized saints to life-size nativity figures. It is also the gateway to Alpe di Siusi and the Seceda ridgeline, making it one of the most perfectly positioned bases in the Dolomit
The Village and Its Craft
Stroll the pedestrianised Via Rezia, the main street, and look for the workshops — many still open to the street — where carvers chisel lindenwood with the same tools their great-grandparents used. The Museum Gherdëina on Cësa di Ladins documents the valley's Ladin culture and woodcarving history with a collection that puts the craft in genuine context; it is small, free and frequently overlooked by visitors who head straight for the cable cars.
The best place to buy is directly from the carvers: look for the 'Genuine South Tyrolean Woodcarving' mark (a green label) guaranteeing the piece was made by hand in the valley. Prices range from €15 for a small painted bird to several thousand euros for a large devotional figure, and the quality is extraordinary across the range.
Riding Up to Seceda
The Seceda cable car from Ortisei climbs to 2,500 m and deposits you at the base of the extraordinary Geisler/Odle ridgeline — a serrated wall of vertical rock that is one of the defining images of the Dolomites. The ridge walk south from the upper station to Furcela de Raschötz takes about 90 minutes along a high path with vertiginous drops on one side and the entire Val Gardena spread below on the other.
At the top, Rifugio Firenze (2,037 m) serves the best Kaiserschmarrn (shredded caramelised pancake with plum compote) in the valley, and the terrace faces directly at the Geisler towers for an utterly unreasonable lunch view. The cable car runs year-round except for maintenance closures in November and May.
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