Piz Sorega - Sompunt deer park

Last adventure of our wonderful holiday in Alta Badia. I recommend that you take a look at all the other fantastic hikes of this perfect week from all points of view. On this last day the weather promises to be unstable and with Giorgia we decide to stay around our hotel to avoid sudden showers. The Hotel Gran Paradiso **** is not far from the center of San Cassiano in Badia where the Piz Sorega cable car departs.
This is the first step today! We reach the center of San Cassiano where it is well signposted how to reach the ski lift. It is the same used to access the tide of winter ski slopes that the area offers. The morning is cool and the sky is still clear of clouds. In a few minutes we reach the top of the "panettone" at an altitude of 2002m where the Piz Sorega refuge of the same name is located. From here you are spoiled for choice on which path to take: there are a mountain of shelters that are easily accessible with a few hundred meters of elevation gain. The view is breathtaking right away: a 360 degrees that embraces Sass dla Crusc, Piz de Lavarela, up to Lagazuoi. To then reach the Marmolada, beautiful and clearly distinguishable, the Sella group up to Sassongher.
Given the uncertain day and the sixth consecutive day of hiking, we opt to reach only the Bioch refuge at an altitude of 2079m. We then start the CAI 21A path on a dirt road also traveled by 4x4s that reach the various refuges located here and there. The first restaurant you meet is the Las Vegas refuge, in name and in fact: it doesn't even seem to be in the mountains, but in a restaurant in the center of some trendy country. The glance you have throughout the route is a succession of clearly visible traces that touch here and there the various shelters located throughout the perimeter of the Piz and beyond. Here in winter it is a paradise on earth for ski enthusiasts from what Giorgia tells me. In fact, I'd like to go back with the snow to see the total change. We do not find many people during the excursion and this is also one of the substantial differences of these places between summer and the ski season.

• Mountain

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  Piz Sorega

• Address

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  Alta Badia, Trentino Alto Adige, Italy

• Altitude

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  2066.00 m

• Refuges

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  Rifugio Piz Sorega, rifugio Paraciora

• Information

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  Rifugio Piz Sorega Rifugio Paraciora

After the Las Vegas refuge, the path continues wide, on a false level. Worthy of note is a beautiful initiative relating to the protection of bees: halfway to the Bioch, on the left, it is possible to closely observe a hive. Built in wood with a beautiful door, you can inspect the entire "nest" and it is easy to see even the great queen bee. A beautiful stage even for the little ones.
In a short time we reach the Bioch refuge with the last final ramp and here you have an unobstructed view towards the Marmolada, beautifully clean today. On the right, the Sella group that ends towards the town of Colfosco and subsequently Corvara with its Sassongher. Passage to the Bioch for the classic stamp and we return to the Sorega refuge. The clouds are already beginning to thicken. The return to the cable car makes us notice the boundless area full of green meadows and ski lifts.
A short but well-deserved break at the Piz Sorega refuge with a good feast of yogurt with berries! A final look at the services that this refuge offers: a very large Kneipp path with different types of water courses and stony beds. Exercise bikes and outdoor gym accessories with panoramic views. Hanging eggs that act as hammocks where you can relax pampered by the sweet movement and the spectacular view. In short, here there is only the embarrassment of choice. There is no lack of variety and for children there are mini golf and thematic courses to be an explorer, an archaeologist and to learn more about the world of bears!
We leave the Piz Sorega, time still assists us and we therefore decide to make a visit to the Sompunt Deer Park. The park is located a few kilometers from San Cassiano between La Villa and Badia. Near Lake Sompunt where the adventure at the Gardenacia refuge began. It can be easily reached by car on the state road 244 and is well signposted. There is a convenient and abundant parking lot with the Paraciora refuge annexed where we enjoyed an excellent sandwich with hot pork and melted cheese. A few steps away you can already glimpse the large area used for grazing deer and fallow deer. There is a small canopy with a large window from which it is possible to observe the specimens without disturbing the quiet.
And there they are, some smaller deer and others majestic with their horns in full development. It can be understood from the conformation of the same horns that look like velvet. On the peaks a little further away you can see the shy fallow deer. It is possible to go around the area that contains them always having the opportunity to observe them without causing them any stress. It is a place made for children for its ease of access, for the valuable information on these animals and above all for being able to admire them so closely.
With this adventure suitable for any person, but especially for families with small children, our week in Alta Badia ends. Emotions that we will surely return to repeat in these magnificent places!