Val d'Ultimo

Foto © IDM Alto Adige Frieder Blickle

Val d’Ultimo

If you don’t know it, it’s worse for you. The Ultimo valley is a 40 km long valley that goes southwest from Lana. Crowned by the peaks of the Ortler Group, the northern part of this valley is part of the Stelvio National Park.

The landscape is almost intact, made up of green parts, old farmsteads, centuries-old larch forests and high mountains.

Small, but precious. Not too busy with tourism, we recommend that you discover it and enjoy it before its treasures attract the masses.

TOP 5 NOT TO BE MISSED

Visit the thousand-year-old larches

Hiking to the Brez Pass and the Gaulschlucht

Taste the delicacies with Paarl in its authentic farmsteads

Participating in the Pracupola sheep market

Embarking on the Alta Via della Val d’Ultimo

PANKRAZ / SAN PANCRAZIO

The first village of Val d’Ultimo is also the first you meet coming from Lana. It is the largest village in the valley. San Pancrazio is small, but nice: here too you can discover the most authentic South Tyrolean traditions. The  church with its majestic 56-metre-high bell tower and Castel d’Ultimo (Eschenlohe Schlosse) are worth a visit. The castle can be reached by a 5 km long nature trail that starts directly from the village.

For another easy hike, the lake of San Pancrazio is the ideal place! From here you can also reach Merano 2000 with a 2-hour hike.

Foto © IDM Alto Adige Frieder Blickle

SAINT NIKOLAUS / SAN NICOLÒ 

The last two villages (San Nicolò and Santa Gertrude) are part of the so-called “Alta Val d’Ultimo”. San Nicolò is a popular summer destination in a quiet location.

If you are looking for enigmas or messages from the past, we recommend a detour to the “Thurnerhof”, an ancient defence tower with mysterious subjects carved on the walls, to which it has not yet been possible to give an interpretation.

For more information on the history of the valley, don’t miss the Val D’Ultimo Museum.

SANKT WALBURG / SANTA VALBURGA

Santa Valburga is the second village in Val d’Ultimo and is the main town and the centre of the municipality of Ultimo.

The charming village stretches over a valley step from where you can enjoy a wonderful view of Lake Zoccolo and the surrounding mountains up to the glaciers of the Ortles.

In Santa Valburga you can visit the 14th century  church, but if you prefer the layman you can always refresh yourself at the Santa Valburga beach, with a view of Vedetta Alta and Il Sasso.

At the end of the artificial lake of Zoccolo, only a few kilometres away, stands the locality of Pracupola with its pretty little church.

In autumn the traditional sheep market of Pracupola turns to S. Valburga. During the lamb weeks, lamb specialities can be enjoyed in the valley’s restaurants.

Foto © Marco De Cesero

SANKT GERTRAUD / SANTA GERTRUDE

Santa Gertrude is the last village in Val d’Ultimo. It is the ideal starting point for numerous mountain hikes to Val Martello and Val di Rabbi, in the eastern Cevedale Group.

The small church, perched on a hill, dates back to the 14th century, from which you can enjoy an enchanting view of the Rio Valsura Valley.

From the village a road leads to Fontana Bianca, in the heart of the highest mountains of Val d’Ultimo.

In the Lahner Säge Visitor Centre, fascinating computer animations guarantee access to the most hidden secrets of the forest.

Just before Santa Gertrude stands the most impressive natural monument in the province of Bolzano: the thousand-year-old larches, whose circumferences reach 8.2 meters and rise up to 28 meters. Real giants!

CURIOSITIES

Val d’Ultimo is the place of origin of Dominik Paris, one of the greatest active skiers of recent years. He often trains on the Schwemmalm and on site are organized group skiing with the champion … why miss this opportunity?

WINTER ACTIVITIES

Although small, Val d’Ultimo also has a ski area: the Schwemmalm.

In addition to skiing, however, in this valley you can enjoy a thousand activities. Ski mountaineering, snowshoeing, white trekking and food and wine tours in the most authentic alpine huts in South Tyrol.

Cross-country skiing is also very popular: in Pracupola (Santa Valburga) there is a panoramic cross-country track near Lake Zoccolo.

Foto © IDM Alto Adige Frieder Blickle

Foto © IDMAlto Adige Alex Filz

SUMMER ACTIVITIES

The intact nature of Val d’Ultimo invites you to discover its corners, from the Gaulschlucht gorge to the glaciers at the end of the valley. Trekking for all: from the gentle slopes surrounding the villages, to the ruggedness of the glacier mountains at the bottom of the valley.

In the Stelvio National Park there are a wide variety of routes to choose from.

EXCURSIONISTIC AND SCIISTIC AREAS

The Val d’Ultimo offers its own ski area. Successful and efficient, varied and fun: the Schwemmalm. But not only this, Val d’Ultimo has a lot to offer to those who love nature, in its wild landscapes and immersed in silence.

Ski touring on the Orecchio della Lepre, or Cima degli Olmi, Cima Stübele, Cima Trenta or Cima Sternai. A bit difficult to choose…

Cross-country skiing in the panoramic track that from Pracupola crosses the villages of Santa Gertrude and San Nicolò for a tour of 25 km.

In summer the Val d’Ultimo becomes the starting point for many hikes, some of which are also suitable for children. One that we recommend is the hike to the Gaulschluch Gorge, near Lana, at the end of the valley. A natural beauty easily reachable by all, where you can admire steep cliffs of porphyry, gneiss and granite. Over the years, the Valsura stream has carved out this gorge, which every summer becomes a small natural refuge from the heat of the season.

From Pracupola starts the Alta Via della Val d’Ultimo, a route of several days that will take you to face the altitudes of the area with breathtaking views.

Fascinating and that will leave your children speechless is the path of the larch trees, starting from Santa Gertrude.

For trekking, however, do not forget that this valley is part of the Stelvio National Park, with the peaks of the Ortles group all to conquer!

The refuges of this valley are authentic jewels, the farmsteads show off their traditional shingle roof and in every respectable restaurant you can taste the typical dishes of South Tyrol. Remember, however, to make the “Paarl” a typical wholemeal bread, which you will find here in Val d’Ultimo.

Foto © IDM Alto Adige Alex Filz

Foto © IDM Alto Adige Frieder Blickle

SCHWEMMALM

The Val d’Ultimo ski area is located above Pracupola (Kuppelwies), a locality of Santa Valburga, and can be reached by a comfortable cableway that takes you up to 2150 metres. Families and skiers in search of the perfect slope will find the ideal conditions for a skiing holiday. In the middle of the ski area there are ski schools, a baby slope and a snow kindergarten. For the rest, 25 kilometres of slopes are waiting for all skiers and snowboarders to enjoy themselves!

With the Ortler ski pass, in addition to skiing at the Schwemmalm, you can also vary in 14 other ski resorts in the area.

In summer, the Schwemmalm is the ideal place for various routes, including the Fontana Bianca or malga in malga. There are numerous refreshment points, where you can taste the typical delicacies of Val d’Ultimo.

ADVICE

History lover? The combination of history and trekking is soon served: leave from Malga Schwemmalm and reach the Brez Pass, which connected Bavaria with Italy in Napoleonic times: in memory of this you will find two border stones with “B” and “I”.

NATURAL PARKS

Nationalpark Stilfserjoch /Stelvio National Park

The Stelvio National Park is one of the largest nature reserves in Europe. Its territory is centred around the Ortles Cevedale group and extends over South Tyrol, Trentino and Lombardy; it borders the Swiss National Park to the north-west and the Adamello Park to the south. Admission is free and the National Park is open all day.

The Stelvio National Park will allow you to really experience the spectacle of nature: from 600 m to over 3,900 m above sea level. In just over 53 km² of the park, depending on the altitude, a wide variety of alpine animals and plants thrive. From lower altitudes, through meadows and woods, you can climb to reach lonely and peaceful landscapes, caressed by the warm rays of the sun and animated by the whistles of marmots.

Above the tree line, hikers will find wide views, peace and quiet.

This high mountain nature reserve is home to a unique flora and fauna: deer and roe deer, ibex, chamois, eagles and vultures, but also a varied vegetation with rare flowers such as edelweiss and buttercup, thrive in this habitat. The water from the glaciers of the Stelvio National Park around the Ortles Cevedale Group is precious for man and animals. The inhabitants of the National Park region protect their environment and lead a sustainable lifestyle so that it can be preserved in the future. Local products are of high value and are mostly produced according to rural tradition.

The ten municipalities, at the foot and in the heart of the Ortles Cevedale Group, are committed to ensuring that the Stelvio National Park is maintained in all its beauty. The inhabitants of Stelvio, Prato allo Stelvio, Glorenza, Tubre in Val Monastero, Malles, Lasa, Silandro, Martello, Laces and Ultimo do their best to preserve the diversity of this high mountain nature through a sustainable and not mass excursion tourism.