It’s a warm day in July and a friend of mine came over to visit. As a guy from the Netherlands, a country as flat as a pancake, the mountains have a lot to offer. Due to the heat, we decided any activity with water would be appreciated. Hanging in a swimming pool? No, that not. We need some adrenaline rush. And so we end up in a rubber boat going down a wild river.

The timing is right

As it’s July, it means it’s mid-summer in Northern Italy. This usually means sunny weather with high temperatures. As the summer season is well underway, the river is relative “quite”. Most of the glacier water in the lower regions of the slopes has melted and with no to little rainfall in the last couple of days, we are in for a relaxing trip. Or so we thought. Rafting the Noce river is still an experience that has enough up its sleeve to kick your ass.

Heavy rainfall in the past days or just rainfall during the rafting experience will probably make the trip even more wild and exciting. At times, it might even get scary in such conditions. For us though, on our adventure day, the trip was just about perfect.

Be fearless

While this experience may seem rough and scary, I strongly recommend anyone to give it a try. With professional instructors, protective gear and clear guidelines you feel safe and comfortable. Wearing the wetsuit might feel a little cold and nasty at first, but knowing the water is very, very cold, you will be glad you are wearing it. Besides, it offers protection from the rocks that you might hit when falling out of the boat.

Falling out of the boat may also seem as a scary prospect, but actually, at a quite part of the river, you will be free to jump out of the boat and have a swim. And I strongly recommend doing it.

Interested in more outdoor activities in Trentino? Look no further!

This ride is not only stunningly beautiful, it also offers you some nicer temperatures. With it’s lowest point at 1092 meter above sea-level you can rest assured that after 6 o’ clock in the evening it cools down to more mountain bike friendly temperatures.

The shelters and huts of the Pasubio-group

Locally, this ride is know under the name ‘Tra le malghe e le baite del Pasubio‘. As the autonomous province Trentino Alto Adige, it of course goes by the German name of ‘Zwichen malgen und hutten der Pasubio-gruppe‘ too.

The name is correct. While you bike from 1092 meter to 1903 meter above sea level trough the Pasubio-group, you pass several shelters and huts. During summer, some of them are open and are very much recommended for a pit-stop on the hotter days. Keep in mind though that usually they are open in weekends and up till around 7 in the evening.

Starting from Giazzera, where there are parking places, you are in for a little bit of a rough start. The first 500 meters it goes up to be followed by 500 meters down. This will get you awake and from there the only way is up. For 13 km you will find yourself battling an average gradient of 8%. The first 6 km this will be easy as it’s taking place on asphalt. After that, you enter rocky mountain roads and the further you go, the bigger the rocks!

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Taking a break from climbing

It’s also during this first 14 km you pass by the first 2 mountain huts. After 5 km you pass by Malga Valli and a mere 1.5 km later you find Malga Costoni. Depending on your level of fitness and goal of this ride, you might want to refresh at one of these two huts. If you do, just a few meters further after Malga Costoni you have majestic views over the valley!

After this point, all you will pass are ruins of the 1st world war and mountain shelters of the Pasubio-group. You will have to wait for kilometer 15 of this ride to get to the next hut; Rifugio Alpe Pozza V. Lancia. By that time, you have passed the tricky part of the decent towards Giazzera and find yourself at a 1825 meters above sea-level.

Halfway down to Giazzera

The first few 100 meters of the decent can be considered technical and depending on your level of experience even a bit scary. While the roads are wide, at some points it’s just steep and rocky. The further down you go, the better it gets. The rocks get smaller and more concrete shows up. After 19.5 km the road turns into asphalt again and while you have to be careful at blind corners, you can charge ahead fast from this point.

Arriving in Giazzera, you’ve done about 23 km and a rough 900 meters of climbing. For the trained mountain biker that doesn’t take a lot of time to stop, this ride will most likely be completed under 2 hours. If you are a recreational biker that is out to enjoy the scenery and want to take the time to enjoy and relax at the mountain huts, you can easily fill a half a day with this trip.

On a nice, sunny day, the views from the lake are wonderful and you should definitely go out and explore lake Garda by boat. The north of the lake is surrounded by steep mountains while in the south flat land dominates the scenes. Lake Garda has different faces and considering the length of the lake, a whopping 51.9 km, there’s enough space to float around.

How lake Garda formed

It feels like lake Garda has always been there but it hasn’t. This impressive big lake and it’s surrounding mountains tell a story. If you are into geology, you might even be able to make an guess.

Lets take a look at it’s shape. The norther part is narrow (3km) compared to the south (16.7km) of the lake. And then there’s the depth of the lake. In the north it’s up to 364 meter deep while in the south it’s usually between 10 and 100 meter.

The answer to the formation of the lake is a massive Piedmont glacier. 1.5 million years ago this glacier flowed down the Brenta Dolomites and carved the lake. As the glacier ended up on flat lands it formed a bulb-like lobe and after the glacier melted the freshwater lake remained.

How to explore lake Garda by boat

Enough history as it’s time to get out and explore lake Garda by boat. Before you head out it’s important to know that lake Garda is part of 3 provinces; Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto and Lombardy. This is important as this means that there are different rules for different parts of the lake.

When you rent a motor boat the first thing that they will tell you is to stay out of the northern part of the lake. This means you can’t visit Riva del Garda by self-steered motorboat and you can’t rent one either. In Veneto and Lombardy this is not a problem.

Second, you probably want to stay away as far as possible from the wind/kite-surfers and sail boats. They tend to go fast and be in one area so it should be easy to avoid them.

Where to rent a boat?

As mentioned, you can’t sail by yourself in the northern, Trentino, part of the lake. You therefore will not find any boat rental in that area. But when in Veneto or Lombardia, you’ll find boat rentals in for example Malcesine. For about 110,- euro’s you’ll be able to rent a speed boat (40hp) for 2 hours.

With many, many places to rent all kinds of shapes and sizes of boats, I recommend you to have a search at Google. If you are already near lake Garda, you most likely find a rental company in your neighborhood.

Ah, last but not least, don’t forget your swimwear! There’s nothing better then taking a fresh dive into the beautiful blue water of lake Garda!

What are the Stoanernen Mandln?

It rises a question though. What are these man of stone doing here? There are at least a 100 of these piles of stones gathered around the cross.

The story goes that it’s a place was used by witches. In fact, there are legal documents dating back to 1540 that claim these practices. The witches would dance around the stone figures, worship the devil and change the weather, sending violent thunderstorms down the valley.

These stories combined with the mystic Stoanernen Mandln gives this place an enchanting and mysterious atmosphere. Combined with the spectacular views this is a hike you don’t want to miss!

Hike to the Stoanernen Mandln

As in many places, there are tons of ways to get up to the Stoanernen Mandln. The good news is that no matter what way, you’ll be presented with wonderful views along the hike. Common places to start are close to Sarentino or Merano.

The route I share here starts in Vöran and will take you on a 21km long journey. With an ascent of around 996 meters, this route will take you a little over 6 hours excluding stops. While the route itself is not hard, you do need a good condition. The experience and landscape are absolutely worth it though!

Other options to start a hike towards the Stoanernen Madln are from the nearby ‘Parkplatz Grüner Baum‘ or ‘Parkplatz Schermoos‘ in Mölten. Starting from there will reduce the duration of the hike to approximately 4 to 5 hours.

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Along the route

Along the route you will pass several restaurants. Note that the opening hours are seasonal. During high season many of these restaurants are open daily while in winter time they may only be open during weekends or even completely closed.

On the map we have marked some of the restaurants so you can keep them in mind while walking around. If you can’t get enough of the beauty in this region, it’s even possible to stay for the night at a couple of these places.

A hike to remember

While it’s not the toughest hike in terms of condition, the hike will still take you a full day to complete. Best of all, in terms of scenery and landscape, it’s one of the prettiest around. If you find yourself in the area in spring time, you’ll be welcomed by lots of flowers as well, giving yet another level of beauty to the hike.

If you are considering this hike or are interested in this region, we’d recommend you to visit the Avelengo, Verano and Merano tourist information website which is part of the region Süd Tyrol.