Hiking Lago di Braies (Lake Braies) in the Italian Dolomites

Lake Braies is a lake in northern Italy, in the Trentino Alto Adige region and UNESCO has named it as a World Heritage Site: the "Pearl of the Dolomites". Every year, especially in summer, many tourists come to admire the clear water and the wonderful mountain landscape. Come with me, I will hike you there!

Lake Braies is the most stunning lake in the Italian Dolomites in the Nature Park of Fanes-Senes-Braies. I wanted to spend my birthday in a special way and what's more special than spending a day on a wonderful Italian lake?

Paolo and I hiked around the lake; it is simple and suitable for everyone (not wheelchairs though) and you can explore a natural spot that seems to have been taken out of a fairy tale! The place was actually quite packed with families and groups, also because it has become the set of the Italian TV series, "A un passo dal cielo" (Just a step away from heaven).

What stays with you is the point of green of the lake water and the greenery surrounding! And the mountains mirrored on the calm waters; simply wonderful!

We arrived at Lake Braies in the late afternoon and parked the car in one of the parking lots (at a charge). You expect there lots of people because it is so famous, it is early summer and it is an icon of the Dolomites and the Alps.

We started off our hike from the hotel Lago di Braies, and hiked anti clockwise, walking north on the lake shore. Once you start hiking you understand why hundreds of tourists are coming here: for the perfect view and photos that have become world wide famous.

This is the first time I have visited the beautiful lake  –  lush fir trees hug the lake and the area is shining in the sunlight like a precious jewel – I wonder how this lake looks like when out of season you have the lake all to yourself! 

Tourists come here on purpose to take the round hike; however, you can hike lots of  trails starting from the lake to explore the area.

The three-kilometre hike starts and ends at Hotel Lago Braies if you take the anti clockwise route or at the rent a boat pier if you take the clockwise tour (which you are not suppoesed to). The whole tour takes about 2 hours at a slow pace with stops. However, I suggest to set aside the whole afternoon to take it easy and relax.

We follow along the wooded area in a wide bay.

We skirt the waters of an incredible green until we reach the imposing walls of the mountain that is called the Great Apostle: 1947 meters of altitude and beauty. The impressive north face of the Croda del Becco offers a unique scenario.

The almost completely flat and well-maintained mountain path clings to the mountains and you go past lots of cows drinking from the lake and grazing the grass on the shores.

But the beauty of the lake are the stories and apart from the fantasy one connected to the Fanes kingdom which you will I will tell you after, there is a real-life story that is particularly intense. 

It relates to the Hotel Lago di Braies, the historic hotel on the lake where the hike sets off. In that hotel SS hostages were transferred at the end of April 1945, in the final weeks of the Second World War in Europe.

These famous people from various nations which had been hostages in Dachau concentration camps were held as hostages in the hopes of trading heir lives for some concession as the hostilities ended. They were kept hostages in the hotel until the war ended.

A slight climb and then descent through  curves protected by some wooden railings leads us to a beautiful bay and a small pebble beach where you can rest in the sun and admire the natural spectacle all around.

Before the trail begins to climb toward the hike’s most popular spot, the outlook on the lake from the top, many tourists rest in the sun on the shores: the striking landscapes unfold in every direction. It’s a  feast for the eyes and you want to experience the place from every point. 

Apart from the sad stories from the World War, this lake has its fairy tale legend: it is said that on the summer nights, the queen of Fanes, together with her daughter Dolasilla, returns to Lake Braies in a boat, hoping to hear the sound of a trumpet lying on the bottom of the lake that would announce the return of the Kingdom of Fanes.

This is perhaps why there are so many boats in the lake, that you can rent ... we continue our tour of Lake Braies in the woods and in a panoramic position.

The hike is easy and short (not for prams though), but the views are very rewarding that you should not miss it especially in the late afternoon when the vast majority of the tourists will have left.