Walk in Cortina: To Lake Pianozes From the Town Center

Introduction

On this page we'll describe a wonderful walk surrounded by greenery. The starting point is the center of Cortina, and the destination is Lake Pianozes. The return is along the road of the former railway, which will be taken in the district of Zuel.

You can find this walk to Lake Pianozes on the Tabacco Map 003 - "Cortina d'Ampezzo Dolomiti Ampezzane." It goes along the white road called "Convento," then Path 432, and finally Path 449. Alternatively, you can see our route on Google Maps by clicking here.

This is a simple walk, but the length is almost nine kilometers, or five and a half miles, and there are a few steep climps. For this reason it not an ideal path for the elderly or small children, who might get tired. Anyway, you can shorten it as much as you want: the "Convento" road is lovely, and you can turn back anytime.

Path of the Walk

This walk to Lake Pianozes, as we imagined it for you, starts in the town center, at the foot of the bell tower. Walk in the direction of Bar Lovat and head towards the big yellow house with the writings "Corazza - Ampezzo" on the walls. We've got an interesting fact for you! It's one of the oldest houses in all of Cortina.

After reaching "Corazza's House," turn left and take the porphyry road at the right of the tiny church, heading towards the Church of the "Difesa."

Once you reach the Church of the Blessed Virgin of the Defense, turn right and follow the road that runs along the cemetery walls.

Once you reach the parking lot of "Via del Parco," enter it, and stay on the left side as you walk one hundred meters, or three hundred feet. Continue until you see the sign indicating the beginning of the "Convento" road, which is easily recognizable as it's the only one going downhill between two rows of trees.

Once you cross the wooden bridge over the "Boite" Stream, you will have to face a short but intense climb, at the top of which you will see some of the most beautiful meadows in Cortina.

From here the panorama opens up in all directions, offering an astonishing view of Cortina, Zuelm and the mountains "Faloria," "Antelao," "Tofane," and "Pomagagnon."

Here you can rest on one of the benches available, or you can sit on the grass. If you see that the lawns have been recently mowed, it could also be a beautiful place to organize a picnic.

The road continues for a few hundred meters until the small districts of "Campo di Sopra," followed by "Campo di Sotto." The names, in Italian, mean "Upper Field" and "Lower Field," referring to the large meadows of the area.

After a few steps in the village, on your right, you will see a small church; it's called "Chiesetta di San Candido." This small chapel was built in 1740 as a symbol of protection against the repeated fires that had devastated the village of "Campo di Sopra."

The interiors of the church are rarely accessible, but you can look through the protective glass, which protects the artworks inside. Between those, the most precious is the wooden altar on the right; it is one of the most charming examples of "Flügelaltar," and it was sculpted by Michael Parth in 1549.

For those interested in more information, inside the church, there are some beautiful brochures about the history of the church and its artworks.

Proceed south until you reach the intersection with the main road, where you'll go right, in the direction of "Campo di Sotto" and "Pianozes."

At the end of this straight stretch of the road, it turns left, but make sure to proceed straight towards the woods. After a few meters, take the small bridge on the left towards Lake Pianozes.

Get ready to face about 200 meters of steep slope, six hundred feet, at the end of which you will find a cross. Take the left, and after a few meters, this beautiful alpine lake will appear.

At Lake Pianozes you can eat at the restaurant of the same name, but it is rather prestigious, with prices that are certainly not popular. During summer, in the peak season, a small kiosk is also available, where you can eat a sandwich, drink something, or enjoy an ice cream. The kiosk is open approximately from the middle of July to the beginning of September; the restaurant opens for longer periods.

After relaxing on the shores of Lake Pianozes, you have to decide how to continue your walk. The shorter way to go back to the center of Cortina is returning by the same road you took to arrive here.

However, we want to offer you an alternative way, a little longer but very fascinating: go back along the same road, but once you reach the electrical tower and the bus stop, just a little after the end of the descent, turn right at the crossroad.

Walk along the asphalt road in the direction of Zuel. Along this straight road you can enjoy a beautiful panorama of Mount "Faloria" and the vast meadows of "Campo."

Keep following the asphalt road, and you will pass by the Camping Dolomiti, over the bridge on the "Boite" Stream, and finally up a fairly steep climb that will bring you to the district of Zuel.

Once at the top of the climb, you could consider taking a deviation to take a close look at the old-school Olympic Ski Jumping Tower "Italia," vestiges of the 1956 Cortina Olympics.

It's an interesting detour, as you can get right up to its base, and it's quite an imposing sight. To reach it, turn right and continue along the uphill road, the one that enters the woods, as you can see in the picture below.

The duration of this detour should be twenty minutes, adding the time to look at the jump tower; it's also worth it to go to see the beautiful panorama on the side of the jump. Currently the area is a bit neglected, but it still has a certain charm.

Now let's go back to Zuel: after arriving at the first houses, you will see an asphalt road that cuts horizontally. You can recognize it by the signpost "Pista Ciclabile," which means bike path, but it's open to pedestrians too. You have to take it towards the left, in the direction of Dobbiaco.

In about thirty minutes, along the route of the former railway of Cortina, you'll reach the center of Cortina. If you need to rest along the path, you will find a few benches where you can take a break with a splendid view of the Tofane.

Proceed until you walk on the high bridge over the road, near the Faloria Cable Car, then take the road that goes down to the left to go back to the bell tower of Cortina, the starting point of our walk from the center to Lake Pianozes.

Curiosities

Lake Pianozes is a small artificial lake created for tourist purposes. The restaurant is owned by the "Regole d'Ampezzo" and is given to management according to a ranking.

In 2019 the "Regole d'Ampezzo" carried out several works to improve the Pianozes area, consolidating the access road and expanding the restaurant. As a result of these interventions, the shores of the lake have been made accessible to people with disabilities, and the peninsula has been expanded to host the kiosk.

If you want to walk more, once you arrive at Lake Pianozes, you could take a short but demanding walk to Lake Ajal. We talked about this hike, which will take you about two hours, on the following page:

From Pianozes to Lake Ajal A short but intense hike to see two beautiful alpine lakes: Lake Pianozes and Lake Ajal. 2h 00' - 4,5 km - Intermediate

The road "Convento" is also known as the former powder magazine road. The name comes from an old gunpowder magazine that was used for the construction of tunnels; it was built by the municipality of Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1859. The small building was renovated in 2009; a few years later, we took the picture you can see below. If you decide to visit it, you'll have to pass through a narrow path, unattractive and difficult to see, which runs alongside the fence of the vet's courtyard. Currently the area is not at its best, not really, but it's definitively a hidden gem, known by few. Consider it only if you love niche things.

As you cross the large meadows of Campo, you may see Hotel Tiziano in the distance, which has been closed for several years. Many people don't know that the hotel was named so for a very specific reason. There is a theory that claims that the famous Italian painter Tiziano Vecellio was not born in Pieve di Cadore, but rather in Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the locality of Campo, as we can read in this article written in Italian by venetostoria.com.

It has been written by the famous historian Mario Ferruccio Belli. Is it true? Sincerely, we don't want to enter into the merits of the discussion; we only want to tell you what we think is an interesting anecdote.

Without wishing to consider this thing either a reason for pride or a reason for shame, but only an historical event, Cortina was very important during the fascist period. Here the Savoy family came as guests, as well as Mussolini's daughter, Edda. In the area of "Campo," in 1934, took place the "Campo Mussolini," a summer camp where they hosted three hundred young sons of Italians abroad, as you can see in this YouTube video of the "Istituto Luce," a powerful propaganda tool of the fascist regime.

How to Get There

This walk starts in the center of Cortina, so you shouldn't have any problem getting there. The only advice we can give you is to try to move on foot as much as possible, as parking in the center could be a more difficult mission than you might think. If you want to take the car, you may want to read the page we wrote about all the parking lots in Cortina:

Where to park in Cortina Valuable tips for parking your car. A complete list and map of all the parking lots in Cortina. Reading time: 7 min.

For any doubts you may have, you can consult the Tourist Information office in the center of Cortina.

Useful information

The walk to Lake Pianozes can be done at any time of the year, even in winter, as the roads are normally cleared of the snow. Consider that, along the road "Convento," in winter, it is recommended to use appropriate footwear for walking on snow.

Even if this is an easy walk, when you go hiking, you should always use comfortable shoes and bring a backpack with some water, a snack, and a rain jacket. If you are not used to mountain hikes, before venturing, we recommend you read the page below:

Safety tips for hikers Tips for safely going hiking in the mountains and prepare your backpack with all you need. Reading time: 8 min.

We want to emphasize that, in the territory of the Dolomites, there are rules to be followed. The main ones are:

• It is strictly forbidden to light fires.
• It is strictly forbidden to pick plants and flowers.
• Free camping is prohibited.
• It is prohibited to abandon garbage.
• It is mandatory to keep pets on a leash.

Always be responsible, and when in doubt, stop. CiaoCortina cannot be held responsible for any damage to things or people, variations, wrong paths, errors, or inconveniences that may occur along the route.

Conclusion

We hope you liked this page about the walk from the center of Cortina to Lake Pianozes. Before saying goodbye, we would like to mention that you can find other amazing hikes in Cortina and its surroundings by clicking here.

If you want to thank us, you can read the page Support Us. If you only want to suggest a change, propose something, or just say hello, in the section Contacts and Info, you'll find all the ways to reach us.