Alpe di Siusi - Seiser Alm: Ski area guide

Europe’s largest winter plateau

The Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm in German) is unlike any other ski area in the Italian Alps. It is not a ski resort in the usual sense. It is a plateau of 56 square kilometres, the largest in Europe given over to winter sports, and in winter it turns into a white world surrounded by Dolomite peaks.

There are no roads and no cars. In winter you get up here by lift or by sledge, and that is the only way. The rule protects the calm of a place that heavy traffic would spoil for good.

The result is a silence you rarely find at a busy ski destination: the swish of snow under your skis, wind in the larches, the odd bird. Around you rise the Dolomites: the Sassolungo (3,181 m), the Sciliar (2,563 m) and the Catinaccio (2,981 m), sheer walls standing out of the white plateau. It is the view people still talk about years later.

How to get up to the plateau

Lifts climb to the Alpe di Siusi from three different places:

• Ortisei, in Val Gardena: the Ortisei-Alpe di Siusi gondola is the easiest option if you are coming from the motorway.
• Siusi, the village closest to the plateau: a cable car gets you up in a few minutes.
• Castelrotto, the cultural heart of the Castelrotto-Kastelruth municipality: a third route leads to the eastern side of the plateau.

Residents and guests of hotels on the plateau can apply for special permits. For almost everyone else the no-car rule has no exceptions, and that is exactly what makes the place special.

Downhill skiing: the view is the star

The 60 km of downhill runs lie on mostly gentle terrain, with moderate gradients that match the rolling shape of the plateau. Blue and red runs are the norm; steep, technical black runs hardly exist. If you want pure adrenaline and sheer faces, you will be disappointed. If you want to ski through one of the finest landscapes in the Alps, this is the place.

Compatsch is the main lift hub on the plateau. From here skiers head west towards Monte Piz and east towards Saltria. The links between sectors are frequent and well organised, and you can ski the whole piste map in one unhurried day. With small children or beginners, the wide slopes and the absence of crowded bottlenecks make for a relaxed day.

Cross-country skiing: where the plateau really shines

The downhill runs are beautiful rather than technical. Cross-country skiing is what the Alpe di Siusi does best. With more than 80 km of groomed trails for both classic and skating technique, the plateau has the most extensive cross-country network in Italy and one of the largest in the Alps.

Professional athletes come here for altitude training camps. Cross-country skiers travel from all over Europe, especially Germany, Austria and Scandinavia, for the reliable snow, the immaculate grooming and the scenery, a combination that is hard to match elsewhere.

Snowshoe walks and long evening sledge rides round off a winter offer that goes well beyond downhill skiing.

Getting there

From Bolzano, the easiest route is via Ortisei in Val Gardena: leave the motorway at Chiusa and drive 30 km up Val Gardena to Ortisei. From Bolzano Sud you can also reach Siusi on the SS12, then climb towards Castelrotto. Either way, allow about 45-50 minutes from the motorway exit to the lift.

There is no direct rail link to the plateau, but SAD buses connect the main villages of Val Gardena with Ortisei throughout the season.