Val di Fiemme - Obereggen: Ski area guide

The valley of violins

Val di Fiemme opens east of Trento along the Avisio river, in a landscape where dense spruce forests run down the mountainsides to the farmed valley floor. Cavalese, the main town, is the ‘capital’ of a valley that built a leading tourist identity during the 20th century without giving up its working and cultural traditions.

The nickname ‘valley of violins’ is not just romantic. For centuries the Paneveggio forest, which closes the valley towards the Rolle Pass, has supplied tonewood to Stradivari and the world’s greatest violin makers. Paneveggio spruce grows slowly in the plateau’s unusual climate and develops a wood structure with acoustic qualities that cannot be reproduced. The Cremona makers, the Guarneri and Montagnana all used wood from this forest.

Visiting it in winter, when the snow muffles every sound, is an experience of quiet resonance.

Alpine skiing on the Alpe Cermis

Downhill skiing in Val di Fiemme centres on the Alpe Cermis, the mountain above Cavalese. It rises to 2,254 metres and has 110 km of runs from the valley up to the high slopes.

The run down from the Cermis is long and varied, and technically demanding at the top. The black runs above the Cermis glacial lake need good skiing skills and reward you with wide views of the Pale di San Martino, the Dolomite group that closes the horizon to the east.

The link with the Obereggen ski area, on the South Tyrolean side of the Latemar, extends the skiing northwards and brings it into the Ski Center Latemar circuit, adding more kilometres to the overall system.

The Marcialonga: the great cross-country classic

On the last weekend of January every year, Val di Fiemme becomes the stage for the Marcialonga, one of the biggest and most popular long-distance cross-country ski races in the world.

The 70 km course starts in Moena, in Val di Fassa, runs the whole length of Val di Fiemme and finishes in Cavalese. It crosses valley floors and woods and includes some tough climbs, with more than 7,500 entrants from dozens of countries.

The Marcialonga was born in 1971, the idea of a group of local enthusiasts inspired by the great Nordic ski marathons, and it has since grown into an event that turns the whole valley into a festival of endurance sport. Watching the start in Moena, with thousands of skiers stretching across the snow for kilometres, is a grand spectacle you can enjoy without knowing anything about cross-country skiing.

The Nordic World Ski Championships

Val di Fiemme has hosted the Nordic World Ski Championships four times: 1991, 1999, 2003 and 2013. The ski jumps at Predazzo and the cross-country stadium at Lago di Tesero are Olympic-standard venues that have given the valley a world-class tradition in snow sports.

Predazzo was the venue for ski jumping and Nordic combined at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, which put Val di Fiemme at the centre of the Games.

Getting there

• From Trento: the SS48 climbs through the Val di Cembra and reaches Cavalese in about 45 minutes on a scenic route.
• From Bolzano: head south on the SS48 over the Costalunga Pass, about an hour.
• From the A22 motorway: use the Egna-Ora exit to the south or Bolzano Nord to the north.