low sun on the pistes of the Alpin Arena Senales, with the wooden tables out on the snow

Italy · Trentino-Alto Adige · Mountains and hiking

Maso Corto

two thousand metres at the head of the Val Senales, where the road ends and the glacier begins

1 stopwhere to park

5 sightsto see

1 eventseasonal

Maso Corto sits at 2011 metres, at the head of the Val Senales, where the road ends and the glacier begins. It is a handful of houses ringed by more than 126 peaks above three thousand metres, with a cable car that climbs to 3212 metres in eight minutes. There is skiing from September to May, in summer the paths set off, and the highest motorhome area in Europe is a few steps from the lifts.

Sleeping

Stops and overnight stays

One option only, but in the right place: the area is inside the village, a few metres from the valley station of the cable car.

Caravan Park Schnals

the highest motorhome area in Europe, with flat marked pitches on gravel and 10A hook-ups included in the price. Toilet block with showers and hot water, bathrooms for people with disabilities, a washing-up area, a masonry barbecue area, free Wi-Fi. Washing machine 6 euros a load, dryer 3 euros. Dogs at no extra charge. The cable car is five minutes on foot, the centre of the village two or three, and the toboggan run and the cross-country loop are within walking distance.

between 40 and 90 pitches

WaterGrey waterChemical toiletElectricityToiletsShowerLaundryWi-FiWaste

From 40 to 45 euros a night per pitch, everything included; the rate changes with the season and with how many nights you stay · +39 0473 662171 · caravanpark-schnals.com

46.754225, 10.783883

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Getting around

The village is tiny: from the motorhome area everything is within walking distance, the cable car five minutes away
The Funivia Ghiacciaio Val Senales climbs in eight minutes from the valley station to the top station at 3212 metres, more than a thousand metres of ascent, and runs from September to May for the skiing and in summer for the walking
For the rest of the valley you need the vehicle: Lago di Vernago 10 km, then Madonna di Senales and the ArcheoParc; Merano 40 minutes away
The valley road is well kept and scenic, but in winter it can call for snow tyres or chains
Scheduled buses link Maso Corto with the valley and with Merano, but there are few of them: check the times at the tourist office or on valsenales.com

Seeing

Sights

The first three are at Maso Corto or on the glacier above it; the last two are reached going down the valley, ten and twenty kilometres away. Tap a marker on the map to open its entry below.

Funivia Ghiacciaio Val Senales and the Alpin Arena Senales

Point of interest · paid entry · 46.75742, 10.78234

the cable car leaves a few steps from the Caravan Park and in eight minutes reaches the top station at 3212 metres, straight onto the glacier. In winter the Alpin Arena Senales has some 30 km of pistes for every level, with snow guaranteed from September to May thanks to the altitude, and it is one of the few alpine resorts where you can ski almost all year round. In summer the paths for huts, three thousand metre summits and panoramic routes start from the top station.

Times and current prices on the website; tickets at the valley station or online · valsenales.com

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Iceman Ötzi Peak viewing platform

Viewpoint · paid entry · 46.76908, 10.79984

at 3251 metres, reached by the glacier cable car, it is dedicated to Ötzi, the Iceman found on these mountains in 1991 and who lived more than 5300 years ago. A 360 degree view over hundreds of peaks above three thousand metres, many of them on the border between Italy and Austria: from here you see the Palla Bianca, 3739 metres, the third highest summit in Trentino-Alto Adige, and the Similaun massif. Access is included in the cable car ticket and twenty or thirty minutes are enough.

To be checked on the official website

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Rifugio Bella Vista

Trail · 46.78336, 10.79212

at 2842 metres, reached from Maso Corto in about two hours along path number 3, a demanding but well marked route across the alpine pastures. In summer you can take the glacier cable car up and walk to the hut in an hour. The kitchen serves South Tyrolean dishes, from canederli to pork knuckle with sauerkraut. Open from June to September and during the ski season.

+39 0473 662140 · info@bellavista-schnals.com

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Lago di Vernago

Walk · free entry · 46.73489, 10.84895

about 10 km from Maso Corto, a quarter of an hour by road, a reservoir built in the nineteen fifties for hydroelectric power. The old village of Vernago stayed under the water, and the church bell tower still rises above it, above all in summer when the level drops. A flat loop walk of an hour and a half runs around the lake, suitable for children too, with bars and restaurants along the way and free parking nearby. In summer there are small beaches for a swim, in cold mountain water.

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ArcheoParc Val Senales

Museum · paid entry · 46.72422, 10.85697

at Madonna di Senales, about 20 km from Maso Corto, an open-air museum about prehistoric life and the discovery of Ötzi. It rebuilds a Neolithic village with huts and tools, and you take part in the activities: the bread of five thousand years ago, the clay, the loom, archery. Part of it is indoors, with videos and finds, the rest outside. Two or three hours are needed to see it all, and on summer weekends there are demonstrations of experimental archaeology.

Opening hours April to November, 10:00 to 18:00, closed on Mondays · adults 9 euros, children 6, families 20 · +39 0473 676020 · archeoparc.it

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When

Events

Sheep transhumance

in mid September

the flocks come back from the Austrian pastures of the Venter Valley, crossing the mountain border again, and are welcomed with a festival, one day at Vernago and the next at Maso Corto, with folk music, food stands and the sheep decked out in flowers and bells. The climb up happens in June, but the day depends on the weather and is not announced: the moment to see is the return.

Remember

Useful tips

The cable car early in the morning is less crowded and the light on the mountains is better
Even in summer it is cold up there: the windproof jacket stays in the rucksack even when you are in a T-shirt down in the valley
For the Rifugio Bella Vista set off early, with water, something to eat and a waterproof jacket: in the mountains the weather turns fast
The dish of the valley is canederli allo speck, made with stale bread, South Tyrolean speck, onion and parsley, cooked in broth and served with melted butter and grated cheese
At the Lago di Vernago the submerged bell tower shows up better on windy days, because the water is moving

Maso Corto · part two

and then?

What to do, what to taste, and where to go tomorrow.

Experiences from here

What we did starting from here, ordered by driving time.

walking across the plateau above the tree line, wooden toboggans in tow

The Lazaun toboggan run at Maso Corto

Walks · 10-15 minutes a run · 2 minutes away

Taste

Canederli are made all over the province; what is eaten almost only from here down, along the Val Venosta, is snow milk, and it was invented so as not to throw bread away.

Snow milk · ingredients for 4 people

150 g of stale white bread, crusts removed
200 ml of milk
half a vanilla pod
20 g of sultanas
4 tablespoons of grappa, rum or sweet wine
1 apple
2 tablespoons of pine nuts
2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons of sugar
150 g of fresh cream
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
dark chocolate to grate

Method

soak the sultanas in the grappa, the rum or the sweet wine and let them swell for half an hour
cut the bread into small cubes and put it in a bowl
warm the milk with the seeds of the half vanilla pod, pour it over the bread and let it soften for half an hour
peel the apple and cut it into small pieces
gently mix the soaked bread with the drained sultanas, the apple, the pine nuts, the lemon zest and half the sugar
tip the mixture into a shallow dish, dust it with a little cinnamon, cover it and keep it in the fridge for at least two hours
whip the cream with the remaining sugar and spread it evenly over the bread
dust with cinnamon and grated dark chocolate, and serve cold

60 more local recipes, region by region

Looking

Maso Corto in photographs

6 shots from our visit. Tap one to see it large.

a small white church with a pointed wooden spire, benches buried in snow and the peaks behind

a paraglider above the snowy ridge, in the blue sky over the larch wood

the piste running down through the larches with the gondola cabins moving above

old wooden huts with shingle roofs, under a snow-covered face

the sports shop in stone and wood, with tables outside under the snow