Hiking to Alpe di Siusi, a Classic Sunrise Hike, Dolomites, Italy

Hiking to Alpe di Siusi for Sunrise is a classic.

Whether you are with or without a camera, catching the first morning light slowly lighting and warming up the largest high-altitude plateau in Europe is a unique experience.

Sunrise at Alpe di Siusi

Located in South Tyrol and also called Seiser Alm in German, the Alpe di Siusi offers fantastic views and easy walks among the several traditional huts, with views of some of the most dramatic peaks of the Dolomites. The seemingly inaccessible mountains sure make a nice contrast with the wide meadows of the largest plateau in Europe.

The area is easily accessible, and you can spend the night there in one of the several huts, guesthouses, or hotels should you wish to do so – and be one of the first ones out before the sun rises.

The Alpe di Siusi is also accessible year-round, so you could also plan some winter walks here.

Table of Contents

Overview of the Hike to Alpe di Siusi & Map

The hike from Compaccio is very easy. Mostly on paved country-side roads, with short trail sections and some dirt roads. There may be authorized cars driving around, trucks servicing the various restaurants/hotels, or farmers driving around.

Here is the map of the hike from Compaccio to the man Alpe di Siusi viewpoint. You can download the GPX file for free from the activity linked below if you want to go hiking directly to the Alpe di Siusi Belvedere photo spot:

How to get to Alpe di Siusi and Parking in Compaccio

There are two possible ways to get to Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm. The first, most common one is to drive to Compaccio. This is also the hike I’ll describe in this post. As mentioned above, you can only reach Compaccio by Car before 9:00 AM or after 5:00 pm.

Alternatively, you can hike directly from Ortisei, The hike isn’t much longer than from Compaccio, but the elevation gain is considerably higher (700m in about 5km).

You can also take the Cable Car from Ortisei or a shuttle bus from different locations.

• Driving Directions: from Bolzano, you can either take the A22 highway or road LS24 to Siusi and follow directions to Compaccio from there. If you are coming from the opposite direction (Bressanone), you would have to drive to Castelrotto first and then follow directions to Compaccio. Same if you are coming from Ortisei.
• Parking: Two parking spaces are available in Compaccio. One paid, Parking P2 in Compaccio. the other one, Parking P1, free but at a 15/20 minutes walk form P2. For both, you can only arrive before 09:00 AM, or after 5:00 PM. Just so you know, if you get there in time, you can drive down even if the road is closed to the incoming traffic. when going up, don’t drive any further than the Parking P2 area in Compaccio. That is reserved for authorized traffic (local or people staying at hotels there).
• Public Transport: from Ortisei, you can take the cable car up to Alpe di Siusi. Alternatively, you can take a Bus or a shuttle from various locations

If you are staying in Compaccio, you can book several different types of accommodation in the area. This is a good option if you want to be there for sunrise but not wake up super early and hike in the dark.

The area around the Belvedere offers several, beautiful different viewpoints.

The Hiking Trails To the Alpe Di Siusi Belvedere

First off, if you are doing this for sunrise, bring a headlamp. There are streetlights here and there, but parts of the trail are in complete darkness.

Second, the panoramic spot where you want to hike is called Belvedere.

The high plateau around the Belvedere is dotted with huts.

From Compaccio to Alpe di Siusi

From Compaccio it takes about 45/60 minutes to hike to the main trail to the main Alpe di Siusi viewpoint, the Belvedere. You cannot miss the viewpoint. It’s going to be overrun with photographers at sunrise!

If you do this hike during the day, you can’t miss the viewpoint either – it will be marked by trampled grass.

The hike is mostly flat, and there aren’t any signs pointing to “the spot”, so I do recommend taking a GPS track to navigate the plateau at night, as there are many roads and trails in the area.

there are many beautiful roads you can take to explore the plateau on foot.

From Ortisei to Alpe di Siusi

From Ortisei, you can hike directly to Alpe di Siusi, following the trail up the side of the steep mountain up to the plateau. This is a longer, harder hike. There are no particular challenges on the trail but the ascent is rather relentless.

If you are up to it, that will save you the cost of the cable car ride, or the trip to Compaccio. You can also hike up for sunrise and come back down with the cable car.

Considering it takes almost an hour to drive to Compaccio and then another hour to walk to the belvedere, the time it takes to hike directly from Ortisei is almost the same.

The Alpe di Siusi Photos and Photography Tips

This is one of the most visited Landscape photography locations in the Dolomites. Apart from it being an extremely beautiful and photogenic location, it is also easily accessible, so you’ll be in the company of many other photographers.

This is one of the most crowded sunrise locations I ever visited – if not the most crowded. I am not used to seeing that many people around that early in the morning :).

One of the many rows of photographers at Alpe di Siusi for Sunrise.

Sunrise at Alpe di Siusi & Belvedere Photo location

The Belvedere isn’t a marked location with an observation deck or anything. It’s just a place in this general area. So that’s where you’d want to be for sunrise.

First tip: you’d want to be out early, much earlier than you’d think. There also are many photo tours visiting this location, and they try to be out as early as possible.

Sunrise at Alpe di Siusi – view from just below the Belvedere.

I was at the trailhead at 5::00 AM and there were already three other cars that just arrived before me. By the time I hiked to the main viewpoint by 6:00 AM, there were already around 40-50 other photographers and groups scattered around.

As I was watching them trying to figure out which location to pick for sunrise, I was approached by another photographer who looked at the crowd and commented “Well, I guess this is the sport right?” – I chuckled at that as I was just thinking there were already more people that I could count.

Second tip: find your spot, but also move around. There are plenty of beautiful views and compositions around, don’t let them go to waste :)!

Best lenses for Alpe di Siusi

Ideally, you’ll want to use something between 18 and 24mm on the widest side. Any wider didn’t work for me, everything would either look too small or too far. That is not to say you can’t find any good use for them

This is not to say it won’t work, definitely tried it out, but for the limited time at sunrise the 24-70 was a handier choice for me. On the other hand, I had the most fun with an even longer lens, my 70-200.

Long-reach lenses open up to many more compositions, as well as to the power of compression. This definitely is the lens I had the most fun doing landscape photography with at Alpe di Siusi. If you have one, I’d highly recommend bringing it with you.

200mm, full frame – detail of the maountains behind the Alpe di Siusi

What I like the most about Sunrise at Alpe di Siusi

However, what I like about this location is its wide views and the many viewports you can hike to. I’ll repeat that, don’t limit yourself to the one sport everyone stays at. Hike around and you’ll be rewarded.

This is the largest plateau in Europe, so there is plenty of space to frame different elements and views all across the plateau.

Walk around and look for different landscape elements and more unusual compositions. there are plenty of them. I spent nearly two hours walking around after sunrise just walking to various viewpoints.

Where to stay

I stayed in Ortisei and drove up to Compaccio. Ortisei is a great option to explore more of this area, like the Seceda Ridgeline or le Torri del Vajolet, so it’s a good place to spend a few days if you are looking to be based in this area.

If you are in a Camper or a Van, Parking P2 has a dedicated space – paid, of course.

Additional Resources

• Here’s the main page on Hiking in Italy.
• For more hikes in the area, check out the Seceda Ridgeline Hike.