This is one of the top rated hikes in Cortina D’Ampezzo and I completely understand why. However with that being said be prepared for crowds of people, this can be avoided if you head out early “before 8am”. Dan and I did this hike as our first hike in the area in the middle of July almost the heart of the busy season. It was very busy but we got out early and we were able to have the lake relatively to ourselves, at least for the shot above. We took trail 215 out and then took trail 216 to trail 213 on the way back making the hike almost 9 miles with 2,600 ft of elevation gain. Besides just a breathtakingly beautiful lake the trail also takes you to refugio Vandelli where you can stop and have lunch or a drink, you can even stay the night here if you would like to do a more extensive hike. In hindsight it would have been better to take these trails in reverse given that the way back was much tougher than the way out but that just personal preference. We usually prefer a challenge in the beginning and more of a resting/down trail on the way back. However, you can also just take the 215 out and back, which would make the hike around 6 miles and only about 1,200ft up, but you would miss out on some amazing return views of the Cristallo mountain range, see the 2nd picture. the trail l is very easy to follow ( all trails in Italy are marked incredibly well with red and white lines painted on either rocks or trees, there are also many cairns along this route especially along trail 216 that direct you to the proper way.) the 215 is rated as family friendly and it is very busy but the 216 connecting to the 213 is rated as an expert trail and it’s definitely strenuous but manageable if you are in decent shape and have proper shoes. It is also far less crowded. Once you head onto the 216 you are climbing for almost 2 hours till you reach Forcella di Marcoira (pass/saddle) then you start heading down a steep but relatively short scree path till you connect with the gentle trail 213 for the next hour. Here is the All Trails map I used. side note, we did walk around the lake taking the path to the left that was closest to the lake. Do not take this path it leads to a 15 ft cliff over the lake which we had to scale, I would not do it again and would definitely not recommend it to anyone. Stick to the trail that either goes to the right or the trail on the left that takes you farther away from the lake.
