A 3 week trip to the Italian Dolomites became unforgettable after we were treated to unparalleled photography conditions.
More info: inafarawayland.com
For the first few decades of our lives when we thought of Italy, we imagined coastal towns, old cities with ancient Roman remains, Venetian canals, and eating prosciutto in the rolling hills Tuscany
We certainly didn’t think of mountains. The best part of the alps is further west in France and Switzerland we thought. It was only until we became landscape photographers that we were made aware of the North Italy’s beauty.
The eastern end of the Europeans Alps, more precisely the Southern Limestone Alps, is home to a region called The Dolomites
It’s an expansive mountainous region which shares a long border with Austria to the north.
It’s close proximity to its German speaking neighbour means that it’s developed its own mountain dialect and culture
Being fluent in German and mildly proficient at other Latin-based languages we thought we’d be able to understand what they were saying
We were hugely mistaken. They could understand us but we had a lot of trouble unless they spoke more traditional German or English.
The Italian Dolomites are famous for Via Ferrata in the summer and snow sports during the winter but they are popular with photographers like us all year round
We completed many Via Ferrata which range in difficulty to easy strolls to full on vertical multiple pitches up sheer cliff faces
We stayed in multiple mountain refuges which were surprisingly cheap compared to hotels in the lower elevation pueblos but for me, the highlight was camping amongst the peaks
Another highlight was the food, coming from Poland and England we love hearty meals and it’s exactly what we were served
Meat stews, potatoes, prosciutto, speck and several different cheeses.
If you want to go there, the closest international airport in Italy is in Venice, so if you plan on visiting, allocate a few days before and after to explore the amazing canal city
On our website, In A Faraway Land, we write about some of our experiences there as well as many other mountain ranges including the Southern Alps of New Zealand and the Canadian Rockies
The Italian Dolomites are in short, a great vacation not just for Europeans but for worldwide tourists looking to capture some phenomenal mountains
