Looking back from the footpath that winds down to town from a spur near the Kolfuschgerhof resort.

From the footpath to the cableway — Colfosco, Italy.

A closer look at the town and church from the footpath to the cableway — Colfosco, Italy.

From the footpath to the cableway ... with the town behind us — Colfosco, Italy.

Colfosco Cableway ... today's ride up the mountain from the valley station — Colfosco, Italy.

Interesting concept to take rocks for a hike ... at the valley station — Colfosco, Italy.

And we are off on the Colfosco cableway — Colfosco, Italy.

From the Colfosco cableway — Colfosco, Italy.

One of several ski bridges over the main road through the town — Colfosco, Italy.

Having fun near the mountain station for the Colfosco cableway — Colfosco, Italy.

Yeah, the chair is a bit big for me 😄 — Colfosco, Italy.

This is where we realized that to get to trail #8, we'd have to climb up quite a bit first.

Horses and cows grazing in the mountains — Colfosco, Italy.

Heading down to the Edelweiss Hut for a snack — Colfosco, Italy.

Edelweiss Hut ... not far from the mountain station — Colfosco, Italy.

A pair of alpaca at Edelweiss Hut — Colfosco, Italy.

At the entrance to the Edelweiss Hut — Colfosco, Italy.

The view from our table at the Edelweiss Hut — Colfosco, Italy.

Apple strudel with vanilla ice cream ... Edelweiss Hut — Colfosco, Italy.

An unexpected and delightful moment as we were leaving the Edelweiss Hut — Colfosco, Italy.

Near trail #4 as we begin our hike down to town — Colfosco, Italy.

Looking back from the paved trail as we head down to town — Colfosco, Italy.

Chiesa di Calfosch is a Ladin church — Colfosco, Italy.

Cemetery at Chiesa di Calfosch — Colfosco, Italy.

Purple fleabane in a garden near the church — Colfosco, Italy.

Colfosco: Gondola Up; Hike Down

July 16 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

With blue skies and sunshine urging us to get going, we had a quick breakfast at the apartment and headed out around 9:00a.

Leaving the car parked at Chalet Cogolara, we followed a footpath down from our hilltop perch into town, crossed the road to another footpath, and kept going until we got to the valley station for the Colfosco cableway.

Our plan was one recommended by Manuela at the chalet … take the gondola up to the mountain station, then follow trail #8 to #8b to hike back to the chalet. What she neglected to tell us was that to get to #8, we’d have to first negotiate the steep #4 trail.

To revisit our plan in light of this development, we hiked down a short trail to Rifugio Edelweisshütte. At the early hour of 10:15a, there was hardly anyone around. We sat down to enjoy hot chocolate — good but not the thick, gooey kind we had earlier in our trip. We also shared an “apfelstrudel mit vanilleeis” … yes, that would be apple strudel with a side of vanilla ice cream.

While we were enjoying our ‘snack with a view’, we started to see people hiking up to the hut from somewhere below. Checking the map, we determined the trail would take us down to Colfosco, so we decided to do that hike instead.

Just as we were leaving, a herd of horses came down from where they were grazing … adults accompanied by colts and fillies. What fun! I’d already seen the two alpaca at the rifugio, and we’d spotted a couple of marmots as we were coming up on the cableway … so plenty of critters today.

When we got back down to town, we detoured to check out Chiesa di Calfosch, the Ladin church that was originally consecrated in 1419. It was enlarged in 1869 and given a neo-Gothic façade … with the characteristic onion spire on the bell tower. I especially liked the simple, elegant decorations painted on the ceiling inside.

When we checked in at the Chalet six days ago, Manuela had emailed us free passes for the shuttle that operates between the villages in the region. We decided that taking a ride back to the apartment would save us a considerable amount of uphill walking. It also changed our plans for the afternoon.Read more