Perfect getaway in the Dolomites

We had the pleasure of spending our August holidays of 2021 in the lovely Dolomites, in the town of Nova Levante (Welschnofen).

A photographic highlight of the region for sure is the Lake Carezza (Lago di Carezza, or Karersee). The view across the green-turquoise lake, the woods reflecting on its surface, and the view up to the Latemar mountain group on top, is unique and certainly breath-taking.

In terms of nature and wildlife-photography, we discovered a lovely hike up to the Rifugio Passo le Selle, in the Fassa Valley (Val di Fassa, Fassatal). We took the bus starting from the town Pozza di Fassa, nearby the Dolomites Geyser Restaurant, that took us up to the lodge Malga Manzoni. From there it is around a 45min hike (altitude of 300m) up to the next lodge, Rifugio Taramelli. I was discovering a swarm of red crossbills during the hike up there. From the back terrace of the Refugio Taramelli, I was able to watch two nutcrackers, who dared to come rather close to the cabin and hence was able to get some very nice shots of this beautiful bird. The highlight was when a golden eagle appeared out of the mist.

On the second stage of the hike, from Rifugio Taramelli up to the Rifugio Passo le Selle, I was able to watch and nicely photograph marmots. There are quite a few of them housing in their burrows in front of and around the small mountain lake Lago delle Selle, Sella Lake. On the meadows surrounding this lake, I was also able to observe and take pictures of the wheatear and the meadow pipit. Overall, a fantastic hike, highly recommended not only for photographing wildlife, but also to enjoy the outstanding scenery!

One of the biggest lakes in the area of South Tyrol is Lake Kaltern (Lago di Caldero, Kalterersee). It is an outstanding biotope, and plays a very important role as a resting spot for migratory birds, while certainly not less important as a spot for breeding birds, with a huge variety of species breeding here as well. The day I went to visit the lake was unfortunately a quite hot one, and the afternoon I was visiting the area, I was hardly able to see any birds. I still managed to capture a nice shot of a wall lizard, that I simply could not hide :) .

Overall, the Dolomites truly are a fantastic place for nature and wildlife photography, and combined with many beautiful hikes and mountain peaks, made up for an outstanding vacation!