GHEDINA

A small refuge with a Friulian name - Ghedina - built where the Val d’Algone widens on the slopes of the southern Brenta Dolomites. It was Orazio Ghedina, from Cortina, who turned the buildings that had once been the premises of an old glass factory - the chimney is still standing - into a refuge. In 1946, his son Decio with his wife Milindy opened the refuge. We are on the threshold of the lands of the bear, where ancient place names recall their passing. But you don’t need to climb up to the Passo Bregn da l’Ors (in English “the bear’s drinking trough”) to see these magnificent animals. Ask warden Mariella Ghedina and she will tell you of the many occasions when, in the evening as silence falls, she has seen, without fear, a bear walking with her cubs over the meadows around its Refuge. Open: From early June to late September October only on request Before leaving for your hike, always contact the manager to verify the actual opening of the mountain hut Walks The refuge - which is on the Dolomiti Brenta Bike trail - is also frequented by mountain bikers. The Val d'Algone road goes as far as the summer pastures of Malga Nambi and Malga Movlina, and from there you can walk up to Passo Bregn da l’Ors (2 hours), and then if you wish on to Rifugio Dos Sabion or the Val d’Agola, with its picturesque little lake and the Rifugio XII Apostoli (1 ¾ hours, difficulty EE)