Sorapis lake hike

This popular hike leads without great differences in altitude over some exposed passages from Passo Tre Croci to the shimmering turquoise Sorapis lake.

Route description Sorapis Lake

The hike to Sorapis lake starts at one of the car parks on or just before the Tre Croci pass, which connects Misurina with Cortina d'Ampezzo (access via Val di Landro valley and Misurina).

Here you follow hiking trail no. 215 towards the rifugio Vandelli mountain hut or "Rifugio al Sorapis". At first it leads almost flat through a secluded wood, which now and then offers beautiful views of the surrounding bellunese dolomites.

Finally, the forest thins out. Now the path, which has been quite wide so far, gradually becomes narrower, bumpier and somewhat steeper, but with a more interesting landscape: Thus, the view sweeps over dense, deep green forests to the opposite, towering rock faces. Even the striking peaks of the world-famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo can be made out in the distance.

Shortly after, you will encounter some exposed passages that are quite easy to overcome thanks to the steel cables and metal steps cut into the rocks. Nevertheless, this path is recommended only for sure-footed hikers who are free from vertigo, especially since the narrow, rock-strewn path passes close to deep abysses in places.

Behind it, you once again enter a sparse forest. Now the Rifugio Vandelli mountain hut with its striking blue and white shutters is not far away. Surrounded by tall trees and even taller dolomite rock walls, it invites you to take a break at 1,926 meters above sea level.

But before that, you should climb up to nearby lake Sorapis, which, depending on the season, shimmers milky or clear, but always in an almost unreal turquoise blue. Its fairy-tale color is due to its high lime content.

It is recommended to walk around the Sorapis lake on narrow paths surrounded by mountain pines and bushes.

The way back from Sorapis lake is the same as the way there.

How the Sorapis (lake) got its name...

The Sorapis lake is fed by underground springs of the 3,205 m high Sorapis peak. A little below the mountain lake its water falls in a waterfall to Valnera valley, from which its name derives. In ladin language, the word "Pis" means a waterfall. "Sora el Pis" therefore means nothing other than "above the Waterfall".

Interesting details about the Rifugio Vandelli mountain hut

In 1821 the German and Austrian Alpine Club had built a moutain hut directly on the Sorapis lake. After being buried by an avalanche and rebuilt, it was soon to fall victim to another avalanche.

The moutain hut built here by the CAI (Club Alpino Italiano) after the first world war was also to last only four decades: it fell victim to the flames in 1959.

The current moutain hut dates back to 1966. It was named after the then CAI president Adolfo Vandelli.

The legendary Sorapis

Incidentally, there is a touching legend about the man who gave the lake its name, the 3,205 m high Sorapis: King Sorapis had a beautiful but vain and spoiled daughter named Misurina, whom he loved above all else.

One day she claimed the mirror of a fairy for herself. Sorapis tried in vain to talk her out of this wish. Finally, he gave in to her pleas and accompanied her to Monte Cristallo, where the fairy lived.

When he reached the top, he begged the fairy for the mirror. But the fairy did not relent for a long time. Finally, she made a cruel condition to the king: she would only hand over the mirror to him if he would turn into a mighty mountain peak that would cast high shadows on her flower garden and thus protect it from the glaring sunlight.

In fact, Sorapis did as he was told. But as he gradually turned to stone, the deeply stricken Misurina staggered and fell to the valley. When Sorapis saw this, tears flowed from his eyes and gathered into a lake: the Misurina lake.

Infos Sorapis lake hike

• Duration:03:45 h
• Length:11.6 km
• Height gain:400 m

• Min. elevation:1723 m
• Max. elevation:1925 m