Located at 1752 meters above sea level, Lake Misurina is magically surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountains in the world, like the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, the Cadini, the Sorapìss, the Cristallo, famous not only for the beauty of the landscape, but also for its pure and balsamic air.

Here was born in 1900 the Grand Hotel Misurina, which saw Italian Queen Margherita among the first “tourists”, which later became the summer residence of the House of Savoy and then transformed after the end of the Great War into a center for the treatment of childhood asthma, the protagonist of one of the most photographed “postcard” landscapes in the world.

A romantic break among the most fascinating and photographed peaks of the Dolomites, from the Tre Cime di Lavaredo to Monte Cristallo.

Among these mountains were also born some of the explorers and mountaineers who were the first to climb peaks and opened the paths now traveled by many tourists, such as Giuseppe and Valerio Quinz.
Giuseppe, who became a mountain guide in 1922, in 1928 took over the then Locanda al Sole on Lake Misurina, then managed by his son Valerio starting in the 1960s. It is he, of great character and charisma, who contributes to increasing the popularity of the place, guiding famous people such as the former President of the Republic Francesco Cossiga who used to visit him in his inn.

Today, his sons Ugo and Lorenzo continue the business, renamed Locanda al Lago, which, thanks to its privileged position overlooking the lake, offers the possibility of enjoying from the rooms’ windows the thousand colors it assumes during the day, from the blue of the morning to the purple shades of the sunset.

From here, in addition to crossing the lake that freezes in winter, allowing romantic walks and the famous horse polo matches, you can set off on many excursions, in particular for the panoramic road that leads to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, one of the most suggestive in the world.

The walk begins in the direction of Lake Antorno where, after about 1 km and a half, you arrive at the lake of the same name from which you can continue on foot (for about another 2 km), rent a fun snowmobile, or book one of the most photographed vehicles of the Dolomites, the Tanko Shuttle, a Bandvagn 206, Swedish military tracked vehicle, which Malga Rin Bianco, the destination of our excursion (close at the moment, but will reopen shortly), makes available to its guests.

One of the most fascinating mountain huts in the Dolomites, located right at the foot of the Tre Cime and used as a military hospital during the Great War, it is managed by Andreas Quinz, the third son of Valerio, a famous mountain guide, who collaborated in the filming of all most famous films shot among these peaks, such as The Bear by Jean-Jacques Annaud, now also a passionate cook and sommelier.

Here, together with his great friend, writer and mountaineer Mauro Corona (who has often talked about the Quinz family in his books), he inaugurated a Library Room on the first floor of the Malga which, dedicated to his father Valerio and his grandfather Giuseppe, collects books dedicated to mountains and mountaineering.

While during the day, on the panoramic terrace, it is possible to taste a typical cuisine based on local raw materials, with the sole exception of the chosen meat of Argentine origin, in the evening the proposal becomes gourmet and it is also possible to book a romantic dinner with soft lights based on a tasting menu of various courses with wine pairing.

From the Malga, in addition to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, you can also easily reach Monte Piana, an open-air museum of the First World War, the Croda dell’Arghena or the Scoglio di San Marco, boundary stones of the Serenissima Republic of Venice marked with the Lion of San Marco and flanked by panoramic paths built along the trenches of ’15 – ’18 Great War.

Useful Info

Locanda al Lago
Tel. +39 0435 392220
Rooms from 100 euro

Malga Rin Bianco
Tel. + 39 320 5699375