The Pralongia Plateau

Wednesday is a rest day for the staff at Colette's, so at Office Hour on Tuesday we sought some advice for a walk the following day.  The suggestion had us walking beside the Rü Tort as far as La Ila and then taking a chairlift to the Pralongia Plateau.

We set off down the hill after breakfast an headed out of town, stopping first for photographs.

We found a well-made path along the river and set off.  It was quite busy and as we walked we passed a number of exercise stations.  We opted not to try these as our ability to translate the instructions was somewhat limited!

                       

Of course we were surrounded by the picturesque mountains and alpine houses as we headed to the gondola station.  A short trip had us atop the plateau where we found a children's playground with a range of different activities to those usually found in Australia.

A coffee at the refugio before we set off on our walk was in order and again we were able to admire the surrounding landscape.

Refreshed, we headed off along the Tru Panoramich route.  We had exited the La Ila cable car at 2077 metres and were heading to Pralongia at 2138 metres.  We were in no rush, the path was undulating and we took our time, stopping to admire the views, photograph a range of wildflowers and check out the rabbits and goats at one of the farms.

                        

We were most appreciative of the display boards that allowed us to work out where each of the peaks was situated.

The main industry in the area, apart from the tourism is hay-making.  The meadows are very rich in magnesium from the Dolomite rock and this makes the grass high quality and sought after by race-horse trainers.  It was explained to us that at the end of the season - now - if the weather is warm, the meadows are mown frequently as the farmers try to get the most out of their 'crop'.  It was certainly very soft and springy whenever we were able to walk across the meadows.

We stopped for lunch at the refugio at Pralongia, before enjoying another coffee and heading back down.  We were pleased that the route we had chosen ensured that we walked directly back to Pensione Angelo and not through the town of Corvara, as there is quite a hike from the town up to our pensione!

We headed into the town for dinner that evening, and enjoyed some of the local fare.