Sesto
Sesto (Sexten in German) is a municipality of Alta Pusteria (Val Pusteria/Pustertal), in the province of Bolzano, lying in the eas...
Updated 17 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Sesto now
The story
The story of Sesto
Sesto amid the Sesto Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Sesto (Sexten) is a municipality of Alta Pusteria, the valley that runs through eastern South Tyrol up to the border with Austria. The village lies on the valley floor at the foot of the Sesto Dolomites, one of the nine Dolomite mountain systems recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2009 for their geological and scenic value, unique in the world. The vertical walls, pale spires and gullies surrounding the settlement have made Sesto a historic reference point for Dolomite mountaineering, frequented since the nineteenth century by climbers and travelers. The village retains a layout typical of Alta Pusteria's mountain settlements, with South Tyrolean-style architecture and a strong tourist vocation that developed alongside the discovery of the surrounding mountains. From Sesto, numerous trails climb toward the side valleys, making the village the main gateway to the Dolomite group that bears its name.
The Sesto Sundial and the peaks that mark the hours
Sesto's best-known symbol is the Sesto Sundial (Sextner Sonnenuhr), the sequence of peaks that, seen from the valley floor, ideally mark the hours of the day like the numbers on a dial. From west to east follow Cima Nove, Cima Dieci, Cima Undici and Cima Dodici, the latter also known as Croda dei Toni, the highest summit of the Sesto Dolomites. The name comes from the traditional observation that the sun, in its daily course, touches the different peaks in sequence, marking for those living in the valley the passing of the day. These spires, visible from much of the village and the surrounding trails, have always been a visual and cultural reference point for the Sesto community and a recurring subject in Dolomite landscape photography. Their shape, made up of steep walls and sharp ridges, has also made them historic destinations for high-level climbing.
Val Fiscalina and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo
From Sesto one reaches Val Fiscalina (Fischleintal), one of the most striking valleys in the Dolomites, cut between vertical walls and high-altitude meadows. Following it upward, historic trails lead to the Locatelli mountain hut (Dreizinnenhütte), one of the most celebrated viewpoints in the Dolomites, offering views of the north face of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Drei Zinnen), the famous rock towers that mark the border between South Tyrol and Veneto. The route connecting Sesto, Val Fiscalina and the Locatelli hut is one of the most popular hiking itineraries in Alta Pusteria, used by experienced hikers as well as by walkers tackling shorter stretches toward the valley-floor huts. The combination of the nearby Tre Cime and the tranquility of Val Fiscalina, free of paved roads in its higher stretch, is one of the main reasons Sesto is known internationally.
Tre Cime Nature Park and the traces of the First World War
Much of Sesto's municipal territory falls within the Tre Cime Nature Park, a protected area established to safeguard the surrounding Dolomite environment, including forests, high-altitude pastures and the rock formations of the Sesto Dolomites. The park preserves a natural heritage of alpine plant and animal species, together with a geological landscape that contributed to the UNESCO recognition of the whole Dolomite system. The mountains around Sesto were also a direct theater of the First World War: between 1915 and 1918 the Dolomite front ran along these peaks, on the border between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, leaving trenches, tunnels and outposts still visible along several historic trails. Today thematic routes allow visitors to retrace those high-altitude war sites, offering a historical reading of the landscape alongside its natural and mountaineering dimension, making Sesto also a significant stop for the memory of the Dolomite front.
Skiing, mountaineering and hiking all year round
Sesto is an active tourist destination in every season. In winter the ski area extends across the slopes of Croda Rossa and Monte Elmo, with runs connected to the wider Alta Pusteria network that have made the area a reference point for alpine skiing in South Tyrol. In summer the focus shifts to mountaineering and hiking: the walls of the Sesto Dolomites attract climbers on historic and modern routes, while a dense network of trails links the valley floor to high-altitude huts, from Val Fiscalina to the Locatelli hut and the other side valleys of the group. The Tre Cime Nature Park also offers more accessible routes suited to families and less experienced hikers, with scenic viewpoints onto the Sesto Sundial. This variety of options, combined with the proximity of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, makes Sesto one of the most complete bases for exploring the whole of Alta Pusteria.
Not to be missed
- The Sesto Sundial: Cima Nove, Cima Dieci, Cima Undici and Cima Dodici (Croda dei Toni)
- Val Fiscalina and the trail to the Locatelli mountain hut
- The view of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo from the Locatelli hut
- The First World War historic trails in the Tre Cime Nature Park
- Skiing and winter sports on the Croda Rossa and Monte Elmo areas
To see
What to see in Sesto
Routes · Trovido Route
