Fai della Paganella
Fai della Paganella is a small municipality in the province of Trento, set at around 960 metres above sea level on the Paganella P...
Updated 20 July 2026
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The story
The story of Fai della Paganella
Fai della Paganella on the Paganella Plateau
Fai della Paganella sits at just over 950 metres above sea level on a broad, sunny shelf of the Paganella Plateau, in the province of Trento, between the Brenta Dolomites and the Adige Valley. The municipal territory, covering around 12 square kilometres, includes the main town and the hamlets of Cortalta and Villa, and borders Andalo, Mezzolombardo, Spormaggiore and Cavedago. From the meadows and apple orchards surrounding the village, the view stretches over the Piana Rotaliana and the Adige Valley below, while behind it the plateau rises gradually toward the beech woods and high-altitude grasslands that precede Cima Paganella. This position, halfway between the valley floor and the mountains, made Fai a holiday destination as early as the beginning of the twentieth century, when a now-decommissioned funicular railway linked the Zambana Vecchia train station, in the Adige Valley, with the plateau, making the village easy to reach for summer holidays.
The Paganella and Skiing: From the Village to the Summit
Fai della Paganella is one of the starting villages of the Paganella ski area, where lifts climb directly from the village up to Cima Paganella, at 2,125 metres, the highest point of the skiable area. The Santel-Meriz chairlift carries skiers in a single stretch from the village to Rifugio Meriz, at 1,400 metres, from where other lifts branch off toward the summit; among the best-known runs is 'La Rocca', where generations of local children have learned to ski. The ski area, shared with Andalo and Molveno, covers around 50 kilometres of slopes and more than 1,100 metres of vertical drop, served by a network of chairlifts, gondolas and conveyor belts, with artificial snowmaking that keeps it open throughout the winter season. Alongside runs for experienced skiers, Fai della Paganella devotes plenty of space to families, with dedicated areas and ski schools designed for young children, in keeping with the village's vocation as a family-friendly winter sports destination.
Views over the Brenta Dolomites and Summer Outdoors
From Cima Paganella, reachable in summer too as the lifts also run in the warmer season, opens one of Trentino's most celebrated panoramas: to the west rise the peaks and walls of the Brenta Dolomites, especially spectacular in the first light of dawn, while to the east the view drops toward the Adige Valley and the Piana Rotaliana. Another panoramic spot closer to the village is the cross on Monte Fausior, reached by a short walk from the meadows of Fai, offering a view over the whole plateau. In summer the territory turns into an open-air park for hiking and mountain biking, with routes such as the Sentiero delle Aquile (Eagle Trail) winding through woods, mountain pastures and ridges, suited both to those looking for a gentle walk among the meadows and to those tackling more demanding routes toward the higher parts of the plateau.
Parco del Respiro and the Beech Forests
The landscape of Fai della Paganella is marked by the beech woods that surround the village and which, according to one of the most widely accepted theories, gave the place its very name. In one of these woods lies the Parco del Respiro, a therapeutic wellness park designed for a journey of slowing down and listening in contact with nature: among the beech trees visitors find hammocks, spaces for yoga and meditation, and guided forest-bathing paths for both adults and children. In autumn the wood lights up with the beech tree's typical colours, drawing visitors and hikers, while in September the village hosts 'Orme', a festival dedicated to walking and to the trails of the plateau. This attention to the forest and its rhythms makes Fai della Paganella a destination able to offer, within the same day, mountain sport and moments of restorative quiet.
History and Experiences on the Plateau
The origins of Fai della Paganella go back to prehistoric times: excavations at Doss Castel have uncovered traces of Bronze Age settlements attributed to the Rhaetian population, evidence that the plateau was already frequented thousands of years ago. The village first appears in medieval documents between 1177 and 1184, under the name 'Vai', linked to the Counts of Appiano. Among the most significant historical landmarks are the Church of San Rocco, in the hamlet of Cortalta, considered the oldest sacred building in the municipality, the parish church of San Nicolò in the main town, and Palazzo di Fai, an elegant summer residence built in 1620. During the twentieth century the historic funicular railway linking the Zambana Vecchia station, in the Adige Valley, with the plateau helped launch Fai della Paganella as a holiday destination, a role that the village, today flanked by the nearby towns of Andalo and Molveno within the Paganella tourist area, continues to play through skiing, hiking and slow-tourism experiences tied to the forest.
Not to be missed
- Chairlift ride from Fai up to Cima Paganella (2,125 m) for views over the Brenta Dolomites
- The Parco del Respiro, with hammocks, beech woods and forest-bathing trails
- The cross on Monte Fausior, a short panoramic walk from the meadows of Fai
- The Church of San Rocco in Cortalta and the seventeenth-century Palazzo di Fai
- A hike or mountain bike ride along the Sentiero delle Aquile (Eagle Trail)
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What to see in Fai della Paganella
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