Racines Giovo in summer

Racines-Giovo, which in the cold season is a very popular ski area with 8 ski lifts, in the summer it becomes an unmissable excursion area. Waterfalls, gorges, huts and villages make Racines-Giovo a perfect location to discover in every corner, from Val Giovo to Val Racines up to Val Ridanna.

Val Racines and Val Giovo

Racines, Ridanna and Giovo are lateral valleys of the Val Isarco, among the most beautiful in South Tyrol, showing their most enchanting and characteristic face at any time of the year.

La Ridanna Valley rises in the shadow of Monte Giovo 19991 m high. and the Stubai Alps, while the Val Giovo it extends for a good 35 km from Casateia to Passo Giovo itself, considered in fact the highest in all of Italy (this pass connects the Val Passiria to Racines).

La Racines Valley rises to about 1280 m. high and extends up to Vallettina, at the foot of the Sasso di Mareta (2192 m. high), composed of a rock literally veined with marble. It is not surprising that the marble used to build the Schönbrunn Castle in Vienna and other monuments dedicated to the great classical musicians and Vipiteno scattered throughout the Austrian capital comes from the Val di Racines.

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The Racines-Giovo area in the summer can only fascinate all lovers of nature, of excursions and to the sports in the open air, which at these latitudes is truly healthy and beneficial. The woods are more lush, the green pastures are dotted with beautiful ones edelweiss which blossom between May and June, while the waterfalls are particularly thunderous and spectacular.

This area is perfect for entertaining between the paragliding at Gewingesalm or Elleswiesen, for to fish at the alpine lakes, go hiking in mountain bike or look for mushrooms in the woods.

Foot race lovers can also participate in the Ratschings Mountain Trail, a trail running that takes place in June: it is just over 17 km long, passing through Klammalm, Flading, the Wasserfalleralm Malga, rejoining for a stretch also the Sentiero delle Malga di Racines.

Who wants to discover the area a horse riding, can reach the Panorama Resort Taljörgele or the Maso Oberauerhof, thus setting out to discover the Val Ridanna and the landscapes surrounding the Stubai Alps.

The hiking area of ​​Racines-Giovo will also please the little ones, who will be able to have fun thanks to the Path World-Adventure-Mountain, a theme trail which starts at the Racines-Giovo mountain station and continues along a forest road to the Rinneralm restaurant.

Along the way, you will encounter wooden installations such as the world of giant ants, that of marmots complete with tunnels, the biotope with local plant species, a large slide and an Adventure Wood where you can have fun among small climbing frames and nets.

The conclusion of this Path World-Adventure-Mountain is the Vista degli Scoiattoli, a tall tower that can be reached after climbing 145 steps.

To visit the entire Racines-Giovo area, it is possible to start from spectacular towns such as Bressanone or Sterzing. The first is an ancient episcopal city where it is possible to walk along medieval-looking streets, with buildings embellished with battlements and bay window (protruding wooden balconies) and porticoes under which characteristic artisans' workshops are hidden.

Not to be missed is the Museum of Cribs in the Bishop's Palace and the Cathedral of S. Maria Assunta with the splendid frescoes by Troger inside. Not far from Bressanone is then the beautiful Novacella Abbey, surrounded by chestnut groves and vineyards: excellent quality wines are still produced here today.

Vipiteno it rises a stone's throw from the Brenner Pass and has its symbol in the Torre delle Dodici, located at the end of the picturesque Via Città Nuova. In the Gothic Church of Santo Spirito you can instead admire the fifteenth-century frescoes by Giovanni da Brunico, while inside the former Commenda of the Teutonic Order there are museum spaces that house valuable works such as the doors finely painted by Multscher.

Summer in Racines-Giovo allows you to enjoy places like the Provincial Museum of Mines, located in Ridanna-Monteneve: using historic carts, which have been in operation for almost 150 years, you explore the galleries where zinc, lead and silver were mined. The production plants and the transport systems of the mine are clearly visible, which took place through horse towing.

From Racines-Giovo you can also easily reach the Wolfsthurn Castle, one of the most beautiful 12th century baroque buildings in Tyrol: it dominates the village of Mareta and is home to the Provincial Hunting and Fishing Museum.

Equally beautiful is the Castel Tasso in Campo di Trens, already present in 1100: perfectly preserved over the centuries, it allows visitors to see rooms such as the thirteenth-century kitchen, the underground prisons, the armigers' dormitories, the splendid, beautifully frescoed Sala Verde and the Chapel of San Zeno with the remains of ancient Baiuvari burials dating back to the period between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries.

What to do and what to see

In Racines-Giovo there are many excursions to do, different from each other and suitable for both families and the fittest. Many, for example, organize themselves to reach the crosses which have been placed, over the years, on top of the peaks of the area: some symbolize the conquest of a peak, others mark the borders and still others have been placed to keep away thunderstorms and storms.

The most beautiful are at the top of Point of Midday, on the Top of the Accla, on the Tip of Monte Giovo and on Fleckner: the most majestic, in steel, stands on Monte Alta Croce.

The most beautiful excursions that can be done lead, for example, to the Mount Giovo, covering, from Passo Giovo, the path n.17 along steep slopes on the western side of the mountain.

From Pordan you arrive, crossing the path n.25A, to the Mareta stone : you walk towards Platzhof through wooded sections and other slightly steeper ones. For the return you can opt for path no. 14 which, among a series of panoramic hairpin bends, descends to the Racines Valley, then returning to Pordaun.

The panoramic view is beautiful Path of Val Giovo, which does nothing but retrace the old valley road: the starting point is Casateia and, along path no. 17B, you reach the Platzhof and Gringgerhof farms, and then continue on the forest road up to Hanselepatsch. Continue on paths 19 and 18, which offer incredible views over the Val di Mezzo.

The Trail of the 7 mountain pastures of Racines which, through paths n.19B and n.15, allows hikers to reach the Calice, Rinneralm, Wasserfalleralm, Saxnerhutt, Aussere Wumblsalm, Innere Wumblsalm and Klammalm huts, the latter located among very green meadows at 1925 m. of height. Via path no. 12 you return to Vallettina.

Among the places to see absolutely near Racines-Giovo are the Stanghe waterfalls: located just 3 km from Vipiteno, they can be reached via a lush path that winds through the heart of a wood, between wooden bridges and stairways that almost touch the waterfalls.

The water flows inside a gorge carved over the centuries by the Rio Racines, which has revealed green and white marble veins: this same precious stone was used to build the beautiful Church of Innsbruck.

Hikers must know that by visiting the Stanghe waterfalls they can enjoy the air full of oxygen ions, the high concentrations of which bring benefits to the respiratory and immune systems (in this case we speak of real waterfall therapy).

Also the Ancherain gorge it deserves to be visited on an excursion that starts from Mareta, a stone's throw from the Wolfsthurn Castle: you walk along the Fern river, you pass a ladder and cross the wood until you reach the center of the village of Gasse. Trail no. 17A then reaches the small church of Santa Maddalena while trail no. 9 takes you back to Mareta, the starting point.

There are hikes that lead to Burkhard Gorge, in the heart of Val Ridanna, reachable along path no. 9 which starts from the Mining Museum in Ridanna and which offers incredible views of the Stubai Alps and the Breonie Alps.

From Val di Sopra, in Val Giovo, you can get to Gurgl waterfall through the path n.12A that leads to the Baita Bergalm, passing an idyllic landscape full of pastures and small streams. If you wish, you can continue up to the Ontrattalm Malga, where goats and cows will be grazing to wait for customers.

Do not miss the Tour of the Seven Lakes which, overcoming a drop of 1400 m., in just over 7 hours of walking starts from Malga Massaro and takes hikers to discover enchanting alpine lakes, including Lake Torbo and Lake Pfurnsee.

Among the experiences to do there is then that of undertaking the Barefoot Trail which starts from Racines, near the Hotel Larcherhof: for 400 m. one walks on sand, grass, marble, gravel and wood, until one reaches a beneficial point Kneipp path.

Holidays

Racines-Giovo is a very large tourist area which, in fact, extends over three valleys: Ridanna, Racines and Giovo. Deciding to spend the summer here therefore means organizing excursions to places that are far from each other or in any case distant from the town where you choose to stay.

Knowing a new place also means learning more about local traditions and in the summer there are many events to participate in. Think about the Mountain Music Festival at the mountain pastures of Racines or at the Walk among the Malghe always in Racines, which allows tourists to collect five stamps, signs of their passage.

In August, on the other hand, you can participate in the suggestive torchlight procession at the Stanghe waterfalls, while the always characteristic one takes place in September Great Transhumance Festival in Ridanna: herds of cows decorated with colored ribbons and bells move from the Moarer-Senner malga towards the valley, amidst music and tasting of local delicacies.

Speaking of gastronomic specialties, one cannot fail to participate in the Dumpling Festival that animates every September Vipiteno: here you can taste dozens and dozens of different canederli, sweet and savoury, sitting at a table 400 m long. in the Town Square.

Having more time available also allows you to relax for a few hours in typical taverns or shelters to taste the traditional cuisine, made not only of canderli but also of yoghurt, game, sweet bread zelten, strangolapreti and Tyrolean goulash.

As regards instead the accommodation, in Racines-Giovo there are all kinds of them, from family-run pensions to holiday homes, up to B&Bs and luxury hotels complete with SPA treatments (the famous massage with stone pine sticks soaked in arnica and stone pine, notoriously beneficial above all for loosening contracted muscles).

You can sleep, where possible, even in a refuge, enjoying an intimate atmosphere, immersed in nature and with the mountains constantly dominating the view. Waking up and enjoying the most beautiful sunrise is priceless, especially on Cima Einacht, on Cresta del Giovo and on Cima Incendio.

photo credits: shutterstock