Lago di Sorapis
Turquoise lake at the foot of the Sorapis
Photo: kallerna / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
At around 1,900 m, the Lago di Sorapis glows an unreal turquoise from fine glacial flour and is reachable only on foot. The popular hike from the Passo Tre Croci leads over partly exposed, cable-secured sections to the lake at the foot of the Sorapiss walls. Bathing is not allowed, for protection.
Highlights
- Unreal turquoise glacial lake
- Hike from Passo Tre Croci
- Backdrop of the Sorapiss walls
- Reachable only on foot
Good to know
| Elevation | around 1,900 m |
| Colour | turquoise from glacial flour |
| Approach | from Passo Tre Croci (secured sections) |
| Note | Bathing not allowed |
Practical info
Getting there: By car or bus to the Passo Tre Croci near Cortina.
Best time: July to October (otherwise snow/ice on the path).
Cost: Access free; parking payable (please verify).
Safety: Partly exposed, cable-secured sections; sure-footedness needed, not for small children.
Tips:
- Start very early, the path and car parks are overrun in summer
Background & History
Lago di Sorapis lies hidden in a high valley of the Ampezzo Dolomites and is regarded as one of the finest mountain lakes of the entire Alps, above all because of its unreal, milky-turquoise colour. This luminous blue is created by the finest rock flour, which the glaciers of the Sorapiss group grind off and which, suspended in the meltwater, refracts the sunlight in a special way, a phenomenon known as glacial milk that makes the lake change colour according to the incidence of light.
The path to the lake follows in part old mule trails and leads through a landscape in which the traces of the First World War can still be found, for the rugged Dolomite peaks were once a contested front line between Austria-Hungary and Italy, and in places wire ropes and ledges hewn into the rock secure the narrow trail. Above the lake towers the mighty Sorapiss group, whose name lives on in the Ladin legend of King Sorapis, who out of guilt turned into a mountain and whose glaciers were interpreted as his eternally flowing tears. Because the lake has drawn more and more hikers in recent years, protection rules now apply to the sensitive shore. So this quiet, high-lying lake unites raw geological beauty with a mythology deeply rooted in the mountain culture.
To make your trip run smoothly , our guides and gear tips for this destination:
