Pale di San Martino

The Pale di San Martino form the southern massif of the Dolomites — a compact group of towers and walls above the resort town of San Martino di Castrozza in Trentino. The massif is one of the most dramatic in the range: the Cima della Vezzana (3,192m) and the Cimon della Pala (3,184m) rise from the plateau in near-vertical faces above the ski resort, visible from the valley as a wall of pale rock.

The cable car from San Martino reaches the plateau rim in minutes, where the high ground opens into an extraordinary flat landscape of limestone pavement and snow. The ridge walk above the plateau to the Passo Pradidali is one of the best high routes in the Dolomites, with views across the whole southern range. In winter, San Martino di Castrozza is a quieter ski resort than the Sella Ronda circuit — with a fraction of the crowds. The local cheese, smoked meat, and honey from this less-visited corner of the Dolomites are worth seeking out.

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A story
The Pale plateau, at around 2,600 metres, is one of the great geological curiosities of the Dolomites — a vast, almost flat highland desert of pale limestone, roughly 60 square kilometres, ringed by enormous rock walls. In the Ladin tradition, this plateau was the realm of the fairy queen Fanes and the ancient Fanes people. The Ladin legend cycle of the Kingdom of Fanes, first written down in the 19th century from oral tradition, is set in landscapes that are identifiable from the descriptions to this day.

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