Vodo di Cadore is a small mountain comune on the SS51 between Pieve di Cadore and Cortina d'Ampezzo, sitting at the geographical centre of the upper Cadore valley. The village is strung along the valley road for about a kilometre at roughly 900 metres elevation, in the shadow of two of the most striking peaks in the Dolomites: Monte Antelao to the east and Monte Pelmo to the west.
The comune is small (around 800 inhabitants) and quiet, but its position is exceptional. The Forcella Staulanza pass road climbs west from Vodo into the Val Zoldana, giving the most direct mountain approach to Pelmo. The Antelao group rises directly to the east, with classic Dolomite ridge walking accessible from the upper village. There is little to do in Vodo itself beyond eat and rest — the attractions are the mountains in every direction.
The Boite valley around Vodo is known among Italians for its emigrant traditions — generations of villagers spent the summer working as gelato-makers in Germany and Austria before returning home for the long alpine winter, and several of the famous Italian ice-cream families in central Europe still trace their roots to these hamlets. Walk along the road and you will see surnames repeated on doorbells and tombs in the small cemetery. Vodo is a sleepy place to stay if you want to be near the mountains without the prices and crowds of Cortina.