Corvara

Corvara in Badia sits at 1,568m in Alta Badia in South Tyrol. The area belongs to the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage area, at the foot of the Sassongher massif. Corvara in Badia is one of Alta Badia’s six villages, alongside Colfosco, La Villa, San Cassiano, Badia and La Val. The resort is a year-round mountain community rather than a purpose-built, car-free resort.

Corvara has a long relationship with skiing: the first ski school in Alta Badia was established here in 1934. On the slopes above the village, a primitive sledge lift to Col Alt was built in 1938 and, in 1946, it was replaced by a chairlift that is documented as Italy’s first chairlift. The Col Alt installation has since been renewed as an 8-seater gondola.

Skiing from Corvara gives direct access to the Alta Badia area, which has 130km of groomed pistes served by 53 lifts, with slopes ranging from about 1,324m to 2,778m. The terrain mix is weighted towards easier cruising (74km of blue runs, 47km of red and 9km of black), and the network links straight into the Sellaronda ski circuit around the Sella Group. The Sellaronda crosses four passes: Campolongo, Pordoi, Sella and Gardena. It can be skied clockwise or anticlockwise, and runs through Corvara and Colfosco in Alta Badia, Arabba, Canazei and Selva di Val Gardena.

For views, the Pralongià High Plateau sits above the villages at over 2,100m. Locally it is described as the ‘Amphitheatre of the Dolomites’. The area is also known for wide panoramas that include the Fanes Group, the Puez Group, Sassongher and the Marmolada glacier. Within the wider Alta Badia area, La Villa’s Gran Risa piste hosts World Cup racing and drops 448m over 1,225m, with a maximum gradient of 69%.

In the village, historic landmarks include the late-Gothic Church of Santa Caterina, which is mentioned in records in 1347 and was consecrated in 1452. Corvara’s dining options include world-class cooking. For example, La Stüa de Michil – Simone Cantafio (at Hotel La Perla) currently holds one Michelin star.

Away from piste skiing, Corvara has an indoor ice stadium with public skating sessions, an indoor bouldering and climbing centre, and operators offering tandem paragliding flights. For quieter days, there is a 4km cross-country skiing trail that starts beside the ski school and runs gently across the meadows towards Pescosta. Sledging is available on the Cherz–Planac sledge run above Corvara (1.3km). In summer, Alta Badia runs a seasonal programme of lifts for hiking and cycling, and almost all lift facilities also offer bike transport. The Golf Club Alta Badia is a 9-hole course near Corvara, and Sellaronda Bike Day closes the four passes to motor traffic on set summer dates.