Lake Braies: A Gentle Guide to the Dolomites' Green Mirror

There are places that look almost too perfect in photographs, and you arrive half expecting disappointment. Lake Braies — Lago di Braies in Italian, Pragser Wildsee in German — is not one of them. It is better in person, because photographs cannot carry the smell of pine resin, the cold breath coming off the water, or the particular silence of a Dolomite valley early in the morning.

The lake sits at almost 1,500 metres in the Prags Valley, a quiet side valley of the Puster Valley in South Tyrol, northern Italy. It is about 1.2 kilometres long and no more than 400 metres wide, cupped in dark conifer forest, with the pale grey wall of the Seekofel (2,810 m) rising at the far end like a curtain at the end of a stage.

What makes it such a kind destination for travellers in their sixties, seventies and beyond is simple: the beauty begins the moment you step out of the bus. You do not have to climb to earn the view. The most famous panorama in the Dolomites is a hundred flat metres from the car park.

A little history

Lake Braies is a young lake by geological standards. It is a barrier lake: a landslide from the slopes of the Herrstein dammed the Prags stream, and the water simply gathered behind it. That accident of rock explains the shape of the shoreline — one shore gentle and open, the other heaped with boulders and old timber.

For centuries this was a working valley of farms, pasture and hunting grounds. Tourism arrived with the Puster Valley railway and with one family in particular: the Hellenstainers, hoteliers from nearby Niederdorf (Villabassa), who opened the Hotel Pragser Wildsee on the northern shore in July 1899. The grand pale building you see today, with its shutters and its little boathouse on stilts, is still that hotel, still run by the same family.

The lake also holds one remarkable, sombre story. At the end of April 1945, the hotel sheltered around 137 prominent prisoners whom the SS had brought south from Dachau — politicians, officers, clergy and relatives of resistance figures from seventeen countries — who were freed at Villabassa and waited here until American troops arrived. It is strange and moving to stand in such a serene place and think of that week.

The lake and the forests around it now lie inside the Fanes–Sennes–Prags Nature Park, and the shore is also the official starting point of the Alta Via 1, the classic long-distance route across the Dolomites. You will see hikers setting off with enormous rucksacks. You are entirely free to watch them go and order a coffee instead.

The small chapel beside the Pragser Wildsee (Lago di Braies), built in the early twentieth century.

What to see

The north shore and the boathouse

This is the view you already know: the wooden boathouse with its row of green and white rowing boats, the water shading from turquoise to deep forest green, the Seekofel behind. It is a two-minute stroll from the bus stop on level ground, with benches. If you see only this, you have seen the heart of Lake Braies.

The lake by rowing boat

Rowing boats can be hired at the boathouse in the warmer months, and this is, to our minds, the single most comfortable way to enjoy the scenery. Twenty minutes of gentle rowing takes you out into the middle of the lake, where the mountains stand all around you and the noise of the shore falls away. Getting in and out of a low boat does require a steady foot and a helping hand, so take your time and let the staff assist you.

The chapel on the western shore

A few hundred metres along the flat western path stands a tiny chapel, built in 1904, with the water on one side and the forest on the other. It is a natural turning point for a short walk and a lovely place to sit.

The southern end

Where the valley narrows, the lake shallows into pale gravel flats and the Seekofel looms almost directly overhead. The light here in the late afternoon is extraordinary. Reaching it means walking roughly half of the loop, so judge it by how you feel on the day.

The forest and the larches

Look at the trees as much as the water. Among the spruce there are larches, and in late September and October they turn a deep golden yellow that doubles itself in the reflection.

Rowing boats on Lake Braies, South Tyrol — the traditional way to see the lake.

The gentlest walks and the best viewpoints

The classic walk is the circuit of the lake: about 3.5 kilometres, roughly an hour to ninety minutes at an unhurried pace, with almost no climbing. But the two halves are not equal, and this is the most useful thing we can tell you.

The western shore (to the right as you face the lake from the hotel) is broad, flat and well surfaced. It is the easy half, suitable for walking sticks and — along the northern shore and part of the western side — for wheelchairs and prams.

The eastern shore is a different matter: narrower, rockier, with sections of steps, roots and short uneven stretches above the water. There is nothing alarming about it for a steady walker, but it is not step-free.

Our suggestion: walk out along the flat western shore as far as the chapel or the southern end, enjoy the views, then simply turn round and come back the same way. You will have seen the finest angles and avoided every step. If you do want the full circuit, go clockwise so the harder half comes while your legs are still fresh.

For viewpoints, the north shore gives the postcard; the middle of the western path gives the best full-length reflection; and the southern gravel flats give the most dramatic sense of scale.

The southern shore of Lake Braies, where the valley narrows beneath the peaks.

A day trip nearby

Two outings pair beautifully with the lake, and both let the machinery do the climbing.

Prato Piazza (Plätzwiese) is a wide alpine meadow at around 2,000 metres, just over the ridge from the Prags Valley, with open views towards Monte Cristallo and the Sexten Dolomites. In high summer the toll road is restricted to private cars during the middle of the day, but a shuttle bus runs up from the Brückele (Ponticello) car park in the Prags Valley. Once at the top, the plateau is almost flat — a rare chance to stroll at high altitude without a climb. Mountain huts up there serve lunch.

Plan de Corones (Kronplatz), above Brunico, is reached by cable car from Riscone or Valdaora and tops out at 2,275 metres. The summit plateau is gentle, with a viewing platform by the Concordia 2000 bell offering a genuine 360-degree panorama of the Dolomites, plus two mountain museums and several restaurants. It is roughly a 45-minute to one-hour drive from Lake Braies, and it is the easiest big view in the region.

Honest advice for comfortable travel

• Come very early or late in the day. Lake Braies is one of the busiest spots in the Alps. Before about 9 in the morning and after about 4 in the afternoon the shore is calm, the light is better and the air is cooler.
• Check the summer access rules before you travel. In roughly the first half of July through mid-September, driving to the lake during the middle of the day requires an advance reservation — for a parking space, a bus, or a hotel stay in the valley. Rules are adjusted each year, so confirm on the official Prags/Braies tourism pages.
• Let the bus do the work. Line 442 runs up the valley from Villabassa (Niederdorf) and Dobbiaco (Toblach) in about 20 minutes and drops you close to the shore. No reservation, no parking stress.
• Sleep in the valley if you can. Staying at the lakeside hotel or in Braies, Villabassa or Dobbiaco means you can walk out at dawn and avoid any long transfer.
• Mind the altitude and the weather. At 1,500 metres the sun is strong and the shade is cold. Bring a layer, a hat and sunglasses even in August, and expect afternoon thunderstorms in high summer.
• Wear shoes with grip. The western path is firm gravel, but it can be damp and the eastern side is uneven. Walking poles are genuinely useful here.
• Toilets, café and benches are all near the northern shore, so plan your out-and-back walk from there.
• Allow two to three hours for a relaxed visit, and more if you want a boat and a long lunch. There is no need to rush.

What to eat

South Tyrol cooks in two languages, and the Puster Valley does it particularly well: Austrian heartiness with Italian technique.

Start with Speck Alto Adige, the lightly smoked, air-cured ham of the region, served in thin slices with dark rye bread. Then canederli (Knödel) — big, soft bread dumplings, sometimes flavoured with speck, cheese, spinach or beetroot, served either in a clear broth or buttered alongside a roast. Schlutzkrapfen are the local half-moon ravioli, usually filled with spinach and ricotta and finished with melted butter, grated cheese and chives; they are said to have originated in this very valley.

For cheese, ask for Graukäse, the pungent, crumbly grey cheese of the neighbouring Ahrntal (Valle Aurina) — an acquired taste, and worth acquiring. And for dessert there is only one honest answer: apple strudel, with apples, raisins, pine nuts and cinnamon, warm, with cream.

Meals at the lake itself are limited to the hotel and its café, so for a proper long lunch head back down the valley to Braies or Villabassa, or up to a mountain hut on Prato Piazza.

Getting there

The northern shore of the Pragser Wildsee beside the hotel of the same name, with the Seekofel (2,810 m) behind.

Our verdict

Lake Braies is famous for the right reasons, and it rewards travellers who go slowly far more than those who arrive at midday for a photograph and leave.

Go in the shoulder season — the second half of September is our favourite, when the larches turn and the buses empty. Take the train to Villabassa, the little bus up the valley, and walk out along the flat western shore with no particular destination. Hire a boat if the weather is kind. Sit on a bench and watch the Seekofel change colour as the afternoon moves on.

It is one of the very few world-famous landscapes in the Alps that asks almost nothing of your knees. That makes it, for us, close to perfect.

Lago di Braies in May, with snow still lying on the surrounding peaks.

“Some lakes you photograph; Braies you sit beside, and let the mountains do the talking.”

Photo credits

• Lago di Braies South Tyrol 7: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• 20050829046DR Braies I Kapelle Pragser Wildsee, Lago di Braies: Jörg Blobelt, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Lago di Braies South Tyrol 6: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Lago di Braies South Tyrol 5: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• I07 890 Pragser Wildsee: Falk2, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Lago di Braies a maggio: Alessandro.Spinello, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons