Val Grosina and Alpe Dosdè Two Day Hike

Overview ~ Notes ~ Photos

   

Left: Lago Negro - view southeast - Val di Avedo.
Center: Beam of light lights up the flanks of Corno di Lago Negro.
Right: The tracks for the hike day 2.

  

Left: View from Agriturismo Alpe Verva, north toward Monte Forcellina.
Center: A yellow wheelbarrow at Agriturismo Alpe Verva.

Right: The tracks for the hike day 1.

Overview

Hike 1

Length: 15.5 km
Duration: 4 hours (moving time)
Elevation gain: 897 m
Location: Italy, Valtellina, Grosio, Valgrossina, Alpe Verva

Hike 2

Length: 16.7 km
Duration: 4.88 hours (moving time)
Elevation gain: 743 m
Location: Italy, Valtellina, Grosio, Alpe Dosdè

Notes

This hike came about when friends texted us and proposed this itinerary to escape the heat of Bergamo. What were we to say, no?

It’s a two day hike with one night at Rifugio Federico in Dosdè. We hadn’t visited this area before and were happy to discover some more of the mountains around Bormio. We were here in late June but south of Bormio, see Valtellina Week Hike 1: Forni Glacier Trail, Valtellina Week Hike 2: Val Zebrù to Rifugio Campo – Loop Hike, and Valtellina Week Hike 3: Val Cedec at the Foot of Gran Zebrù and Rifugio Pizzini.


Alpe Dosdè are high-altitude pastures (alpeggi) situated at around 2,100 – 2,200 m in the Livigno Alps of Lombardy, northern Italy. The pastures lie at the foot of Pizzo Dosdè and Corno di Dosdè, just inside the municipality of Valdidentro in the province of Sondrio, near the Swiss border. Rifugio Federico (Valgoi), where we stayed, is in these pastures.

Our two-day hike went counterclockwise around the Cima Viola (3,374 m). Thinking of a clock, we started at the 4 pm mark at Rifugio Eita (1,703 m), crossed Passo di Verva (2,301 m) and ended up at 10pm mark at Rifugio Federico in Dosdè (2,133 m). The next day we returned to 4 pm mark, passing through Capanna Dosdè (2,824 m), completing our loop.

We had half board (dinner and breakfast the next morning) at Rifugio Federico in Dosdè, a very fun and friendly place. The shared accommodations were good. Bring noise cancelling headphones if you are sensitive to night sounds like snoring. 😊

The start of the first day was a bit grueling going from Rifugio Eita to Passo di Verva, then the second half of the walk was more relaxed and more interesting with its views north toward Val Viola and Monte Forcellina, followed by a left turn to walk up Val Viola to reach the rifugio.


On the second day, the first part of the day was gorgeous walking along the eastern flanks of Alpe Dosdè. We walked through groups of cows and horses, some who came over to us for a scratch. We heard marmot whistled and occasionally could spot them.

Then, we climbed up to 2,824 m (9,265 ft) to reach Capanna Dosdè. After that, it was all downhill, with a stop at Lago Negro. This is the upper Val di Avedo.

On our way back to Bergamo, we made a detour to Teglio for dinner to try some....drum roll please....pizzoccheri.  We ate at Ristorante Pizzeria Al Castello where pizzoccheri is ordered for at least 2 people. See photos in section below. For more information about this Valtellina dish, see the blog post The Many Faces of Pizzoccheri.

For information about the plants we saw as well as information about the meadow ecosystems we walked through, see the post Val Grosina and Alpe Dosdè Hike Plant Notes.

Photos

 

Left: Full hike route - counterclockise, starting and ending at 4pm on the clock face.
Right: Livigno Alps and where this hike is around CimaViola.

  

Left: Leaving Eita behind as we start the hike - view over our shoulder south.

Center: A small lake in Valgrossina.

Right: Agriturismo Alpe Verva (Ristorante).

 

Left: Polenta e formaggio dell'Alpe at Agriturismo Alpe Verva.

Right: Ricotta at Agriturismo Alpe Verva.

  

Left: Entering Alpe Dosdè - with glacier in the distance.
Center: Rifugio Federico Valgoi in Dosdè entrance.

Right: Sign - Sentiero glaciologico Giuseppe Nangeroni e Italo Bellotti al Ghiacciaio di Dosdè Est.

  

Left: Example room in Rifugio Federico in Dosdè.
Center: Dinner at Rifugio Federico in Dosdè.

Right: White polenta gnocchi with gorgonzola - dinner at Rifugio Federico Valgoi in Dosdè.

  

  
Left: View from Passo Verva looking south.

Center: View over Val Grossina.

Right: Val Viola - walking towards Rifugio Federico.

 
Left: View nearby rifugio early morning - east - upper Val Viola.
Right: Valley of Cantone di Dosdè - with morraine deposits.


 

Left: Sign - Explaining Vermulera Area, which includes Lago Negro.

Right: Rifugio Eita.

  

Left: Teglio - Ristorante Pizzeria Al Castello - Pizzoccheri.

Center: Teglio - Ristorante Pizzeria Al Castello - Sciatt.

Right: Teglio - Ristorante Pizzeria Al Castello - Ravioli al Castello.

  

Left: Looking south down Vermulèra (Grosio) below Lago Negro.

Center: Looking over Lac di Tres in Vermulèra.

Right: Walking down Val di Avedo (Valgrossina) - heading east - southeast.

  

Left: Lago Negro in Val di Avedo (Vermulèra) person at the edge.

Center: Lago Negro - and Italian trail sign in Val di Avedo (Vermulèra).

Right: Capanna Dosdè at 2,824 m.

   

Left: Horses in the morning in Val Cantone di Dosdè.

Center: Horses graze in Val Cantone di Dosdè.

Right: Cows keep watch in Alpe di Tres - Vermulèra.

  

Left: Alpe Dosdè - Val Cantone di Dosdè.

Center: Leaving Rifugio Federico Valgoi in Dosdè - looking back over our shoulders.

Right: A view back over Alpe Dosdè with Rifugio Federico visible.

Val Grosina and Alpe Dosdè Hike Plant Notes

Informational Signs ~ Plants We Spotted

On our Val Grosina and Alpe Dosdè Two Day Hike, we spotted a number of the usual flower suspects, as noted below. But what caught our attention were the impressive informational signs about the plants and environments in the valley, especially on Hike 1 and in Val Verva. They talk about meadow ecosystems, that on first glance seemed unassuming and insignificant, but after reading these signs given you a sense of their importance. Well done who ever created these signs!

Val Verva Informational Signs

Boscaglia ad Ontano verde

• Boscaglia ad Ontano verde means “Green Alder Shrubland”. This sign is where Alpe Verva meets Val Viola.
• Alder (Alnus viridis) is in the birch family (Betulaceae)
• “Megaforbie,” i.e., tall, dense, herbaceous plants that love rich, damp ground.
• The flexible branches of alder resist damage from moving snow in avalanche or heavy-snow zones.
• Plants you will find with alder:
• Senecio fuchsii — Fuchs’s Ragwort, a yellow-flowered perennial.
• Petasites albus — White Butterbur, with big, broad leaves.
• Adenostyles alliariae — Alpine Adenostyles, tall with pink blooms.
• Aconitum napellus — Monkshood, striking purple flowers but highly toxic.

Pascolo Pingue

• Pascolo pingue means “rich pasture”, highly productive and rich in forage species.
• Balanced grazing pressure to keep the plant mix diverse and nutritious.
• Key forage grasses pictured in the sign are:
• Poa alpina — a hardy alpine bluegrass, nutritious and resilient.
• Phleum alpinum — an alpine timothy grass, good for hay and grazing.
• Festuca rubra — red fescue, adaptable and palatable.

Pascolo umido

• Pascolo umido means “wet pasture”, which is a mix of meadows and grazing areas where the soil stays moist for much of the year.
• Typical wet pasture plants include:
• Cirsium palustre — marsh thistle, tall with spiny leaves and purple blooms.
• Eupatorium cannabinum — hemp agrimony, pink‑flowered and loved by pollinators.
• Filipendula ulmaria — meadowsweet, fragrant white blossoms, often near streams.
• Caltha palustris — marsh marigold, bright yellow flowers in spring.
• This sign is a gentle reminder that these soggy meadows aren’t “waste land” — they’re living reservoirs of water and wildlife, worth protecting for both nature and people.

Praterie a Carice ricurva

• Praterie a Carice ricurva means “Grasslands/meadows of curved sedge”
• Carex curvula — curved sedge is a hardy grass‑like plant in the Cyperaceae family. Its ochre, curled leaf tips are caused by a specific fungus (Clathrospora elynae), a natural part of this ecosystem.
• Found high in the alpine zone, above the tree line, where the climate is too harsh for woody plants.
• Other plants found with curved sedge:
• Senecio doronicum — bright yellow composite, often on granite soils.
• Phyteuma hemisphaericum — “raponzolo alpino,” with striking spherical violet flower heads.
• Senecio incanus — pale yellow‑white blooms, adapted to wind and cold.
• Leucanthemopsis alpina — the alpine daisy, a cheerful white flower of rocky meadows.

Praterie palustri

• Praterie palustri means “Marshy meadows”
• Plant communities in flooded or waterlogged zones — often called crelofore (cotton‑grass stands) and cariceti (sedge stands). Not especially valuable for grazing, but ecologically important.
• Main plant groups shown present in these meadows:
• Eriofori (Eriophorum spp.) — cotton‑grasses with fluffy white seed heads, in the wettest spots.
• Carici (Carex spp.) — sedges that thrive in saturated soils.
• Trifolori (Trifolium spp.) — clovers adapted to damp meadows.
• Giunchi (Juncus spp.) — rushes, often in slightly less flooded patches.
• Over time, plants deposit peat that gradually raises the ground level. As the soil rises and dries, the area loses its marsh characteristics and shifts toward other meadow types.

Rododendreto

• Rododendreto means “Rhondodenron stand/scrub/thicket”
• In Italian, rododentreto is a technical habitat name built from rododendro (rhododendron) + the suffix ‑eto, which denotes a plant community dominated by that species — much like querceto for oak woodland or castagneto for chestnut grove. In English habitat descriptions, the equivalent construction is usually “X stand” or “X thicket” — for example, “oak stand” or “juniper stand.”
• Key species appearing with rhododendron:
• Mirtillino delle Alpi (Vaccinium myrtillus) — bilberry, with edible dark berries.
• Ginepro della zona (Juniperus sibirica) — a low, creeping juniper adapted to cold.
• Carice vaginata (Carex vaginata) — a sedge that thrives in alpine soils.
• This is the climax vegetation here — meaning the most stable, complex, and biomass‑rich plant community that naturally develops in this zone. Found above the larch and stone pine forests, where trees can’t survive due to harsher climate.

Rododendreto in fase evolutiva

• Rododendreto in fase evolutiva means “rhododendron shrubland transitioning to forest”
• This is unstable vegetation — it developed after pastures were abandoned or disturbed. Without grazing or other management, shrubs like Rhododendron ferrugineum (red rhododendron, or “rose of the Alps”) spread quickly.
• Breaking down the name Vaccinio-Rhododendretum ferrugineum
• Vaccinium is the botanical genus that includes bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus), bog bilberries (V. uliginosum), cranberries, and related ericaceous shrubs.
• The ‑o ending is just the Latin linking vowel used in phytosociological names.
• Rhododentretum ferrugineum = a plant association (‑etum) dominated by Rhododendron ferrugineum (alpenrose).
• Put together, Vaccinio‑Rhododentretum ferrugineum means: “The plant association dominated by Rhododendron ferrugineum with a significant presence of Vaccinium species.”
• In phytosociology, the formal name of an association often lists two (or more) diagnostic or dominant species. In this case, this tells ecologists that the shrubland isn’t pure rhododendron — it’s a mixed ericaceous community typical of acidic, subalpine slopes.

Plants Spotted

[Asteraceae] Cirsium spinosissimum



[Asteraceae] Doronicum grandiflorum

[Asteraceae] Leucanthemopsis alpina 

 
[Asteraceae] Senecio incanus



[Boraginaceae] Myosotis sp.


[Campanulaceae] Phytheuma hemisphaericum



[Caryophyllaceae] Cerastium alpinum


[Crassulaceae] Sempervivum montanum



[Cyperaceae] Eriophorum scheuzhzeri



[Gentianaceae] Gentianella sp.



[Onagraceae] Epilobium angustifolium



[Ranunculaceae] Aconitum napellus



[Rosaceae] Geum reptans



[Rosaceae] Rubus ideaeus



[Saxifragaceae] Micranthes engleri


 
[Saxifragaceae] Saxifraga byroides



[Viburnaceae] Sambucus racemosa