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The Sentiero della Memoria in Sesto: an insider’s route, away from the tourist trail

Walk only as fast as your heart can breathe!

The most beautiful paths are rarely the ones everyone takes. And some routes aren’t found on a map, but in conversation. Perhaps someone who calls this place home will whisper it to you: “Il Sentiero della Memoria to Monte Elmo - a path like no other.”
A hike that demands sure-footedness and stamina - and with each turn, gives back more: more stillness, more prespectives, more connection. Or, in the words of the locals: “Walk only as fast as your heart can breathe!”

Home knows no borders

The “Sentiero della Memoria” invites you on a unique hike: from Sesto to Sillian, across a border that once divided and now unites. At nine stations on the Italian side and 24 on the Austrian, information boards tell how deeply human life was intertwined with nature - and how that relationship shaped the land.

Starting from Hotel Alpenblick, head east. The cross-border themed trail begins near the Alpenwellness Hotel St. Veit and climbs the steep “cat ladder” to the traditional farms of Mitterberg. The views widen, the sounds of the valley fade. The path continues into the open pastures of the “Egge”, where wide larch meadows await. It then leads into increasingly dense forest, where sunlight filters through the canopy. Step by step, you approach the tree line, until the trail opens out above the sheep pasture, turning into high alpine terrain. The final stretch climbs to the Helmhaus (Il vecchio rifugio) and onward to the summit of Monte Elmo. Here, at over 2,400 metres, the two trail segments from Sesto and Sillian meet. Two paths become one - a symbol of the story this route tells. The views are breathtaking: the Dolomiti di Sesto, the Stubai and Ötztal Alps, the Villgraten mountains, the Hohe Tauern in Austria and the Lienzer Dolomiten also in Austria are all visible - if only those giants could share their stories...

For the return journey, you have two options:
to complete the full trail, continue to the Rifugio Sillianer and descend to Sillian. From there, a public bus takes you comfortably back to Sesto - a perfect way to finish off. Alternatively, follow path no. 4 across sweeping alpine meadows back to the mountain station of the Monte Elmo cable car. From there, relax on the ride down to the valley - with one last look back at the heights you've just reached.

“The mountains know no borders. Only paths that connect.
And where people build bridges, borders lose their meaning.“

Author unknown

For the return journey, you have two options:
to complete the full trail, continue to the Rifugio Sillianer and descend to Sillian. From there, a public bus takes you comfortably back to Sesto - a perfect way to finish off. Alternatively, follow path no. 4 across sweeping alpine meadows back to the mountain station of the Monte Elmo cable car. From there, relax on the ride down to the valley - with one last look back at the heights you've just reached.

Step by step through the homeland

The trail can be started from either Sesto or Sillian. Here are the various stations along the route.

Stations
  • Start point (1,350 m)
  • Homeland & Tradition “Roato Kofl” (1,394 m)
  • Homeland & Craft “Taasn Briggele” (1,504 m)
  • Homeland & War “Koufl” (1,580 m)
  • Homeland & Farming “Tschurschntoll” (1,674 m)
  • Homeland & Cultural Landscape “Die Egge” (1,714 m)
  • Homeland & Alpine Haymaking “Kroma Wiese” (2,004 m)
  • Homeland & Globalisation “Stumpf” (2,129 m)
  • Homeland & Alpine Farming “Schoofolbe” (2,260 m)
  • Homeland, a personal view “Lompra Egge” (2,314 m)
  • Helmhaus (2,314 m)
  • Stillness (2,380 m)
  • Across the mountains (2,290 m)
  • Far from home (2,240 m)
  • Survival (2,190 m)
  • Combat zone (2,050 m)
  • Mountains in flames (2,000 m)
  • Spring (1,950 m)
  • Emergency shelter
  • Nomads (1,860 m)
  • Drinking water (1,760 m)
  • Fresh start (1,750 m)
  • Glacial boulder (1,710 m)
  • Underwater (1,680 m)
  • For peace (1,620 m)
  • World War I (1,580 m)
  • Tyrol 1809 (1,510 m)
  • Horrors of Fire (1,480 m)
  • Use of fire (1,440 m)
  • Hunting (1,370 m)
  • Landslide (1,310 m)
  • Africa (1,270 m)
  • Timber (1,240 m)
  • Forest (1,180 m)
  • End point (1,130 m)

Info

  • Hiking time:
    6 to 8 hours in total,
    4 hours from Sesto to the Helmhaus refuge
  • Elevation gain:
    from Sesto: 1,100 m | from Sillian: 1,300 m
  • Recommended season:
    June to October
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