Dolomites – photography trip 2025 – Part 5

When we arrived at the second accommodation, we already knew we would have to take a forced rest day. The forecast predicted heavy rain. And it came. It wasn’t the worst thing though, we had time to organize our stuff. But there was a downside: we wanted to do a full-day hike to Tre Cime, like last year. However, the rules had changed, you now need to register in advance, and tickets are allocated in 12-hour time blocks. Everything was arranged and paid for. But due to the weather, our booking was canceled. We tried again for the next day, also canceled.

So instead of Tre Cime at dawn, we went up to Cinque Torri. Luckily, we arrived very early. We hiked up from the parking lot. The sun was still behind the mountains. The scenery was breathtaking. At this elevation, the rain had fallen as snow. Autumn colors, snowy peaks, clouds lit by the rising sun, unreal.

Of course, I took a 360° panorama.

A cold wind was blowing, even with two layers of gloves, my hands were just barely warm. Slowly the sun came out.

I made a Tiny Planet panorama right next to Cinque Torri, and another regular version with a different distortion.

We took a few more photos, then walked back to the car, had breakfast, and reconsidered our plans.

We headed toward Cortina d’Ampezzo to restock supplies. We forgot about siesta, of course. Before reaching the town, we stopped at a viewpoint. The town lies in a beautiful valley , we wanted some photos.

I made a panorama of the colorful forest around it, and then a differently distorted version for an unusual perspective.

And of course, the 360° version too.

The store we originally planned (Conad) to go to was under renovation, so after some search we found a very small shop and got what we needed. That was all for the day.

Since our Tre Cime registration was rejected, we had to rethink the last day. No need for an early wake-up this time. After a slow morning, our first stop was Valle di Cadore, at the San Martino parish church. I also photographed the water flowing through the basin in the valley.

Then we visited Lake Santa Caterina near Auronzo. The internet said there were dinosaur statues by the lake, I even imagined climbing on one for a photo. We crossed the bridge and walked for quite a while but found nothing. After asking some locals, we learned they had been taken away for winter. Nevermind, the scenery was still great.

Finally, we decided that although we couldn’t go up to Tre Cime, we could still get close to the base before the barrier. From there, I tried to make the most of the situation with the drone. The top of Tre Cime was in clouds, but the snowy peaks of the nearby Cadini group were stunning.

I had to shoot a 360° panorama here too.

Tiny Planet and two regular panoramas were taken as the sun was approaching the horizon.

Then we returned to the accommodation, slept, packed our things in the morning, and headed home. I’m really sorry the full Tre Cime hike didn’t work out, but the many beautiful moments we experienced and photographed more than made up for it. The Dolomites gave us another unforgettable adventure. Thanks for the trip, guys! Special thanks to Dávid for organizing everything! And to Zoli for taking on the driving duties all by himself!