[VAL DI FUNES, DOLOMITES] — I haven’t spent much time in Val di Funes, but I kept seeing pictures of this rifugio 👆 several times and I was dying to get here, I’d just never been over to that valley. For the longest time, I just couldn’t figure out where it was. Now I know. It’s called Geisleralm and it’s one of the best hikes in Val di Funes.

When I started going to the Dolomites in 2015 and on, there just wasn’t much information or guides written in English, most of it was written for people who already knew where everything wass and were already familiar with all the three-way interchangeable naming of things in Italian/German/Ladin.

It took me forever to realize that the picture above is actually the backside of this famous and incredible view of Seceda 👇, which I had hiked several times before.

I’m an idiot, so it also took me awhile to piece together that this stunning rock formation is actually called the Odle Group or Odle Range or The Odles and even called the Geisler Peaks, in addition to Seceda! All different names for the same place. 🙃🤪

I always referred to this range as Seceda, because that’s what the maps called it. It’s crazy that the two sides of the same mountain ridge look so completely different.

You can read my post about hiking the Seceda side here, but this post will focus on how to get to the amazing Geisleralm Hut in Val di Funes (also called Villnöß in German). It can be confusing, but I hope to straighten you out.

The Adolf Munkel Trail

The Adolf Munkel Trail (also known as #36 trail and Via delle Odle in Italian) is a very popular trail in Val di Funes, it will take you up to the stunning Geisler Hut/Geisleralm. It’s about an hour or so up, easy to moderate hiking, lots of families take this hike. It’s mostly walking through trees and crossing a stream, with these peaks poking out at you all along the way.

You park in the generous Zannes Parcheggio parking area run by the commune of Funes and pay a nominal amount — it’s at the end of the Funes valley and the way is well-marked. Then follow the path up a little ways to this gorgeous little Malga Zannes Hut, which looks like a delicious place for an after-hike beer, that’s where the trail begins. You can stop to fuel-up or just note it for later.

It’s a little tedious for a Dolomites trail, most of the way is ducking in and out of trees, hopping a stream and dodging cows. Normally in the Dolomites you get powed in the face with views on every step of the trail. We were spoiled at this point.

The trails splits off into a couple of variants, but just keep heading towards Geisleralm or their neighbor Gschnagenhardt Alm.

Ooogle at The Odles from Geisleralm. Yodel If You Want To.

Finally you pop out of the trees and are on a high hay meadow plateau. Geisleralm and a couple of other rifugios are there for your service.

These are not like crappy National Park concessions like in the United States, Geisleralm (also called Rifugio delle Odle) is family-run, like all the rifugios. There’s a bit of a natural competition among rifugios — the better your food and nicer the service, the more people will come eat. I love that. It’s hard to find bad food in the Dolomites.

I wasn’t expecting much from the food, I was thinking it was the same good but basic fare as most other rifugios — polenta with porcini, veal milanese, sausages, etc. But this was at a much higher level of presentation and quality. Everything was just a little nicer.

We arrived at noonish, but still were able to get a big table and spend a long time, smiling.

Like all the rifugios in the Dolomites, there’s a bit of a natural competition — the better your food and nicer the service, the more people will come eat. It’s hard to find bad food in the Dolomites.

The Cinematic Views from Geisleralm

After a big lunch and a beer or two, waddle over to the hillside behind the hut, there is some shade in the trees for a nap or they built a really cool little lounging area called “Geislerkino” — basically Geisler/Odle Cinema — where you can sit back and just take in the 360 views in Sensurround.

There are several other huts you can hike to or eat at. Even trails that go up into the Odles and up-and-over to Seceda on the other side.

You can return the way you came, or there is a shorter route back to the parking lot (I believe it is Trail #34 ? The signs will tell you.)

I think you’re going to like this.

— Last Visited July 2019 —

More Information on Hiking to Geisler Hut

PRO TIP: We went a little early in the day, I wasn’t thinking of where the sun would be. I’d time your visit for the afternoon so that the sun hits on this side of the Odles. You can see the difference in the picture below (and how amazing this would be skiing in the winter.)

Here’s the family-run hut’s website. And the neighboring Gschnagenhardt hut.

Here’s a great recap of this hike from AllTrails — which didn’t even exist when we were hiking there. Here’s the TripAdvisor for Geisleralm, always cracks me up when someone complains about “value” when you’re serving food in the middle of nowhere on top of a mountain. I’d never heard of Throne & Vine before but they have a fantastic website all about the Dolomites, with an amazing amount of detail. Check them out.

Here’s a link to all my other posts on hiking in the Dolomites.

Here is TripAdvisor on Val di Funes things to do.