Val Senales

Updated October 2026 · Sources: Alpin Arena Schnals (schnalstal.com), ArcheoParc, suedtirolerland.it, UNESCO

Find a place to stay in the Senales Valley

The Senales Valley (Schnalstal in German, Val Senales in Italian) is a side valley of the Val Venosta (Vinschgau) in South Tyrol, northern Italy. It branches off the main valley near Naturno, a few kilometres from Merano, and runs north-west for more than 20 kilometres to the Austrian border. At the top, in Maso Corto (Kurzras, 2,011 metres), the Schnalstal glacier cable car takes you to 3,212 metres in under 6 minutes, to a glacier ski area that opens in mid-September.

From Maso Corto to Merano it is about 40 minutes by car. The road is paved to the end and open all year. The municipality of Senales (Schnals) covers almost 210 km² and has about 1,240 inhabitants, nearly all German-speaking. Its villages are Certosa (Karthaus, the municipal seat), Madonna di Senales (Unser Frau), Maso Corto, Vernago (Vernagt) and Monte Santa Caterina.

The valley is known for three things: skiing on a glacier, the place where Ötzi was found in 1991, and the sheep drive across glacier and border. In summer the cable car takes you above 3,000 metres for walking. The rest of the time the valley is quiet, with no big hotels or nightlife. If you want a huge ski area and village life, go elsewhere; if you want early-season snow and altitude, this is the place.

The main sights are along the only road in the valley. From Naturno to Maso Corto it is about half an hour without stops.

Madonna di Senales and the ArcheoParc

Madonna di Senales (Unser Frau) is at about 1,500 metres and is the largest village in the valley. It has a pilgrimage church and, next to it, the ArcheoParc Val Senales, an open-air archaeological museum about Ötzi and his time, the late Stone Age. Over about 5,000 m² you find reconstructed houses, a tree trail, fire-making demonstrations and workshops where you can try archery or grinding flour.

In 2026 the ArcheoParc is open daily from 28 March to 8 November, closed from 15 to 30 June. The museum opens 10:00 to 17:00, the outdoor area 10:30 to 16:30. The basic ticket costs 10 euros (8 reduced) and covers exhibitions, the tree trail and Alpine houses; with all trails it is 19 euros. 2027 dates are not published yet: check the ArcheoParc website.

Ötzi: where he was found

The glacier mummy was discovered on 19 September 1991 by two hikers at the Tisenjoch, at about 3,188 metres at the head of the valley. He was around 5,300 years old. The find spot is about 93 metres from the Austrian border. You reach it on foot or with a guide, usually from the Similaun hut. Ötzi himself is not in the valley: the mummy is in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano. In summer there is also the Ötzi Glacier Tour, a day trip with a mountain guide to the find spot (160 euros in 2026).

Certosa and Allerengelberg Charterhouse

Certosa (Karthaus), at about 1,330 metres, is the municipal seat. It takes its name from the Carthusian monastery of Allerengelberg, founded in 1326 and dissolved in 1782. Parts of the walls, the Gothic cloister and the old kitchen remain and can be visited. A fire destroyed much of the village in 1924. Today Certosa is small and quiet. The “Path of Silence” (Via Monachorum) links Madonna di Senales to Monte Santa Caterina via Certosa: about 10 km and 3 hours according to tourist guides, with panels and monk figures along the way.

Vernago and the reservoir

Vernago (Vernagt) is at about 1,700 metres on the Vernago reservoir, created in the 1950s with a 65-metre dam. Eight farms were flooded. The path around the lake is easy and takes about 2 hours at a relaxed pace (hiking portals give between 2 and 3.5 hours). It is best from mid-July, when the lake is full. From Vernago you can also climb to the Similaun hut, about 3.5 hours.

The cable car and the Grawand

The Schnalstal glacier cable car starts in Maso Corto, is about 2,150 metres long and climbs about 1,180 metres in under 6 minutes to the Grawand upper station (3,212 metres). The new pendulum cable car opened at Christmas 2023. In summer 2026 a return ticket cost 33 euros for adults and 16 euros for children. Summer 2027 times are not published.

Iceman Ötzi Peak

From the upper station a short climb of about 10 minutes, over rock and steel stairs, leads to the Iceman Ötzi Peak viewing platform at 3,251 metres. According to the operator, you see 126 three-thousand-metre peaks in three countries, the Ortler, the Hochjochferner glacier and the Similaun snowfield. In bad weather the platform stays closed. Bring a jacket: it is cold at that altitude even in August.

The sheep drive (transhumance)

Every year between 3,000 and 4,000 sheep leave Vernago and Maso Corto, cross the Niederjoch (3,019 metres) and the Hochjoch (2,856 metres) to reach summer pastures near Vent in Austria, and return in September. In two days people and animals cover up to 44 kilometres, partly over snow and rock gullies. The transhumance has been on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 11 December 2019. The operators describe it as the only sheep drive in the world that crosses a glacier and a national border at once.

In 2026 the outward drive was on 13 June and the return on 12 September in Vernago and 13 September in Maso Corto, followed by a village festival. Dates change every year; 2027 dates will be on schnalstal.com. On return day the lifts open at 9:00 so you can reach the route. In Maso Corto the animals arrive in the afternoon, times vary.

Juval Castle at the valley entrance

Juval Castle stands at the entrance to the valley, near Naturno. It houses one of Reinhold Messner’s museums, and he lives there in summer. There is no parking at the castle: leave the car lower down and take the shuttle or walk. It is the first stop when you come up from Merano.

The Schnalstal glacier ski area (Alpin Arena Schnals) is South Tyrol’s only glacier ski area. The pistes run from the Grawand upper station (3,212 metres) down to Maso Corto, at about 2,000 metres. The official site lists more than 20 pistes, from easy to black, including the runs to the valley. Lifts are the glacier cable car, the Lazaun gondola, five chairlifts and four drag lifts, reaching above 3,200 metres.

Season 2026/27

The 2026/27 season runs from 19 September 2026 to 9 May 2027. Early in the season only a few pistes are open and much of the snow comes from snowmaking. Check the status on schnalstal.com before you go. Indicative times: first cable car ride at 7:45 for training groups, Grawand chairlift 8:00 to 16:00. Times change with the weather.

Ski passes

The 2026/27 price list has four periods. An adult day pass costs 68 euros from 19 September to 6 November, 50 euros from 7 November to 25 December and from 3 April to 9 May, 57 euros from 9 to 29 January and from 27 February to 19 March, and 63 euros from 26 December to 8 January, from 30 January to 26 February and from 20 March to 2 April. From 12:30 expect 40 to 58 euros. Children born in 2017 or later pay 5 euros a day if a parent buys an equivalent pass. Online there is a 7% discount. Prices are for private guests and may change.

Who it suits

Skiers who want snow early or late in the season, training groups (international teams train here) and beginners: there are easy pistes, the 5-euro Snowkid ticket, a ski school and rental in Maso Corto. If you want dozens of linked kilometres and many black runs, look elsewhere in South Tyrol, for example Solda.

Cross-country, sledding and ski touring

There are two cross-country loops: the Hochjoch loop, 5 km at about 3,000 metres, medium difficulty, and the Lazaun loop, 3 km at about 2,400 metres, easier. Both are reached by lift from Maso Corto. The lift operator’s site also covers sledding and ski touring, but touring routes depend on avalanche conditions: read the official bulletin before setting out.

The lift operator talks about more than 240 trails. There are three zones: the valley floor (Vernago, Madonna di Senales, Certosa), the area above Maso Corto and the glacier.

Easy walks

• Vernago reservoir loop: about 2 hours, easy, parking at the dam.
• Meditation Path in Madonna di Senales: about 30 minutes, 1.8 km and 139 metres of climbing, through forest to the shrine.
• Path of Silence (Via Monachorum): from Madonna di Senales to Monte Santa Caterina, about 10 km and 3 hours, return by bus.
• Senales Waalweg: a path along an irrigation channel at the valley entrance, about 7 km and 1 hour 45. In 2026 access was only possible from one set point: check before you go.

At altitude

From the Grawand upper station you can go up to the Iceman Ötzi Peak (10 minutes) or walk towards the Schöne Aussicht (Bella Vista) hut at about 2,850 metres, near a glacial lake. The hut also offers overnight stays. These are high-alpine routes: you need mountain gear, and with old snow or fog the path becomes difficult. Do not go onto the glacier itself without a guide.

To the Ötzi find spot

The trail from Maso Corto to the find spot is long: about 8 hours, 1,607 metres of climbing, medium difficulty, according to the South Tyrol tourism portal. It passes the Similaun hut and reaches the Tisenjoch. Many people sleep at the hut. A guide is advisable for the glacier section.

Other activities

The lift operator also lists via ferrata, climbing, trail running and mountaincarts, electric mountain karts, plus walks for children. The offer changes from year to year: check for 2027.

• Merano: the spa town, about 40 minutes from Maso Corto, ideal if it rains.
• Lake Resia: the church tower in the lake and Reschen Pass, going up the Val Venosta.
• Stelvio Pass and Solda: towards the Ortler, as a day trip from the lower Val Venosta.
• Juval Castle: at the valley entrance, on the way to Merano.
• South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano: to see Ötzi.

Accommodation is small: family hotels, apartments and farms with rooms. Choose the area by what you plan to do.

• Maso Corto (2,011 m): for skiers who want to walk to the cable car. The last village in the valley, cold and quiet in winter. At the upper station there is a hotel that the lift operator calls the highest in Europe.
• Madonna di Senales: the most versatile choice for families, with the ArcheoParc, shops and a bus to the lifts.
• Vernago: for walkers, with the lake and the path to the Similaun hut.
• Certosa and Monte Santa Caterina: the quietest and lowest villages, for peace.
• Naturno or Merano: if you travel without a car or want to see the town and the Val Venosta as well. From there you go up the valley by bus or car.

In autumn and at Christmas book early: the ski season starts before the rest of South Tyrol and the supply is limited.

By car

From Switzerland or Austria, come over Reschen Pass (Landeck, Nauders, Resia, Malles) and drive down the Val Venosta to Naturno, or take the Brenner motorway to Bolzano and continue to Merano and Naturno. A car is handy for moving between villages: the road is paved to Maso Corto and open all year.

By train

The Vinschgau railway links Merano with Malles and stops at Naturno. From Bolzano take the regional train to Merano and change. From Naturno a bus goes up the valley.

By bus

Line 261 links Naturno with Monte Santa Caterina, Certosa, Madonna di Senales, Vernago and Maso Corto, roughly hourly. The direct connection from Merano changes with the timetable: sometimes you must change at Naturno (line 251 or train). Check times and connections on Südtirol Mobil.

By air

The most used airports are Innsbruck, Verona, Milan and Munich, then car or train. Do not count on scheduled flights to Bolzano: check when you book.

Parking

In Maso Corto the outdoor car park is about 100 metres from the cable car: 6 euros a day, the first hour is free (free after 17:00). The covered garage (about 40 spaces) costs 1.50 euros an hour, 18 euros maximum a day. At the Vernago dam there is a car park for the lake loop.

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Bogu1970 (CC BY-SA 4.0), adirricor (CC BY 3.0), Uwelino (CC BY-SA 4.0), Europas Wanderdörfer (European Hiking Villages) (CC BY-SA 4.0), qwesy qwesy (CC BY 3.0), Europas Wanderdörfer (European Hiking Villages) (CC BY-SA 4.0).