Earth Pyramids of San Genesio and Meltina

The Earth Pyramids in San Genesio Atesino are located in the smallest district of the municipality, in Montoppio in the so-called Wieser Lahn at about 1,270 metres a.s.l. Here springs the Rio Margherita brook, which flows down into the Valle dell'Adige to Settequerce. The earth pillars, which in this case have emerged over the centuries from the red clay soil of a landslide area, are - as everywhere - protected from erosion by the capstones on the rather unstable pillars.

They can be best seen on a circular hike on the Salto. The path leads from the locality Schermoos across the high plateau to the Earth Pyramids near the Wieser inn and impresses especially in autumn with the blaze of colour of the surrounding larch meadows. The larch is, in fact, one of two conifers (along with the so-called golden larches, which, however, do not belong to the larches) that change colour in autumn and whose needles then fall off like the leafs of deciduous trees.

In Meltina, about 20 km away, there are more Earth Pyramids: Some of them reach the spectacular height of 30 metres, but they are far less well-known than those on the Renon, in San Genesio or Collepietra. Meltina is located lower than Montoppio, its wide alpine pastures make the surroundings a popular region for hikers and mountain bikers: The MTB tour to the Salto and Langfenn, for example, shows you the famous larch meadows between San Genesio and Meltina.