Several hikes start from the Val Vena valley to wonderful places like the Lago di Pausa and the Astner Mountain Huts
Image gallery: Ast - Val Vena
Due to the construction of the Riggertal loop and safety-related works, sections of the Val Pusteria Railway will be closed until January 2026. A rail replacement bus service will be in operation.
The three main… read more
Ast is one of the many hamlets of Terento, it marks the entrance to the original Val Vena valley (Winnebachtal). The area is ideal for long hikes in the Fundres Mountains, for excursions to the surrounding alpine pastures and for picnics in nature. Between the old farms that are located here, you can always make out isolated new buildings. The location of Ast and the tranquillity seem to have clearly gained in value, people are drawn back to nature.
The Val Vena then stretches from Ast towards the Pietra delle Streghe (Witches' Stone) and has its own hikers' car park. From there you can reach the Astner Alm, formerly Alpegger Alm, a managed hut with a barbecue terrace. Across the meadows and through a small high valley it goes towards the Lago di Pausa, a mountain lake that glistens in the sunlight above Terento at an altitude of more than 2,000 metres. The temperatures are adapted to the alpine location and refresh body and soul in summer. This is where the sixth and last stage of the Fundres High Route starts, and it is also here, on the rushing Rio Vena, that the Lago di Pausa Mountain Hut is enthroned.
Above the Val Vena, the Monte Gruppo - a recommendable mountain tour of six hours -, the Giogo di Terento and other mountains show themselves in all their majesty. Their peaks shimmer with snow early in autumn, in some cases almost reaching the 3,000-metre mark. In winter, when ski resorts like Gitschberg Jochtal and Mt. Plan de Corones in the other direction open up, you can see ski tourers marching up the slopes of Mount Al Giogo. The silence up there is very special!
