The holiday village marks the transition from the Merano region to the Lower Val Venosta and so to the westernmost part of South Tyrol
Image gallery: Ciardes
An invisible border lies between Stava near Naturno and the neighbouring village of Ciardes, namely that between the Merano region and the Val Venosta. Here you are at the entrance to the westernmost main valley of South Tyrol, known for its apple orchards, the expanses of the Malles Heath and Lake Resia. Ciardes itself stretches at the foot of the Monte Sole, the sunny side of the Lower Val Venosta. It is probably even older than Castelbello, at least as far as the first mention of the place name is concerned: "Sardes" was already mentioned in documents in 1188 AD.
Today, the Church of St. Martin stands in the middle of the village, and the village café, a pizzeria and a bank, a playground and shopping facilities are located around it. The primary school is housed in a farm building of an abandoned Carthusian monastery from the Renaissance period. The predominantly agricultural Ciardes (Tschars) has developed over time into a popular holiday village with interesting offers for leisure activities. Like everywhere else in South Tyrol, nature dominates the activity programme, with hiking and cycling on the programme.
There are countless opportunities for this, from the Senales irrigation channel to the Latschander Waalweg path and from the Val Venosta Cycle Path, which follows the Via Claudia Augusta, to the MTB tour to the Marzon Hut. Again and again you will pass a water mill, because in Colsano, Ciardes and Castelbello the old Moar Mill, Platter Mill and Baumandl Mill are still preserved. In winter, it's a half-hour drive to the Val Senales glacier ski area or to the Val Martello in the Stelvio National Park, where ski tours, toboggan runs and wonderful cross-country ski tracks await you.
