Forests and alpine pastures characterise the greenest side of the Val Venosta: the slopes of the Nördersberg in the Stelvio National Park
Image gallery: Monte Tramontana
As a hamlet with scattered farms, Monte Tramontana (Nördersberg) stretches on the eponymous Tramontana mountain: But Monte Tramontana does not only refer to the slopes near Covelano, but designates the entire southern valley flank of the Val Venosta valley between Prato allo Stelvio and Lagundo, on the right bank of the Adige River. Its counterpart, of equal length, is the northern flank of the Val Venosta: It is the Monte Sole, the Val Venosta Sun Mountain, with its unique steppe vegetation and the centuries-old irrigation channels, the so-called Waale.
The forests and alpine meadows at the northern end of the Stelvio National Park are a paradise for mountain bikers and hikers. Here you can take home an incomparable panorama on the Val Venosta and the Ortles Alps as a souvenir. A unique circular tour in this area leads you on foot or by bike along the Monte Tramontana to the Covelano Mountain Hut and to Lake Covelano. The tour then follows the Marble Trail to the quarrying sites of the valuable Covelano Marble.
Interesting are the seasons, which are so clearly different on the Monte Tramontana and the Monte Sole: In between are only a few km of valley floor. Summers on the Monte Sole are hot and dry, on the Monte Tramontana shady and cool, winters on the Monte Sole are mostly snow-free, while on the Monte Tramontana there is often snow down to the farms. However, both flanks are protected landscapes - the one as a biotope, the other as part of the Stelvio National Park.
