Discover Paneveggio

The Paneveggio State Forest lies entirely within the Paneveggio - Pale di San Martino Nature Park. It covers about 2,700 hectares in the upper Travignolo basin and extends across elevations from 1,400 to 2,150 metres. The Foresta dei Violini is in the Paneveggio Nature Park in Val di Fiemme, between the Paneveggio area and Val Venegia. These location and elevation details provide a concrete setting for the landscape you can discover here.

Forest landscape and resonance spruce trees

Spruce trees make up most of the tree layer in the Paneveggio Forest, accounting for about 85 percent. They occupy elevations from 1,500 to 1,900 metres. The name Foresta dei Violini is also associated with these trees. Instrument makers from Italy and other European countries select the resonance spruce trees for the soundboards of musical instruments. This makes the forest interesting not only as a natural environment but also in relation to instrument making.

The trail from Paneveggio to Malga Bocche reveals another side of the landscape. It first passes through the Paneveggio Forest and then reaches the pastures of Malga Bocche. Both Dolomitic and porphyry landscapes can be seen there. The forest and pastures, along with these two geological settings, are among the impressions described along this route.

Deer and nature interpretation

The reintroduction of deer in Trentino began in Paneveggio in the 1960s. At Sentiero Marciò, about 100 metres from the trail, there is a wildlife park where several deer are kept in naturalistic conditions. Visitors interested in wildlife will find a direct connection to the forest landscape here; the historical reintroduction and the wildlife park today are distinct aspects.

At the Paneveggio Visitor Centre, the “Suona Foresta” installation evokes the surrounding Paneveggio Forest and its inhabitants through sounds, songs, rustling and melodies. The visitor centre’s outdoor facilities also help visitors find information and orient themselves independently in Paneveggio and nearby places. The Foresta dei Violini trails are generally accessible without an entrance fee; however, temporary closures or local restrictions may still apply.

Trails and different time requirements

Sentiero Marciò starts at the car park next to the Paneveggio Visitor Centre and follows a circular route with information panels. It first crosses the Travignolo on a covered bridge and later on a suspension bridge over a narrow gorge, where rapids and waterfalls form. When there is no snow or ice, the trail is also accessible to people with reduced mobility and families with pushchairs. This condition is important to consider when planning the route.

The trail from Paneveggio to Malga Bocche requires a different amount of time: allow about 1 hour and 30 minutes for the outward journey, and roughly the same again for the return. Paneveggio is at 1,524 metres, while Malga Bocche is at 1,946 metres; the difference in elevation is about 400 metres. This lets you take the approximate duration and elevation gain of this route into account in advance, without confusing it with the Sentiero Marciò circular route.

A longer connection is also described: the Caoria–Paneveggio cycling and walking route is just under 36.5 kilometres long. Of this, 33 kilometres follow forest roads and 3.4 kilometres follow existing trails. These details clearly distinguish this route from the two trails starting from Paneveggio described above: they refer to the entire Caoria–Paneveggio connection.

Historical traces in Paneveggio

The history of travel is also part of the area. A former hospice in Paneveggio, together with the hospice of Saints Martin and Julian in Castrozza, served travellers crossing the Rolle and Valles passes on difficult routes. With the rise of tourism in the second half of the 19th century, the hospice was converted into a hotel.

Two buildings are also associated with specific dates. The Chiesetta dell’Assunta di Paneveggio was rebuilt in 1926 after Austrian soldiers set it on fire in 1915. Forte Dossaccio was built between 1890 and 1895 as a military fortification on the summit of the mountain of the same name, at an elevation of 1,838 metres. Together with the forest and trail landscape, these historical sites offer another perspective on Paneveggio.

Discover more destinations: Varena, Levico Terme, San Lorenzo In Banale, Verla, Castellano, Calavino, Vigolo Baselga, Darzo.

Go to the main travel overview: Trentino.