Photo Journal: perfect sunset at lake Limedes

I already visited the Dolomites once this year in early June when I stayed at Cortina d’Ampezzo. This time I visited Corvara, a comune (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of Bolzano. This trip was all about cycling over the big mountain passes of the Dolomites like Falzarego, Pordoi and Valparola.

Unfortunately I didn’t have as much time for photography as the last time, so I planned the location and the time of the shooting much more carefully. I was checking 500px and Flickr and finally decided to visit lake Limedes at sunset. It’s a small alpine lake, just a short 20 minute hike from mountain pass Falzarego. The trail is very approachable and perfect for beginner hikers. What I really liked about the lake is that it offers amazing views in three directions and in my experience that is very rare. But before we get to the point it’s time for a quick cup of coffee.

The path from mountain pass Falzarego is well marked and it’s hard to miss it. The path is wide and very gentle. On this crossroad you take the left trail.

I noticed a lot of unusual flowers beside the path which looked like cotton. When checking it on the internet I found out it’s called Eriophorum or White Cottongrass.

Soon enough I arrived to the lake and the first impression was breathtaking. This is the first perspective of the lake with mount Averau in the background, beautifully reflected in the lake.

And mount Averau from the other side of the lake.

I was now positioned at the other side of the lake and looking back revealed this would be the perfect spot for photographing the sunset.

I then checked how the left side of the lake looks like and the image below is one of my favorites from lake Limedes.

You can notice the path leading to the famous Lagazuoi mountain. You can get up there by cable car from Falzarego pass and it takes you in only 3 minutes to 2,800 metres of altitude. The image above is my ultimate motive with dramatic sky, crystal clear water and perfectly aligned reflections.

I slowly went back to the path from whence I came and mount Averau was still lit with the last evening sunrays.

I started walking back to Falzarego when the sun started to literally burn the sky and clouds.

I knew it’s time to go back to the lake and I was right. The views were spectacular. The mountain in the back is the massive Lagazuoi (9,062 ft or 2,762 m).

I apologize for the abundance of images from almost the exact same spot but I wanted to show you how quickly the conditions were changing. So many perfect moments in just a few minutes.

I usually don’t like to do much retouching but in the self portrait below I went all out and added a touch of drama to the image.

Hopefully you enjoyed the images from my trip to lake Limedes and are just as impressed by all the different perspectives it has to offer, as I was. My next destination is Switzerland so stay tuned.