The Witches’ Springs: Children’s Trail on the Alpe di Siusi

There are many trails walkable on foot in the Dolomites, in Trentino-Alto Adige, but among them one is particularly magical: it is the itinerary called “The Witches’ Springs”.

The encounter with nature will enchant those who want to walk among these views on the Alpe di Siusi, while at the same time marveling at the man-made elements found along the route.

On the “The Witches’ Springs” trail, in fact, there are handcrafted wooden sculptures, stone monuments, landscape depictions, interspersed with the “masterpieces” that nature spontaneously offers.
These figures were created by Hans Mitterrutzner, a wood artist who worked extensively on the project to create such a suggestive and captivating path, especially for children.

The original idea came from Hannes Rabanser from the Tirler hotel: together they managed to give incredible shapes to various elements, ultimately bringing “The Witches’ Springs” to life, making it an easy hiking trail for adults but an adventure path for kids, who can also try out various physical but also playful and educational activities.

The route is just over 2 kilometers long, with an expected duration of one hour and thirty minutes. The ascent elevation gain is 70 meters (thus mostly flat) and it has been arranged to be explored barefoot, to fully enjoy it.

The signage is not the “classic” type but is shaped as the witch “Curandina” and the owl “Emma,” who at each station of the path suggest what to do to best observe and experience the characteristics of this area.

Along the way, you will also encounter some sulfur springs and it is precisely for this reason that this exploratory stretch was named “The Witches’ Springs.”

To access the full route, you can start walking from Tirler at Saltria, proceeding for a couple of kilometers following the provided signage.