The two churches under the Odle needles and the Adolf Munkel trail: where the photos are, where to park, and the huts on the ridge above the valley.
Updated: 2026-07-22
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Effort
Easy strolls; moderate trail loop
Time needed
Viewpoints 30 min; Adolf Munkel loop 3-4 h
Getting there
Car or bus to S. Maddalena / Zans
Best light
Late afternoon on the churches
Val di Funes is the valley on every Dolomites poster that does not involve a lake: two small churches posed in meadows below the saw-blade Odle needles. It is farming country with a photography problem, so a few simple rules keep everyone happy: stay on paths, use the marked viewpoints, and leave the meadows to the hay.
The valley has two acts: the church viewpoints down low (minutes of walking), and the Adolf Munkel trail up under the Odle north faces, one of the gentlest genuinely great walks in the range.
St. Magdalena church sits above the main village: the classic panorama is a signed 20-30 minute loop from the village center to a marked viewpoint. The chapel of St. Johann in Ranui, the one with the lone spire in a fenced meadow, is a few minutes from a small paid parking; a modest entrance fee funds the path along the field edge. Both are late-afternoon photographs, when the light rakes across the Odle.
From the Zans (Zanser Alm) parking at the valley head, the Adolf Munkel trail traverses directly beneath the Odle north walls: about 9 km as a loop with modest climbing, 3 to 4 relaxed hours, with alm huts on the way for lunch. The rock towers hang straight overhead the whole time; it is the best effort-to-drama ratio in the Dolomites. The Zans lot fills by mid-morning in season, so start early or take the valley bus.
The ridge above Funes carries real mountain nights: Rifugio Genova (Schlüterhütte) stands on the grassy saddle at the valley head, a classic Alta Via 2 stop about 2 hours up from Zans, and Malga Brogles sits under Seceda's back side. Sleep at either and you connect Funes to the Puez-Odle plateau, Seceda, and the Val Gardena side in one continuous route.
Tap a marker to see how to get there, then open it in the planner with your start already set.
Staffed huts closest to this spot. Sleeping up here is how you get the sunrise and the empty trail.
There are two: St. Magdalena church, photographed from a marked viewpoint on a 20-30 minute loop above the village, and the chapel of St. Johann in Ranui, seen from a path along its meadow (small entrance fee). Late afternoon light is best for both.
Easy to moderate: about 9 km as a loop from the Zans parking, 3 to 4 hours with modest up and down. It runs directly under the Odle north faces, and alm huts on the way serve food. The parking fills by mid-morning in summer.
Yes: Rifugio Genova (Schlüterhütte) is about 2 hours above the Zans parking on the Alta Via 2 line, and Malga Brogles sits below Seceda. Both link the valley into multi-day routes toward Puez-Odle and Val Gardena in our planner.
Heading for Val di Funes? These guides cover the practical side of walking and sleeping in the Dolomites.
