Rifugio Nuvolau

Rifugio Nuvolau is an alpine hut in Cortina d'Ampezzo. It sits at 2574 m. Typical season: Mid-June to late September.

Hut to hut on foot

Nearest staffed huts on walking trails from Rifugio Nuvolau: Rifugio Averau (~24 min), Rifugio Scoiattoli (~51 min), Rifugio Cinque Torri (~1 h 09 min).

Estimated times for an average hiker, based on distance and elevation.

Staying at Rifugio Nuvolau

The oldest refuge in the Dolomites, balanced on a summit like an eagle’s nest: no showers, no fuss, and the best sunset in the range.

Built in 1883, Nuvolau is the hut people mean when they say “sleeping in a rifugio changed my trip”. It stands alone on the very top of its mountain, 360 degrees of Dolomites in every window: Cortina below, the Tofane and Cinque Torri one way, Marmolada and Pelmo the other. It is small, old and deliberately simple, and it books out faster than almost anywhere else in the Alps.

Staying the night

Rustic dorms with single and bunk beds, shared toilets, and famously no showers: every litre of water is carried up or caught from the sky, and the hut is honest about it. Electricity is limited too. You come for the evening: when the day hikers drain off the summit, guests linger on the terrace while the entire horizon turns pink (the Dolomites’ enrosadira), and dinner is served as the lights of Cortina come on far below.

The food

Simple, generous mountain cooking (pasta, canederli, strudel) served family style at fixed hours. Nobody comes to Nuvolau for the menu; everybody remembers the dinner.

Booking reality

The hardest bed on this list. Summer weekends effectively sell out for the whole season within weeks of the calendar opening; the hut’s site shows live availability that only moves when someone cancels. If your dates are inflexible, book the March day the calendar opens. A fallback with most of the same panorama: Averau or Scoiattoli, 40–60 minutes below.

Getting there

Shortest approach is from Passo Giau (~1 h) or via the Averau saddle from the Cinque Torri chairlift (~1.5 h). It’s a signature overnight on Alta Via 1 and pairs naturally with the Croda da Lago circuit.

Good to know

• Pack a headlamp and wet wipes; treat it as a bivouac with excellent cooking.
• Storm-watching from the summit terrace is unforgettable; the hut has the lightning rods to prove it.
• Open mid-June to late September.