What is Andalo known for?

Fifty kilometres of slopes from the village centre to Cima Paganella at 2,125 metres, part of the Skirama Dolomiti Adamello Brenta circuit. Lago di Andalo fills with snowmelt and rain, then drains underground in summer, a hydrological behaviour shared by only eight lakes in the world. Most of the commune sits inside Trentino's largest nature park, with the Brenta Dolomites group recognised as UNESCO World Heritage in 2009.

When is the best time to visit Andalo?

Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar. December through March is the ski season, the village's busiest months, with the Paganella lifts running from the centre and snow held above 1,000 metres into early April. June through September is the summer alpine season: cool evenings even in July, hiking and biking on the plateau, and the lake at its fullest in late June. April and May are quiet shoulder months when snow has gone and the meadows have not yet bloomed; many lifts and hotels close. October and November are the quietest months, with the village largely shut between the autumn closure and the December reopening. The lake disappears underground around mid-July most years.

Andalo is a comune in the province of Trento, Trentino-South Tyrol region of Italy, about 38 kilometers from Trento.

How do I get to Andalo?

From Trento, Andalo is roughly 38 km by road.

Trentino-South Tyrol · Trento

Andalo

An alpine pass at 1,042 metres on the Paganella plateau, with the Brenta Dolomites on one side and a periodic lake that empties and refills.

Known for

PAGANELLA
Fifty kilometres of slopes from the village centre to Cima Paganella at 2,125 metres, part of the Skirama Dolomiti Adamello Brenta circuit.
THE PERIODIC LAKE
Lago di Andalo fills with snowmelt and rain, then drains underground in summer, a hydrological behaviour shared by only eight lakes in the world.
ADAMELLO-BRENTA PARK
Most of the commune sits inside Trentino's largest nature park, with the Brenta Dolomites group recognised as UNESCO World Heritage in 2009.

When to visit

Best · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

The festa: San Vito, 15 June

Why come

Andalo lies on a grassy pass at 1,042 metres between the Brenta Dolomites and Mount Paganella, on a plateau that opens between Piz Galin at 2,442 metres and Cima Paganella at 2,125 metres. The settlement began in the Middle Ages as thirteen scattered masi, the farm clusters typical of Trentino's high pastures, which merged into a single town over the centuries. Most of the territory falls inside the Adamello-Brenta Nature Park, the largest protected area in Trentino.

From the second half of the twentieth century Andalo became a winter sports resort built around the Paganella ski area, with fifty kilometres of slopes and a gondola climbing from the village centre to Doss Pelà and on to Cima Paganella. The Lago di Andalo, at the edge of the village, is a periodic lake: it fills with snowmelt in spring and rain in autumn, drains underground in summer, and is one of only eight lakes in the world that behave this way.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Andalo’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

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What to see

Cima Paganella
Summit at 2,125 metres reached by gondola from the village centre via Doss Pelà, with panoramic views over the Brenta Dolomites and the Adige valley.
Lago di Andalo
Periodic lake at the edge of the village, filled by snowmelt and autumn rain and drained underground in summer, one of eight such lakes worldwide.
Parco Naturale Adamello-Brenta
Largest protected area in Trentino, covering most of the Andalo territory and the Brenta Dolomites group inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2009.
Paganella Ski Area
Fifty kilometres of slopes between 1,030 and 2,125 metres, part of the Skirama Dolomiti Adamello Brenta circuit and centred on the Andalo village base.
Altopiano della Paganella
Grassy plateau between the Brenta and Paganella massifs, with hiking and biking routes across alpine pastures and through the masi that founded the village.

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Living here

Population 1,147
In-betweeni
Pharmacy in town
High school within a 30-minute drive
Nearest airport Verona, 1 h 48 min drive
Regional capital Trento, 39 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

Ski Area

The numbers

Elevation: 1042 m
Population: 1,147
Surface area: 11.38 km²

On the map

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These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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