What is Corvara in Badia known for?

One of four village bases on the forty-kilometre ski circuit around the Sella massif, skied in a single day on one lift pass. Eighty-seven percent of residents speak Ladin as a first language, the highest share in any commune of Alta Badia. Rock spire at 2,665 metres above the village, the signature peak of Alta Badia and a classic Dolomite via ferrata.

When is the best time to visit Corvara in Badia?

Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar. December through March is the ski season, the village at full capacity around the Sellaronda lifts, with the men's World Cup giant slalom on the Gran Risa each December at La Villa next door. June through September is the summer Dolomite season, cool even in July at 1,568 metres, with hiking, via ferrata and gravel cycling across the Pralongià plateau and the Puez-Odle park. April and May are quiet shoulder months, snow gone from the village but lifts mostly closed and hotels shut between seasons. October and November are the deepest off-season, with most accommodation closed until the December reopening.

Where is Corvara in Badia?

Corvara in Badia is a comune in the province of Bolzano, Trentino-South Tyrol region of Italy, about 62 kilometers from Bolzano.

How do I get to Corvara in Badia?

From Bolzano, Corvara in Badia is roughly 62 km by road.

Corvara in Badia, Bolzano

Known for

SELLARONDA
One of four village bases on the forty-kilometre ski circuit around the Sella massif, skied in a single day on one lift pass.
LADIN
Eighty-seven percent of residents speak Ladin as a first language, the highest share in any commune of Alta Badia.
SASSONGHER
Rock spire at 2,665 metres above the village, the signature peak of Alta Badia and a classic Dolomite via ferrata.

When to visit

Best · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

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F
M
A
M
J
J
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S
O
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D

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

Why come

Corvara sits at 1,568 metres in a wide basin at the head of the Val Badia, below the rock spire of the Sassongher and inside the Dolomites UNESCO area. Ladin is the everyday language: in the 2024 census 87 percent of residents named it as their first tongue, with Italian and German distant second and third. The settlement was a scattered group of farms until tourism arrived in the early twentieth century, and Corvara is considered the birthplace of organised Alpine tourism in the Val Badia.

The village is one of four bases on the Sellaronda, the forty-kilometre ski circuit that loops the Sella massif through Corvara, Arabba, Canazei and Selva di Val Gardena on a single lift pass. Above the village, the Pralongià plateau opens a long view to the Marmolada glacier. The Gran Risa piste at the next hamlet of La Villa hosts the men's giant slalom on the World Cup tour each December.

What to see

Chiesa di Santa Caterina
Late Gothic church first documented in 1347 and consecrated to Saint Catherine in 1452, holding the only well-preserved winged altar in Val Badia, dated 1520.
Sassongher
Rock peak at 2,665 metres above the village, the signature silhouette of Corvara and a classic via ferrata climb on the eastern flank.
Altopiano di Pralongià
Grassy plateau above the village reached by cable car, with open views to the Marmolada glacier and the surrounding Dolomite groups.
Sellaronda
Forty-kilometre ski circuit around the Sella massif linking Corvara, Arabba, Canazei and Selva di Val Gardena on a single lift pass.
Parco Naturale Puez-Odle
Protected Dolomite area at the northern edge of the commune, inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list with the wider Dolomites group in 2009.

We recommend

Where to eat and stay

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to — a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

La Stüa de Michil - Simone CantafioRistorante
La Stüa de Michil - Simone Cantafio carries one Michelin star, two Gambero Rosso forks (88/100), plus a place in L'Espresso's Top 300, among other nods.
L'OstìRistorante
L'Ostì carries a place in L'Espresso's Top 300, plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Rifugio Col AltRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100) for Rifugio Col Alt, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Bistrot La PerlaRistorante
Bistrot La Perla has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
Burjé 1968Ristorante
Burjé 1968 has a La Liste score of 79.5 to its name.
KELINA Fine DineRistorante
KELINA Fine Dine has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
LadiniaRistorante
Ladinia has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
Hotel La PerlaHotel
Hotel La Perla carries a La Liste score of 92.5, plus a Leading Hotels of the World listing.

Living here

Population 1,396
Very remotei
Pharmacy in town
Nearest airport Venice, 2 h 28 min drive
Regional capital Bolzano, 1 h 15 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 1568 m
Population: 1,396
Surface area: 38.92 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.