Val del Mis (Dolomiti)

Val del Mis

Gosaldo – Sospirolo

The magic of the Dolomites for the whole family

The Val del Mis is a valley in the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites, straddling the Agordino and Valtellina territories, located in the Province of Belluno, Veneto Region.

Included in its entirety within the extraordinary natural context of the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park, a state nature reserve of Italy, the Val del Mis is geographically situated between the outer reaches of the upper Conca Agordina, with the municipalities of Rivamonte Agordino and Gosaldo on the Agordino side, and the municipality of Sospirolo on the Valbelluna side. A beloved summer destination in the UNESCO Dolomites, Val del Mis is an oasis of the Pale Mountains that is sparsely inhabited and therefore still wild and naturally fascinating.

Val del Mis

Geography & Location

Regarding the Dolomite landscape, the Val del Mis is located within the extraordinary natural setting of the 3rd of the 9 official Dolomite systems recognized and protected by the Dolomite UNESCO Foundation, namely the Pale di San Martino, Pale di San Lucano, Vette Feltrine and Belluno Dolomites system. According to the SOIUSA International Classification of the Alps, the Val del Mis is included between the Monti del Sole and Feruch Group (Pale di San Martino and Feruch Supergroup), the Vette Feltrine, and the Pale di San Martino.

Val del Mis Dolomiti — Position of the Val del Mis in the Agordino territory

The Val del Mis takes its name from the Mis Torrent, a watercourse that also forms a picturesque artificial lake, the Lago del Mis, in the lower part of the valley towards Sospirolo. A large part of the valley is included in the protected territory of the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park.

Valle del Mis

History & Tourism

The main characteristic of a large part of the Val del Mis is its pristine and wild landscape, characterized by a dominant, wild nature surrounded by seemingly minor peaks that conceal rugged and difficult trails and old communication routes.

Inhabited by small communities and families until the terrible flood of 1966, the Val del Mis is today practically uninhabited. As a testament to those times that seem so distant today, the ruins of the inhabited areas of Gena in the Municipality of Sospirolo and the district of California in the Municipality of Gosaldo remain, interesting vestiges of an irretrievable past.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Sospirolo and the municipalities of the lower part of the Province of Belluno were connected directly to California (which quickly became a famous destination for leisure and tourism) by bus lines that crossed the Val del Mis; with the flood, the road disappeared, swallowed by the fury of the elements, and remained impassable for many years. Today the road, although narrow in some places and characterized by tight, dark tunnels, is generally passable without difficulty but may be closed by specific orders during the winter season.

For centuries, the Val del Mis was linked to mining, as was the nearby Conca Agordina; from the Vallalta quarries, metal ores were extracted, including precious cinnabar from which mercury was obtained for the Serenissima Republic. Despite the devastation suffered during the 1966 flood, the Vallalta Mining Center remains a precious historical testimony of the valley’s past and an important tourist attraction in the Agordino territory.

Valle del Mis Val del Mis — The old border between Austria and Italy near the Vallalta Mines in Val del Mis

Mining work, although coveted, was often inconsistent and uncertain: floods, workplace accidents, and management changes could mean months of inactivity and thus no wages for the miners of Val del Mis. To ensure an additional source of income in a harsh environment with few resources like the Dolomites, the inhabitants of Val del Mis, like those of the Conca Agordina, specialized in chair-making and caning. The Agordino careghete (chair-makers) would leave in the autumn for European cities, where they worked as itinerant laborers or guests of their clients; although they led anything but a simple life, they were experts in their craft and respected, often accompanied by the children from their home villages so they could learn the trade in turn. The existence and culture of the Agordino chair-makers find expression in their secret language, scabelament (or scapelament, sometimes written skapelament); it is an artificial language indecipherable to outsiders that the chair-makers used when they did not want to be understood. The world of the Agordino chair-makers is celebrated by a magnificent statue in the square of the village of Don in Gosaldo and by the nearby Gosaldo Chair-Makers’ Museum.

In summer, a destination for many visitors in search of relaxation and hikers who want to venture among the beautiful and wild Monti del Sole, the Pale di San Martino, and the Vette Feltrine, the Val del Mis is a fascinating place in the UNESCO Dolomites and at the same time little known to the masses; it is a natural pearl that deserves a visit, taking care to respect the rules of the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park (particularly regarding swimming and waste collection) and to carefully assess risks, especially regarding hiking: the Val del Mis is so rugged that it is easy to get lost in a labyrinth of vegetation and rocks where it is difficult to find one’s way.

The famous Cadini del Brenton, the La Soffia Waterfall, and the Lago del Mis constitute the most famous natural attractions of the Val del Mis. The Lago del Mis, an artificial basin for hydroelectric power production, is wonderfully nestled in the wild heart of the Monti del Sole and Vette Feltrine, so much so that it earned the “Five Sails” from the Touring Club and was named the second most beautiful lake in Italy in 2019.

The Cadini del Brenton are instead natural erosion potholes located on a simple hiking path accessible to everyone, within the area of the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park. Tens of thousands of guests come to the Val del Mis every year to admire them.

The entire Val del Mis is today equipped with suitable signage applied by the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park Authority and regulated by it; it is always good to pay attention to signs and information panels as they often contain useful information.

Among the most famous attractions of the Val del Mis are: