We drive from Perca in the Val Pusteria to Montassilone (Tesselberg), a mountain hamlet overlooking the basin of Brunico, which is accessible also via Gais in the Valle di Tures. Coming from Perca you can park your car in a small lay-by on the left side of the road about 1.5 km before the village of Montassilone. We start our circular hike to Monte Bel Colle (Schönbichl in German) in the Vedrette di Ries-Aurina nature park. We follow the signpost "Schönbichl" and walk along path no. 7B which leads us through a dense and rather unspoilt forest. In some points this path meets a vehicle accessible road.

Near the Hühnerspiel we leave the forest and the view opens up to the surrounding mountains. To our left we can see the glaciers of the Zillertal Alps rising into the blue sky, whereas the western slope of Montone towers on the right side. The rather flat terrain of the Hühnerspiel extends towards the ridge of Monte Bel Colle where a well-walkable path takes us to the highest point of our hike (2,450 m a.s.l.). The all-round view of the Dolomites, the Zillertal Alps and the Vedrette di Ries with Monte Collalto is simply amazing.

We hike along the final slope to the summit and then take the path to the Tesselberger Alm (no. 7) on the right. At the malga (open in summer) we take a large forest road which winds along the banks of Rio Montassilone before reaching the church of Montassilone. At the church we continue along an asphalt road and return to our starting point after 1.4 km.

Please note: This itinerary can also be walked the opposite way but in this case you need to be aware of the very steep ascent along the forest path. This circular hike can be extended by climbing Cima Quaira (2,438 m a.s.l.).

Author: BS