It takes: 3-3 ½ hours
Difficulty level: easy
Altitude: 385 m
The Alpe di Fana, unique of its kind, is a little wooden village, a very trim and well-structured one. It includes huts, barns, cattlesheds and a small church. The three dozen houses with wooden roof are the main peculiarity of this place, certainly worth a visit. It is situated in a nice valley, surrounded by meadows. The area around the Alpe di Fana is dotted with mountains huts, pastures and fields that are scythed in summer.
Also the huts Labiseben and Pfanne belong to the farmers of Vals, even if a low rocky crest separates them from Fane. In early summer the livestock is pastured at the Alpe di Fana, while in late summer it is led to higher altitudes, so that the meadows can be scythed. Afterwards it is led back to the Alpe of Fana before coming back to the valley. The village, beloved destination of all hikers, is dotted with several refreshment points. Also hut Pfanne is situated in a busy path: many tourists arrive here from Fane, then continue to the Refuge Bressanone. Following the uphill path you get to the Refuge Bressanone, close to Hut Pfanne.
The Hut Labiseben is not well-known. The trail continues on the left past a low rocky crest, then skirts the Wilden Lake and reaches the hut, situated in the centre of an important pasture. In the 19th century a new path was created on the rock, in order to make the original "Fenne" trail easier; it was enlarged again in 1985.
This hut is shrouded in the legend. They tell that a shepherd of hut Labiseben killed his cattle - as a result, he was punished and transformed into a ghost. However, he was forgiven in 1898, when the little church was built in Fana. A shepherd of Hut Pfanne had poisoned the milk. He was punished, transformed into a spectre and forced to wander about the pastures for the following winter. He was set free when a hiker drank some of his milk. The following, however, is true: the cheese produced in the Huts Fane, Labiseben and Pfanne was already mentioned and appreciated in some documents dating back to the 16th century; later it got a seal reproducing Herr von Wolkenstein's coat of arms. What concerns the strange names of these huts, "Fane" probably derives from the latin word "patina" (plate, cup), while the German "Pfanne" means "pan". "Labiseben" refers to the land in which a particular botanical species of rumice grows.
Route
Arriving from Valles (1354 m.) and following the valley road you reach a wide car park - 2,5 km from the village, then continue to the Refuge Kurzkofel (restaurant, 1422 m.). Follow the same trail through wide, gentle slopes and reach the car park (1700 m). Then you get to the brook walking on a flat road. Past the bridge on the brook, continue to the Hut Alpe Fana (1739 m.). it takes 1 hour and 30 min. to get to Valles on foot and 2 hours downhill from there to come back.
Hike from Alpe di Fana
Those who prefer to visit the highest pastures can walk uphill on the easy trail n. 17, crossing the "Schramme" gorge and passing by the Huts Labiseben (2138 m.; 1 hour from Fana), Pfanne (2141 m., 1 hour from Fana) and getting to the Refuge Bressanone (2300 m. - 2 hours from Fana).
