Sella Ronda

Four passes, four Ladin valleys and one great rock fortress in the middle: the Dolomites' most famous ski circuit, and how to ride it without racing the last lift home.

In the middle of the Dolomites stands the Sella, a near-circular massif of pale cliffs and terraces. Around its base, lifts and pistes link Val Gardena, Alta Badia, Arabba and Val di Fassa in an unbroken ring, crossing four road passes on the way. You can ski the whole loop in a day on one Dolomiti Superski pass without taking your skis off, and you never repeat a run.

Signposted orange clockwise and green anticlockwise, it is a journey more than a challenge: intermediate pistes, long chairlifts, hut lunches and a new face of the Sella at every pass.

Dolomiti Superski gives the Sella Ronda (Sellaronda, Sellarunde) as 44 km: 23 km of skiing and 21 km on lifts, taking around six hours. Some valley tourist boards quote about 40 km with roughly 26 km of pistes; figures depend on where you start and what you count. Either way, the loop passes the villages of Selva (Wolkenstein, Sëlva), Colfosco, Corvara, Arabba and Canazei, and stays above 2,000 m for much of the day.

Alta Badia reckons on roughly two hours on lifts (plus queues) and an hour and a half of actual skiing; the rest is traverses, photographs and lunch. Official descriptions rate the circuit medium, for intermediates with some stamina.

No special ticket is needed: the ring crosses several lift companies, so any valid Dolomiti Superski pass, from one day upwards, covers it (prices in ski passes and prices). In 2020 the German portal skiresort.de named the Sellaronda its Best Ski Tour, an award every valley still mentions.

The ring is signposted in both directions. Orange signs lead clockwise: from Val Gardena over Passo Gardena to Alta Badia, then Arabba, Pordoi and back over Passo Sella. Green signs lead anticlockwise, the same passes in reverse.

Val Gardena's lift company describes the green circuit as slightly easier, and Dolomiti Superski's own writer prefers it too. The orange direction, though, includes the classic plunge from Porta Vescovo above Arabba and the Pordoi descents, and Cortina's tourist board recommends going clockwise. Many skiers do both on different days: in reverse it feels like a new trip.

Campolongo, the lowest, is a gentle meadow saddle between Corvara (1,568 m) and Arabba. Pordoi is the highest, and from it a cable car climbs to Sass Pordoi at 2,950 m, a terrace on top of the Sella itself. It runs in summer and winter; for 2026/27 Val di Fassa lists the winter service from 22 December, later than the pistes. Its steep off-piste lines are not part of the circuit (see freeride and avalanche safety).

Passo Sella is the most theatrical: the piste threads the City of Boulders (Città dei Sassi), a field of fallen blocks under the Sassolungo (Langkofel), and the Rifugio Salei near the pass is a favourite lunch stop.

You never ski the same run twice, and the Sella is always on the same side of you.

Because it is a ring, you can join anywhere and finish where you began.

Ways onto the ring

• Val Gardena. Orange from Selva on the Dantercepies lift (#30); you can also park on Passo Gardena. Green from Plan de Gralba, reached by the Ciampinoi (#29) from Selva or the Saslong lift (#17) from Santa Cristina. From Ortisei (St. Ulrich), cross the Seceda area from lift #2, Ortisei–Furnes.
• Alta Badia. Corvara and Colfosco sit right on the ring, which is why Alta Badia's tourist board calls itself the ideal starting point.
• Arabba. Directly on the circuit; Arabba's tourist board also suggests Malga Ciapela below the Marmolada as a start, via Passo Padon.
• Val di Fassa. From Canazei or Alba via Col dei Rossi, from Campitello by cable car to Col Rodella, or from Pozza through the Buffaure and Ciampac areas (longer).
• Cortina d'Ampezzo. The Cortina Skyline gondola from Son dei Prade (near Pocol) to the Cinque Torri chairlift, then Lagazuoi and the Armentarola piste into Alta Badia.
• Kronplatz. Via Alta Badia; for the way home, the last Piculin cable car runs at 16:30 (17:00 from February).

The sequence below follows Val Gardena's official description of the orange circuit. The green route uses the same lifts in reverse order, starting at Plan de Gralba.

Finishing elsewhere. For Santa Cristina, take Plan de Gralba (#44) and Piza Pranseies (#22) to Ciampinoi and ski down. For Ortisei, ride the Ronda Express train (#11) to Col Raiser, then lifts #14 and #8 to Seceda and the run home.

From Corvara, the Col Alt lift (#1) starts a detour of about half a dozen lifts to the Gran Risa above La Villa, the steepest piste in Alta Badia and a World Cup giant slalom course (see famous runs). Allow at least an hour, and on the green route be at the top of Passo Gardena before 16:00.

From Arabba, the Porta Vescovo lifts and Passo Padon lead to Malga Ciapela, where three cable cars climb the Marmolada to Punta Rocca at more than 3,000 m. At Serauta station there is a museum of the Great War, and the descent, La Bellunese, runs 12 km back to the valley (see famous runs). It is a half-day in itself.

Alta Badia's tourist board says the circuit is perfectly doable on a snowboard, but warns that some flat, gliding sections favour skiers. Carry speed into traverses, ride with a skier who can tow you on a pole, and expect to unstrap a few times. The green direction, rated slightly easier, makes a sensible first lap. Snowparks: our guide to snowboarding and snowparks.

When to go. For 2026/27 the Val Gardena and Val di Fassa lifts run from 4 December 2026 to 4 April 2027. Arabba's tourist board recommends February to March. Start early and lunch late to dodge the queues.

• About 44 km around the Sella massif in a day
• Four passes: Sella, Pordoi, Campolongo and Gardena
• Orange signs clockwise, green signs anticlockwise
• Start by 10:00 at the latest

Selva, Corvara, Arabba and Canazei (and the villages of all four valleys). Compare the valleys in which Dolomites valley to stay in.

Peak mapPiz BoèPeak mapSassolungoPeak mapMarmolada

Helmets and third-party liability insurance are compulsory on Italian slopes. Read the ski rules, check what children pay, and if you are new to skiing start with our beginner’s guide. Passes, travel and where to stay are covered on the ski maps page.

Our map is an illustrated panorama drawn from OpenStreetMap data and is for planning only. Run lengths differ from official figures. Always check the official piste map and run and lift status on the day.