Larches are the only conifers in the Alps that lose their needles. Before they do, in October, they turn yellow, then gold, and whole hillsides change color within a couple of weeks.
October is also when the summer visitors have gone home. Lakes like Braies, which are busy all summer, are quiet again, and the valley roads are empty.
Törggelen
Törggelen is a South Tyrolean autumn tradition. Farms and wine taverns serve the new wine with roast chestnuts, dumplings, speck and sweet krapfen. People walk from one farm to the next, which is the original point: a walk, then a long lunch.
There is a catch. Most high huts close in late September, and many lifts stop running until the winter season. October is a month for valley walks, low passes and short climbs, not for the high hut-to-hut routes.
- Book valley hotels rather than huts.
- Check which lifts still run before you plan a route around one.
- Pack for frost in the morning and warm sun at midday.
