At 1,496 metres, closed off by the wall of the Croda del Becco, Lake Braies is the "pearl of the Dolomite lakes": water shifting from emerald to turquoise with light and season, a wooden boathouse with rowing boats lined up, and a fame — inflated by television and social feeds — that has made it one of the most desired places in the Alps.
What to see
The lake circuit, three and a half nearly flat kilometres through woods and scree, is the perfect walk for everyone; the boathouse on stilts and the lakeside chapel are the photographic icons. Strong legs climb toward the Croda del Becco or Prato Piazza: from up there the lake becomes what it is, a turquoise drop set in limestone.
Visiting
In high summer car access is capped: transit must be booked, or valley shuttles used — check the season's rules before setting out. Rowing boats are rented in the warm months; at dawn and after five the lake largely returns to the quiet ones.
Getting there
The Braies valley branches off the Val Pusteria at Villabassa: ten kilometres to the lake. In the regulated season, valley car parks and shuttles; by train, Villabassa-Braies station and bus.
Our editors' tip
Sleep in the valley and stand on the jetty before eight: the motionless lake mirroring the Croda, without one voice, is an experience the midday crush makes impossible to imagine. Walk the full circuit clockwise: the light lands right on the boathouse by mid-morning.