San Tomaso Agordino
San Tomaso Agordino is a small municipality in the Agordine Dolomites, in the heart of the province of Belluno, facing some of the...
Updated 12 July 2026
The story
The story of San Tomaso Agordino
At the foot of Civetta and Moiazza
San Tomaso Agordino's territory lies in the Agordino, the Dolomite sub-region of the province of Belluno named after the nearby main town of Agordo. The landscape is dominated by the bulk of Monte Civetta, one of the most imposing and recognisable walls in the entire Dolomites, and by the rocky Moiazza group standing beside it with its jagged ridges. These are mountains that made the history of Dolomite mountaineering, the destination of legendary climbs since the nineteenth century, and they remain today a benchmark for expert mountaineers and hikers from all over Europe. The municipality is spread across several hamlets scattered on the slopes at different altitudes, in a territory where the mountain is never a mere backdrop but a constant presence in daily life.
Val Corpassa, a wild valley
Among the territory's most significant natural attractions is the Val Corpassa, a valley hemmed in between the walls of the Civetta and the Moiazza that opens right from San Tomaso Agordino's territory, considered one of the wildest and most fascinating valleys in the entire Dolomite range. Walking it means venturing into an almost untouched high-mountain environment, with vertical walls rising hundreds of metres on both sides, conifer woods in the lower section and increasingly rocky terrain as you climb toward the alpine refuges that serve as bases for ascents of the Civetta. It's a route for hikers with a minimum of experience and appropriate equipment, not a simple stroll, but it rewards with some of the most intense views in the whole of the Agordine Dolomites.
The scattered hamlets and mountain life
San Tomaso Agordino is organised into several small hamlets spread across the mountain slopes, each with its own small church and residential cluster, following a settlement pattern typical of the more isolated Dolomite valleys. It's a municipality with a small population, gradually declining like many mountain centres of the Agordino, where the traditional economy tied to high-altitude sheep farming and woodland use coexists today with a niche hiking tourism, made up more of experienced visitors and mountain enthusiasts than of large tourist flows. There are no large accommodation facilities, but small mountain refuges and farmhouses offering simple, genuine hospitality.
Trails and refuges for hiking
The trail network starting from San Tomaso Agordino's territory allows access to some of the best-known refuges in the Civetta area, essential stopping points for those tackling the normal routes or the via ferrata climbs toward the summit. These are demanding routes, with significant elevation gains and a high-mountain environment that requires physical preparation and experience, but they reward with some of the finest views in the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites. Even without pushing to the highest altitudes, walks in the lower part of the trails, through woods and alpine meadows, still offer a good taste of this landscape, accessible even to less experienced hikers.
A starting point for the Dolomite Agordino
San Tomaso Agordino works well as a base for exploring the whole Agordino area, a Dolomite territory less touristy than the nearby Val di Zoldo or the upper Agordino toward Alleghe and Colle Santa Lucia, but no less interesting for that. Moving between San Tomaso and its neighbouring municipalities reveals other valleys, other mountain groups and small villages that share the same mountain authenticity, in a setting where tourism still remains a secondary component compared to the daily life of the local community.
Experiences not to miss
- A hike into the Val Corpassa, between the walls of Civetta and Moiazza
- Trekking toward the alpine refuges at the foot of the Civetta
- A walk among the scattered hamlets and woods of the slope
- Views of the Civetta's vertical walls from the municipality's viewpoints
- A route among the mountain villages of the Dolomite Agordino
Routes · Trovido Route
