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Nestled on the southern slopes of the Alps, in Northern Italy, adjoining the border of Austria and Switzerland, this autonomous region boasts fabulous weather, abundant fresh air, crystal-clear lakes and a host of activities to keep holidaymakers busy. It seems hard to believe that such a picturesque region could still be relatively undiscovered. Yet really, it’s not hard to find. South Tyrol is the most southerly part of the German-speaking regions. The province is made up of the Bolzano region, the Dolomites, Eisacktal, Merano, Tauferer Ahrntal and Vinschgau. South Tyrol has 465,000 inhabitants, of whom roughly two-thirds speak German, and the remaining third Italian. Four per cent speak Ladin, an intriguing Romansch language.

South Tyrol is a land of big altitude differences, which can vary from about 200 to 4000 metres above sea level. Traditionally, the main European access from North to South was to journey through the Alps of South Tyrol. The most important route is the Brenner pass, but there are other passes of great importance for international traffic. Enjoying more than 300 days of sunshine a year, South Tyrol is a year round destination. Shaded and protected from the cold northerly winds by the main mountains of the Alps, the climate is exceptionally warm by comparison with other central European regions - it is even possible to experience good walking weather as late as November.

South Tyrol is a spectacular place in which to ski, with an astonishing 1220 kilometres of runs in the Dolomiti Superski area (well over 750 miles) and 300 kilometres (almost 180 miles) in the Ortler Skiarena. With more than 2000 kilometres of crosscountry skiing, South Tyrol is virtually boundless! Many of the idyllic Dolomite ski areas have practically no waiting periods, and with the versatile Dolomiti Superski and the new Ortler Skiarena ski passes, you can try the slopes just about everywhere.

And when the long skiing day is over, it’s time for the local version of the “Dolce Vita.” Have you ever tried to get from the ski slopes onto the dance floor with your ski boots still on? In Alta Badia this is a common habit! If, instead, you prefer to pamper yourself, relax, have a beer, and enjoy one of the many delicious local desserts, you have a vast choice of tearooms, cafés, and bars of all kinds. You’ll rarely find noisy, over-exuberant après-ski in South Tyrol – more of a pleasantly hospitable and intimate variety. What’s more, visitors usually don’t have to walk far to reach the slopes: much of the accommodation is located nearby.

South Tirol offers guaranteed snow from November till April. And guaranteed delicious cuisine too: visitors can hardly fail to enjoy the excellent “kitchenfusion” - a unique combination of Italian and Alpine gastronomy. Besides this, many winter-sports activities are possible in South Tyrol: from skiing and snowboarding to sledding and climbing glaciers. Holidaymakers who don’t necessarily want to ski every day can enjoy many other aspects of South Tyrol’s rich culture or try spa or beauty treatments.

The Dolomites
Although they are technically part of the Alps, these mountains are not really like the rest. They reach for the sky in a great stocky piles, and even change colour as the sun moves through the heavens. And each morning and late afternoon, when the mountains and villages melt into the twilight zone, the rising or setting sun illuminates the craggy peaks. They shine like diamonds in the morning – and rubies in the evening.

Val Gardena…
…spells Ski Sunday excitement. And awe-inspiring scenery. Above all, the ‘Monti Palladi’ (pale mountains) of Val Gardena spell an almost endless, bewildering network of exhilarating skiing. Ortisei (St Ulrich), with its bustling but charming main street and central piazza, is the largest of the Val Gardena towns. To the east is Santa Cristina, on a sunny plateau, with some of the most inspiring views of the Sassolungo. Higher still is Selva itself, where the views become even more dramatic. www.valgardena.it.

All aboard the new train!
A new underground funicular almost a mile long - the Gardena Ronda Express - is being built beneath Val Gardena. The train, with a capacity of 2,000 people per hour, will run from the arrival area of the celebrated Saslong downhill slope in St. Cristina to the ski area of Col Raiser and Seceda on the other side of the valley. In addition, guests in Ortisei can reach Selva-Gardena and the Sella Ronda area on skis for the first time, without using a car or the ski bus. The new environmentally-friendly underground railway, due to open this winter, will ease traffic to the slopes considerably.

The Sella Ronda
Apart from a large ski area of its own, Selva/Val Gardena provides one of the magnificent gateways to the fabled Sella Ronda, a wonderfully scenic circuit suitable for most reasonably experienced skiers. You can ski it in either direction, clockwise (follow the orange arrows) or counterclockwise (green boards). Apart from the Val Gardena gateway, you can access the circuit from the Val di Fassa, Alta Badia or Arabba. Every skier will want to do this at least once in a lifetime.

It’s a 50 kilometre tour which takes you through dozens of villages and hamlets and four regions - a full day’s outing which gives skiers just about enough time for a decent lunch and the occasional pit-stop. Skiing fairly fast, the circuit round the Sella massif takes about three-and-a-half hours, but it’s a much more enjoyable adventure to make the trip at a leisurely pace and take in the enchanting landscape!

Kronplatz
Kronplatz is one of the most famous ski areas in the Dolomites. The region includes no fewer than 15 villages: Bruneck, St. Vigil im Enneberg, Olang, St Lorenzen, Kiens, Percha, Pfalzen, Rasen im Antholzertal, Terenten, Welsberg, Taisten, Antholz, the Gsieser Tal, Gais- Uttenheim and St. Martin in Thurn. Plenty of choice for the winter sports enthusiast! All told, there are more than 90 km of runs – and lift queues are rare. Kronplatz has four excellent downhill runs, all between 5 and 6.5 km long. Don’t miss the old town centre in the romantic city of Bruneck (Brunico). Other winter sports villages in the Kronplatz area include Luttach, Sand im Taufers and Steinhaus, along with Speikboden and Klausberg. There’s a free ski bus service. www.kronplatz.com

Alta Pusteria
High above the scenic Val Pusteria, are Alta Pusteria (Hochpustertal) and the beautiful Val di Sesto. This peaceful winter region is a haven for crosscountry skiers. The trails include the famous route from Dobbiaco, south to Cortina, between towering mountain massifs, as well as the east-west tracks in the Val Pusteria itself, and trails extending through the Val di Sesto into the Val Fiscalina.

There’s downhill skiing here too, for those who like to take it easy on gentle runs in the solitude of uncrowded slopes. The region is dotted with delightful Tyrolean villages: Dobbiaco and San Candido in the Val Pusteria, and smaller villages like Sesto and Moso in the Val di Sesto. Dobbiaco (Toblach), a quiet community with another of those pretty, onion-domed churches typical of the region, provides an ideal base for cross-country skiing.

San Candido (Innichen), with its charming village centre, and nearby liftaccess to Elmo, is located at the meeting point between Val Pusteria and Val di Sesto. Sesto (Sexten) and its neighbour, Moso (Moos) are also quaint Tyrolean villages, with spectacular views across the Sesto Dolomites.

A cable-car departs from Sesto to the upper slopes of Elmo, the largest Alpine ski area in the region, with outstanding scenery. The Val Fiscalina lifts takes skiers and boarders to the pleasant, uncrowded slopes above Moso. More information at www.three-peaks.info

Ortler Skiarena and Dolomiti Superski
Skiers with an Ortler Skiarena ski pass can use many of the ski areas in the western part of South Tyrol. The bulk of the resorts from the Dolomites region and Eisacktal are accessible with the Dolomiti Superski pass. The great advantage of these ski passes is that one ski pass is valid in several ski areas - and cheaper than buying individual tickets.

Ortler Skiarena
This one ski pass is valid for 300 km of runs in 14 ski areas served by 64 lifts. Are you ready for this? The areas are: Schöneben, Haider Alm, Watles, Latsch, Trafoi Sulden am Ortler (all in the Vinschgau and surrounding region), Pfelders, Meran 2000, Schnalstal and Ulten-Schwemmalm (in the Meran and surrounding region). For further information: www.ortlerskiarena.com

Dolomiti Superski
It’s probably the most extensive ski carousel on earth: more than 750 miles of pistes served by 460 lifts in 45 ski resorts. They’re not all linked, of course. But you can just wander from village to village (a car helps) and lift system to lift system, lingering here, speeding through there, to your heart’s content, never needing to ski the same run twice. There are eight South Tyrolean ski areas in the Dolomiti Superski organisation: Alta Badia, Gröden-Seiser Alm, Kronplatz, Karersee-Fassatal, Obereggen-Val di Fiemme, and Hochpustertal, all in the Dolomites region, plus Gitschberg- Jochtal and Plose, both in the Eisacktal. (This pass allows a child under the age of eight a free ski pass as long as the accompanying adult buys a pass for the same duration. This offer does not apply to daily, seasonal or the “any 15 days-ina- season” pass. There are various other reductions for children – ask your tour operator for details). For more information, visit www.dolomitisuperski.com

Other winter activities
Off the slopes, there are all sorts of other things to do, including ice-climbing, tobogganing, paragliding, swimming, indoor tennis, bowling, riding, ice skating, horsedrawn sleigh rides, and extensive crosscountry skiing. In the winter it is almost impossible to walk on ordinary shoes in the mountains, but with snowshoes you can explore to your heart’s content. You can even hike from mountain hut to mountain hut. The silence and breathtaking scenery make a snowshoe-tour quite magical. Local tourism agencies offer ice-climbing courses with experienced guides on frozen waterfalls for both beginners and advanced climbers. Other activities, such as ice skating, horse riding and bobsleighing can also be organised.

Beauty ‘arrangements’
Besides sport and culture, winter sports also stands for relaxation and wellbeing. South Tyrol has built up a long tradition of ‘wellness’ in health resorts, and many hotels offer spa and beauty arrangements in the winter season. Hay and blossom baths originate from South Tyrol and are often part of a beauty programme. Apart from being very relaxing, hay baths stimulate the digestion and help you lose weight! There are almost 30 Belvita Alpine Wellness Resort hotels spread across the South Tyrol, specialising in spa and beauty programmes. Visit www.belvita.it

Families
Wintersports in South Tyrol are at their best when the whole family join in the adventure. Among many family activities are a Mini Olympic Games, and a contest to build the biggest snowman in the province! Visit www.familienhotels.com

The Ladin language
Alta Badia is the ‘fatherland’ for the ancient Raetoroman population of the Alps: the Ladin people. They spoke – and still do – a different language, and have their own specialised tradition of agriculture and crafts. The first population of Alta Badia can be dated back to the Bronze Age However, it’s still not clear who these first inhabitants actually were. They’re thought to have been a Celtic people. Following the annexation of the region by the Roman Empire, the population took up the ‘vulgar’ Latin of the Roman conquerors - a Romansch language that developed in parallel to Italian, French and Spanish; thus Ladin was born.

So too were the regional gastronomic specialities including Cajunie, a kind of potato pasty made with flour, eggs, smoked cottage cheese and onions. In the local inns and mountain refuges – a baitaor locanda- try the polenta, local cheese made on the mountainside, local sausages, smoked bacon and, of course, the grappa. Or, if you prefer, accompany this tasty fare with crisp dry local wines.

Local architecture, handicrafts and farming methods also help keep Ladin traditions alive. The entire hamlet of Pian, above Campitello, is now officially listed as an ancient monument. Each winter, the villages stage a Ladin Carnival, which celebrates the evocative history of this once isolated and poor mountain region. Even the churches, chapels ands farmhouses, are in a sense a living display of the skills maintained by local craftsmen, working in wood, leather and wrought iron. www.altabadia.org

Say hi to Ötzi !
South Tyrol has a rich culture, with more than 400 castles and fortresses, and several museums. In one of these, the archeological museum of Bolzano, you can ‘meet’ Ötzi, the 5300-year-old Ice Man found 13 years ago high on a glacier right on the Austrian border. Many rare frescos are preserved here too. Well worth visiting are Runkelstein Castle in Bolzano, with its beautiful authentic hall, and the impressive Trauttmansdorff castle in Merano, the former winter residence of Austria’s Empress ‘Sissi’. The weapons hall at Churburg is one of the best-preserved in the province: the extensive display includes a large variety of harnesses and one of the largest private weapons collections in the world. www.iceman.it.

Accommodation
Because of its historic role as a major European trading route, South Tyrol has a great variety of accommodation, with everything from high-class hotels, and cosy guesthouses to simple rooms. You’ll often find it’s the owners themselves who manage the accommodation, which explains why visitors are guaranteed a warm, personal welcome. In the South Tyrol, holidaymakers don’t often have to walk far for to get to the slopes: much of the accommodation is nearby. There are also hotel chains which focus on the specific expectations of families, such as family hotels (www.familienhotels.com). It’s even possible to camp in the winter, under a sparkling, starry sky. But don’t forget to bring warm clothes, a hat, gloves, a sleeping bag and good shoes!

It may be the sunny side of the Alps, but when the sun disappears, you’ll know it! Online Booking: www.suedtirol.info.

Booking and transportation
North Italy can easily be reached by plane, train or car. The nearest airports to Bolzano are Innsbruck (125 km), Verona Fillafranca (150 km) and Milan (277 km). Low-cost carriers easyJet and Ryanair have flights to airports serving the region.

Further inquiries about the South Tyrol can be made at www.suedtirol.info.