St Michael – Ice Holes – St Michael

Bolzano is well worth a visit. It is not only ideally placed to access the Dolomites, but also the capital city of South Tyrol and a great place to explore. It is Italian, but feels, well, more Austrian.

Close to Bolzano is the absolutely charming village of St Michael. We parked our car just outside the town centre and headed off through the town – a delight!

We headed out of town and climbed slowly until after about 20 minutes, we reached the Gleifkappele designed and built in 1874.

The fantastic views over Blozano and to the Dolomites make it an ideal place to stop for a quick drink.

Next we headed south along quiet country lanes until we reached the signs for the iceholes (Eislöchern in German and shown on the signs). We walked along the easy paths through the woods until finally after 20 minutes we reached the ice holes. Bizarre!

Apparently the almost vertical mountain towering above have vertical tubular holes pretty much from the top of the mountain to where the ice holes are located. The air sinks through the holes and rapidly cools. The cool air then sits in the hollows of the ground. It’s weird! The air is distinctly cooler than from where we just walked.

After chilling for a few minutes (gettit?) we wandered back to the road. We turned left at the country lane and headed back to St Michael passing the impressive Gandegg castle.

It is then simply a gentle wander through the back streets of St Michael enjoying the local houses and gardens.

What a wonderful way to spend half an afternoon!