and Monte Lira / Lavinaspitze, from Passo della Mendola
This tour offers beautiful mid-height mountain landscapes, good views over the Val d'Adige, comfortable trails, and moderate altitude raise. Particularly noticeable are the views from Mount Lira / Lavinaspitze, a minor summit, but well positioned, requiring just a short detour from the main path.
You can park at the Passo della Mendola. To make the trip more pleasant (and ecological), you can instead use the modern funicular from Caldaro / Kaltern. In this case, you can park at the valley station.
From Passo della Mendola, take the path 500, to the south. At first, the path covers an area dotted with small houses, then it enters the woods:
You should always follow the path 500, or indications for Refuge Genzianella, Refuge Mezzavia, or Refuge Überetscher.
The first intermediate point that you reach is in fact the Refuge Genzianella / Enzianhütte, after about half an hour:
Keep following the same directions, and after another hour you reach the Refuge Mezzavia / Halbweg Hütte:
Not long after, there is a fork for Monte Lira / Lavinaspitze. A detour of about 15 minutes allows you to reach this privileged vantage point, from which the view extends all over the eastern horizon; particularly impressive is the view of the Lake Caldaro / Karterersee:
It often happens, from this position, to see the launch of paragliders:
By taking the original path, you continue through woods and pastures:
Finally, after another good hour of walk, you reach the Malga Romeno:
Same trail.
■ gb, 2013-07-27