Lagazuoi and Passo Falzarego

From Passo Falzarego, half an hour west of Cortina, a cable car climbs in four minutes to the Rifugio Lagazuoi at 2,752 metres. The view from the terrace takes in most of the Dolomites at once, and it is one of the few great alpine viewpoints reachable without walking.

The mountain underneath is hollow. In the First World War the front ran across it, and both armies tunnelled -- Italians upward from below, Austrians downward from the summit ridge -- to plant mines under each other's positions.

Those tunnels can be walked. The Italian Galleria del Lagazuoi descends roughly a kilometre through the inside of the mountain, and you go down it with a helmet and a torch.

The tunnel is not a tourist attraction with railings. It is a restored military gallery with steep steps, wet rock and no lighting. Go down it, not up; carry a working headtorch and a spare; wear a helmet; and turn back if conditions are poor.

The whole mountain remains a war site. Do not remove anything -- fragments, wire, ordnance. Unexploded material still surfaces here, and it is reported, not pocketed.

Keep to the marked paths and walkways on the ledge and around the positions. The restoration is what allows access at all, and it is maintained by volunteers.

High-altitude vegetation recovers over decades. Do not shortcut switchbacks.

Staying at the refuge rather than driving down supports the people who keep the site open, and gives you the view at the hours it is actually worth seeing.

The cable car runs from Passo Falzarego to the Rifugio Lagazuoi in about four minutes. Expect roughly 20-25 euros return. It operates in summer and winter seasons with a break between.

Passo Falzarego is 30-40 minutes by car from Cortina, and there is free parking at the pass. Buses run in season.

The tunnel descent is free, but it is a serious undertaking: about a kilometre of steep steps and fixed cable inside the mountain, taking one to two hours, in complete darkness without a light. A helmet and a headtorch are not optional -- both can be hired at the pass.

Walking up instead of taking the cable car takes around two and a half hours.

The terrace and refuge are accessible from the cable car; the tunnel and the ledge are emphatically not.

Allow half a day for the cable car and terrace, a full day if you descend the tunnel.