The Latemar Forest

The Latemar forest, also known as the Carezza forest, covers the northern flank of the mountain massif of the same name, from the area where the sawmill is located, up to the Costalunga Pass, at an altitude of between 1,300 and 2,100 metres. The forests mostly vegetate on slopes with N-NE and NW exposure; the lower areas are flat, while the higher areas are rather steep and crossed by landslide gullies and avalanche areas.

https://forestry.province.bz.it/en/home

The Carezza forest extends at the foot of the Latemar Group

Since 2009, the Latemar is one of the mountain massifs of the Dolomites that – together with the Sciliar Catinaccio Nature Park – has become a World Heritage Site. It is impressive to think that 240 million years ago an island surrounded by a tropical sea stood here. Today, the imposing peaks of the Latemar rise between Val di Fiemme, Val di Fassa and Val d’Ega, in Trentino and South Tyrol, where the Costalunga Pass separates them from the Catinaccio.

In the heart of the Latemar Forest is Carezza Lake, also called ‘Rainbow Lake’ because of its beautiful colours. It thrills with its palette of colours in iridescent shades. And it is precisely for this reason that in Ladin it is called Lech de l’ercaboan, the Rainbow Lake. It is precisely the rainbow that is the protagonist of a legend: between a bewitching nymph and a magician in love, a story that adds an aura of magic to this natural treasure.

https://eggental.com/en/dolomites_nature/lake-carezza

photo © Harald Wisthaler