The bizarre rocky forms of the Dolomites are of a magnificence and splendour that is nothing short of unique. Ten years ago, the Pale Mountains were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nine of the Dolomite mountain ranges were added to the list, including the Sciliar and the Catinaccio.
Inclusion in the World Heritage is the highest honour in the world for a natural site, similar to the “Nobel Prize for natural assets,” UNESCO has rigorous criterias, for example, determining whether the location is genuinely a unique one of a kind site of exceptional universal importance. They were classified as a site of unique global significance because of their exceptional natural beauty, together with their geological and geomorphological value.
The area is around 142,000 hectares and stretches over the provinces of Bolzano (South Tyrol), Pordenone, Trento, Belluno and Udine.
In South Tyrol, part of the World Heritage site are:
- the Nature Parks of the Tre Cime,
- Fanes-SennesBraies,
- Puez-Odle,
- Sciliar-Catinaccio,
- the Latemar mountain and
- the natural monument of the Bletterbach Gorge