Val Gardena is the valley where the Dolomites speak Ladin. The language, a Romance tongue descended from the Latin of Roman soldiers, survives here in a handful of valleys, and in villages like Selva, Santa Cristina and Ortisei you will see three sets of names on every sign: German, Italian and Ladin, so Selva is also Wolkenstein and Sëlva. The altitude of 1,560 metres puts you in Selva, at the top end of the valley, where the road to the Sella and Gardena passes begins and the walls of the Dolomites are close enough to touch.
The scenery is enormous. The Sassolungo, the Langkofel, rises straight above the valley to 3,181 metres, a vast comb of pale rock that flushes pink at dawn and dusk, the famous enrosadira. The Sella massif, a great flat-topped block, stands to the east, ringed by passes. The Dolomites were named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2009, and a few minutes in the valley explain why. Meadows in June are full of flowers, and in autumn the larches turn the lower slopes gold.
For a rider, this is the base for the Sella Ronda, the loop around the Sella massif by four passes: Gardena, Campolongo, Pordoi and Sella, each with its own character. The roads are narrow, twisting and well surfaced, with hairpins that climb and drop beneath huge cliffs, and in summer they fill with motorcyclists, cyclists and coaches, so an early start is worth it. The Gardena Pass, at about 2,121 metres, is the first climb from the valley. Mornings are clear and crisp, and afternoon thunderstorms are likely, so get over the passes before lunch if you can.
Ortisei, the larger village down the valley, has fuel and shops, and is the best place to fill the tank. Ortisei is also the centre of the region's woodcarving tradition, and shops sell carved saints, nativity figures and toys, some of them very fine. For dinner, eat canederli, bread dumplings in broth, with speck, Schüttelbrot, a crisp rye bread flavoured with fennel and caraway, and a glass of South Tyrolean red. The valley is quiet at night, with starry skies, and the hotels are small and family-run. Passes close with snow from late October to spring, so check conditions.