This route links up Lago Santo, a splendid glacial origin lake, with the Potzmauer mountain hut, at an altitude of 1300 metres and set in a grassy clearing surrounded by fir trees.
Lago Santo owes its name to an appealing legend which recounts that there was once a piece of land hotly disputed between heirs where the lake now stands. One of these heirs was so exasperated by the dispute that he wished out loud that it would turn into a lake. From that moment on water levels started to rise. Worried about the danger hanging over them, the inhabitants of Cembra set off on a pilgrimage to the site. When they got there the parish priest threw the Virgin Mary’s ring into it and the waters began to subside.
Rifugio Potzmauer was once a mountain diary but it was abandoned when the valley's cattle farming died out. It was then bought up by Grumes town council which rebuilt it, giving it a fresh lease of life. The hut now serves as a rest stop both for eating and overnight stays and is also an intermediate point for possible longer hikes to other interesting places such as the peat bogs of Lac del Vedes or Lago di Valda.
Rete di Riserve Alta Val di Cembra Avisio
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Rifugio Potzmauer
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