Santa Caterina Valfurva is one of the towns within the Stelvio National Park and preserves, as much in its buildings as in its traditions, its alpine spirit.

Located at the southern apex of Valfurva, on the border with Val di Gavia, it can be reached by car by heading toward Bormio and then following the signs for Santa Caterina, which is only 13 km from the latter.
At the beginning of the village there is a large multi-level parking lot where it is advisable to leave the car since, especially in high season, it is difficult to park in the center.

You have to head towards the center of the village and in a little more than three hundred meters you are in front of the Church of St. Catherine, cross the road, walk along a section of Via Frodolfo, until you reach the junction on the left with Via delle Cappellette, where a sign tells you the direction for a nice walk.

The route is easy and suitable for everyone, the slopes are gentle and the views are really picturesque and relaxing. Only in the final stretch, where the descent becomes a bit steeper, you have to be careful of possible icy sections in cold weather.

The beginning of the trail is a gentle ascent that passes behind the first huts on the slope, you walk it quietly until a hairpin bend where there is a votive chapel. You ascend to the right and the view opens up to the mountains on the opposite slope on whose slopes are the ski slopes, far more crowded and chaotic than this trail. This area, in fact, leads into the quietest and least frequented part of the village, passing through quiet forests and some typically alpine huts, whose perfectly set dark beams recall an ancient knowledge now lost.
Continuing further one passes first the small cluster of Sell huts and then, at the end of a winding, gentle climb, the Tov hut next to which one can admire an old hand-carved wooden crucifix.

In this section it is the view of Mount Sobretta, to the right, that dominates the scene with its 3,296 m height and rocky, rugged summit. Further on, the view opens to the center of Santa Caterina Valfurva, the historic ski slope dedicated to champion Deborah Compagnoni, and the mountains above the Gavia Pass.

Standing out above them all are the pinnacles of the Giumella mountains, Punta San Matteo, Punta Pedranzini and Pizzo Tresero, all abundantly above 3,000 m watching over the valley like ancient frowning giants.

After finishing the flat section halfway up, a hairpin bend leads downhill where the final section begins. The gradient is initially undemanding but increases as you descend toward the village, remaining pleasant, however. Here you will find a fork along the descent but it does not matter which way you choose to go since a little further on the two paths cross again, the advice is to take the gentler though longer one on the right. The walk in this section runs through fir and larch forests leaving room for a few fleeting glimpses of the mountains, you are then surrounded by quiet, a walk in the sign of total relaxation.

However, the smells of hotel kitchens and the cackling of people gradually get louder once the descent is over and you find yourself on the road that passes in front of the historic Albergo Compagnoni where the loop trail ends.