The Dolomites are a special area of the Italian Alps that are made up of a wonderland of steep rocky cliffs, grassy hills full of wildflowers in summer, and valleys full of changing larches in the autumn. The multitude of incredible cliffs are formed from what are the remnants of ancient coral reefs from the Triassic period that have calcified into an extremely erosion resistant rock known as dolomite. Over time as the area was pushed to the surface by plate tectonics the dolomite rock refused to erode, forming islands of rock surrounded by steep drop offs in the place of the ancient islands made of coral. When visiting the Dolomites you can see this island nature, the mountains all feel like atolls with wide gaps between, instead of the normal connecting ridges. The result is some of most beautiful mountains in the world, especially when the deciduous conifers below them, the larches, start to change to a beautiful gold in the autumn, and the pinkish dolomite rock is hit by the setting sun.

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