As the southernmost area of the German-speaking world, it has warm summers and tends to have mild temperatures all year round. The protective effect of the main Alpine ridge in the north and northwest keeps out overly cold winds, strong storms and rain clouds. In the Vinschgau Valley in the northwest, this even means that precipitation is so low that mountain farmers have irrigated their cultivated areas for centuries with the canal system of the Waale. Conversely, in the southern Adige Valley, warm air from the Po Valley reaches the Merano area and pleasantly raises the average temperatures.

On a trip from Bolzano to the Texel Group or the Dolomites, you can experience the region’s five climate zones first-hand. The insubrica climate, with a rainy spring and autumn and a high number of sunshine hours in the Bolzano area, changes to the sub-montane climate zone a little higher up. In the montane, Central European climate, the annual mean temperature falls below 7° C. On the Rittner Horn, the climate is subalpine with an annual average of only 4° C and much snow in winter. In the high alpine summit zone, the ground remains frozen all year round and the snow stays for at least six to eight months.

The rock diversity and UNESCO World Heritage of the Dolomites
The incredible rock diversity of South Tyrol can be traced back to the last 12,000 years of development of the Alpine mountains. The mountain world in the north and west is characterised by dark and often glaciated mountain ranges. They form an almost sombre contrast to the light-coloured rock of the Dolomites in the east and southeast, with isolated mountain needles and peaks on large plateaus. In the Eisack Valley around the town of Brixen, the Bolzano quartz porphyry, which is a volcanic rock, dominates its surroundings.