Val Saisera and the resonance trees
A five-and-a-half-kilometre path among spruces that do not end up in a sawmill: they end up in the hands of violin makers.
- From the houseabout 10 km to Valbruna · 12 minutes by car
- When to goMay to October on foot.
- Where it startsValbruna, near the Hotel Saisera
- LengthAbout 5.5 km
Some Norway spruces grow slowly, straight, with very fine and regular rings, because they stand in a cold, shaded valley sheltered from the wind. That timber has a property others lack: it resonates. It is the wood used for the soundboards of violins, cellos and pianos. They are called resonance trees, and Val Saisera has them.
It is the same family of timber as the great violin-making tradition. You do not fell a resonance spruce at random: you choose it, one among many, and sometimes you wait thirty years for it to be ready.
Stop in the middle of the wood and stay silent for two minutes. In a valley of resonance trees the silence is not empty: you hear the timber working, branches settling, water. It is the one place in this guide where the right advice is to listen rather than to look.
The Resonance Trees path starts at Valbruna, near the Hotel Saisera, and runs for about five and a half kilometres. It crosses the Oitzinger and Saisera meadows and ends below the walls of Monte Nabois Piccolo. It is an easy walk, almost all level, inside one of the greenest valleys of the Julian Alps, closed in between Jof di Montasio and Jof Fuart.
Red deer and chamois live here, and bears and lynx pass through.
It is a closed, shaded valley: it cools quickly in the late afternoon, even in summer. A fleece in the rucksack genuinely earns its place.
Val Saisera in pictures
Frequently asked questions
What are the resonance trees of Val Saisera?
They are Norway spruces grown slowly in a cold, sheltered valley, with fine, regular rings. That timber vibrates in a particular way and is the wood used for the soundboards of violins, cellos and pianos.
How long is the Resonance Trees path?
About five and a half kilometres. It starts at Valbruna, near the Hotel Saisera, crosses the Oitzinger and Saisera meadows and ends below the walls of Monte Nabois Piccolo. It is an easy route, almost all level.
Can you visit Val Saisera in winter?
Yes. In winter the valley is a destination for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, and the snow-covered landscape between the Montasio and the Jof Fuart is one of the finest in the area.
We run a holiday flat in Tarvisio, in a well-served, strategic spot in the heart of the village. We know these places because we go to them: the distances, the car parks and the opening times above were all checked at source, one by one.
See the flat