High in Italy’s Dolomites, a mountain hut has gone viral. Thousands of tourists now trek up Val di Fassa to 2,300 metres above sea level each morning, not for the views, but for a special sweet treat.
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The Friedrich August refuge serves up krapfen, a traditional German doughnut, during peak season.
After photos of the baked good, which costs €3-4 a pop, circulated on social media, visitors began to flock there to get a taste.
The vanilla-filled doughnuts go on sale around 7:30 am, and usually run out before 10 am.
Videos on TikTok and Instagram show snaking lines of up to 300 hikers queuing up to try the pastry, with some reportedly waking up at dawn or camping overnight to ensure they don’t miss out.
Those who have had a taste of the krapfen seem to say the effort is worth it. “Freshly made, still warm, paired with a great coffee and an incredible view of the Sassolungo and Sasso Piatto… that’s hard to beat,” one blogger wrote.
But the sudden, overwhelming interest in the hut has been criticised by local residents and organisations as another example of social media straining destinations.
The refuge has been making the doughnuts for 40 years, and told local media: "We've always made them, but just because someone posted a photo two years ago, the controversy erupted."
Giorgio Daidola, a ski instructor and former professor, told Italian news outlet L’Adige that tourism like this is turning the mountains into a commodity.
"It's now seen as a funfair built at high altitude," he said. "These are all artificial things that don't correspond to the mountain for everyone that I wanted."
He added that "It's like going to Gardaland", referring to the amusement park located near Lake Garda.
In recent years, several spots in the Dolomites have become overrun with social media and photo-driven tourism.
“Until five or six years ago we did not witness overtourism in precise points or at certain moments in the Dolomites,” Francesco Abbruscato, the president of the Veneto branch of the Italian Alpine Club, told news outlet Vita.it.
“Now there are iconic places where it is no longer possible to appreciate the beauty as we’re surrounded by dozens of people who take selfies and are only there for that.”
Earlier this year, the municipality of Funes stepped in after hordes of photo-snapping visitors began turning up at the Santa Maddalena church, which lies just below the majestic Odle Peaks.
The council has now restricted access to the church, which lies up a narrow road, from May to November.
Last summer, a group of local farmers set up a turnstile with a toll on the increasingly popular Odle trail to protest against the constant passage of tourists who, they say, disrespect the area.