If you’ve ever seen a picture of the Dolomites and thought it looked fake, you’re not alone. There are thousands of jagged, pale peaks soaring above emerald carpets. There is, however, a very interesting explanation behind this.

This mountain range has one of the strangest, bloodiest, and most overlooked stories in Europe.

Here’s what most people don’t know before they visit:

They used to be coral reefs.

Around 250 million years ago, this entire region was underwater. A warm, shallow, tropical sea, sitting somewhere near the equator, filled with coral reefs and marine life.

Over millions of years, the shells and skeletons of that marine life built into thick beds of limestone. But then the continents shifted.

Africa collided with Europe. The seabed was pushed up, buckled, folded, and eventually shoved into the sky as the mountains we can see today.

Miraculous, right?

That’s why they look the way they do. Pale, almost white in the right light, and strangely layered. It’s like looking at a cross section of something ancient.

The Mountains That Became a Battlefield

Now, this does not fit the postcard image everyone has of the Dolomites. As a result, hardly any tourists know the history.

During the First World War, the Dolomites were directly on the front line between Italy and Austria-Hungary. For over two years, soldiers on both sides fought brutal battles at altitude, in freezing conditions, on terrain that was barely survivable even without a war happening on it.

They built entire networks of tunnels, trenches, and supply routes. Some of these routes still exist today, and you can walk in the footsteps of the soldiers who fought here.

A lot of the supply lines have become the Via Ferrata trails hikers use to climb the Dolomites. What was built for troop movement under fire is now a peaceful hiking route.

One mountain was home to a particularly brutal battle. Monte Piana, “the flat mountain,” saw so much bloodshed. The battle between Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces here lasted over two and a half years, with front lines sometimes only metres apart. It was brutal.

Over 14,000 soldiers died on Monte Piana, most not from combat, but from starvation, frostbite, and avalanches that were triggered by enemy fire most of the time.

I spent a full, eerie night camping on the exact mountain where this bloody battle happened. Walking through the old supply roads dug by hand, crawling through trenches and tunnels…

If you want to see the full story, watch it here.

How the Dolomites Became What They Are Now

The Dolomites were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009, recognised both for their geology and their scale. Since then, tourism has grown fast. I wouldn’t say it’s overrated, just oversaturated in spots.

The end of ski season, just before the transition into the hiking season, is by far the quietest (and cheapest) time to go.

The terrain itself is unchanged, with Via Ferrata routes still clinging onto the peaks that look otherworldly.

So now you are fully prepared to visit the Dolomites and impress your mates by sounding like their very own tour guide.

Happy Roaming!