A mountain hut in the Italian Dolomites has been overwhelmed by tourists after viral videos of a traditional pastry were shared on social media.
The Friedrich August hut in Val di Fassa sits 2,300 metres above sea level and serves homemade krapfen, a traditional doughnut-like pastry, during peak season.
Influencer videos of the €3 (£2.57) krapfen have prompted hordes of hikers to line up at the Italian refuge before the freshly baked goods run out.
The hut’s website warns visitors not to miss their “vanilla-cream-filled krapfen doughnuts, which you can enjoy while sitting and soaking up the view of Mt Sassolungo” in the summer months from 7.30am.
Footage shared on TikTok shows snaking queues of up to 300 people waiting to try the pastry.
One blogger wrote: “Honestly didn’t expect a doughnut at 2,300 meters to taste this good. But the homemade krapfen at Rifugio Friedrich August are something special. Freshly made, still warm, paired with a great coffee and an incredible view of the Sassolungo and Sasso Piatto… that’s hard to beat.”
Another said: “The 20-minute hike starts from Passo Sella; I’d start as early as possible as it gets busy (I got there at 7.30am and by the time I left at 8.30am there were queues.”
Overtourism is becoming an increasing problem in the Dolomites.
Last summer, Italian farmers tried to tackle overtourism by charging visitors a fee for hiking on a public footpath.
Four farmers set up a turnstile on the Seceda mountain, a popular place to visit for pictures of the striking Odle Peaks.
At the turnstile, visitors had to pay €5 (£4.32) per person for access to the path.
President of the Italian Alpine Club Francesco Abbruscato told Vita.it: “Until five or six years ago, we didn't see overtourism in certain parts and specific moments of the Dolomites. Now there are iconic places where it's no longer possible to appreciate the beauty, surrounded by dozens of people taking selfies and who are there just for that.”
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