Tourists swamp Dolomites beauty spot with 'crazy' queues forming for local delicacy - as Italian mountains groan under pressure from visitor invasion

A beauty spot in the Dolomites has been swamped by tourists searching for a local delicacy as the mountain range comes under increasing pressure from crowds of visitors.

The Alpine region is known as one of the most scenic spots in Italy with its cable cars, mountain views and hiking trails luring millions of holidaymakers a year.

This summer is no different. Videos show tourists waiting hours at an altitude of 2,300m in 'crazy' winding queues for a cabin's famed cream-filled doughnuts.

Visitors wake up in the early hours of the morning to get their hands on the sweet treat before they sell out at the Rifugio Friedrich August hut on the Langkofel mountain near the border with South Tyrol. 

Some have even reported camping out just to guarantee themselves a doughnut. 

Furious locals have become fed up with holidaymakers more concerned with social media photos than appreciating the region's natural beauty, while unimpressed TikTok users called the viral spot a 'tourist trap'.

One wrote under a video of queues: 'Pretty much all if the huts/refugios in the Alps have great traditional high quality locally/home-made food. 99% of them without having to wait in lines at all.'

'This is madness,' said an Italian influencer who promotes tourism in the region. 

One hiker said: 'I've been coming to the mountains for years and I've truly never seen such chaos; there are queues everywhere.' 

Another wrote: 'They're not interested in the Dolomites. They come in flip-flops just to take pictures.' 

An exasperated social media user also commented: 'Yeah that's why I'm choosing countries and cities and places no one in social media knows about.' 

Meanwhile, last week on the day of the solar eclipse, severe traffic gridlocked roads on the Passo di Giau mountain pass.

Footage showed hundreds of cars completely at a standstill all the way down into the valley. 

Barriers have also been installed near the picturesque Santa Maddalena church to prevent unauthorised drivers from reaching it by car. 

The serene beauty spot has been overrun by hundreds of tourists looking to visit the most popular landmarks.

A woman who claimed she has been visiting the Dolomites for 35 years said: 'This year it seemed to me as if I were on another planet. There have never been so many people here.' 

Earlier this year a video showed a line hundreds of meters long at a bus stop for a shuttle as crowds waited to visit the world-famous Three Peaks. 

It is one of the most visited attractions in the Alps and during peak season up to 14,000 visitors flock to the region everyday. 

The councillor for the area, Nicola Bombassei, who oversees the environment and land use planning, reportedly said last month the queues were 'unacceptable', adding that the region is already seeing a record number of visitors. 

Efforts will be made to find ways to reduce crowds, she said. 

A ski-lift has been suggested in recent years as a means to better manage overcrowding in these zones, however many argue this contravenes a quota system restricting vehicle access to the area.

The director of operations for Dolomiti Bus, Gabriele Mariani, was reported to have said that their shuttle service has been reinforced in the wake of the masses of crowds.

'We are constantly monitoring visitor flow and adapting our service according to needs,' he added.