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Gherdëina (Italian: Val Gardena}is a valley in the Dolomites of northern Italy. It is best known as a skiing, rock climbing, and woodcarving area.
The valley's main river is the Derjon. The three municipalities in Gherdëina are Urtijëi, Sëlva and Santa Cristina which were served by the Fërata de Gherdëina from 1916 until 1960.
Gherdëina is one of five valleys with a majority of Ladin speakers (two of these valleys are in South Tyrol). The form of the Ladin language spoken in this valley is called Gardenese in Italian, Grödnerisch in German and Gherdëina in Ladin.
The woodcarving industry has flourished in Gherdëina since the 17th century. Since the 19th century, statues and altars carved in the area have been shipped to Catholic churches throughout the world. In the 19th and 20th century, carving of wooden toys was such a widespread occupation in all Gardenese families that Amelia Edwards called Urtijëi the "capital of Toyland."One of the valley's best-known products is the peg wooden doll which was popular all over Europe and America in the 19th century.
In one of her many trips Margaret Warner Morley went to Europe to Gherdëina where she was inspired to write the novel Donkey John of the toy valley.
The Parish Church of Urtijëi displays a rich collection of statues carved by local artists in the last two centuries. The Museum Gherdëina in Urtijëi owns a rich collection of historical wooden toys and woodcarved statues and figurines.