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In these beautiful Italian coast you can spend a day or a week. It is only up to you how much you want to learn about this place. If you plan to do the trip to Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park during your holidays in Italy, just get in the car and go. Probably the easiest way how you could get here, is flying to Napoli, then continue by bus or train. The park is located just 100km from Napoli. The park is easily accessible on foot, but do not forget to take the proper shoes with you.

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Gateway to the National Park is an ancient town of Agropoli. Its historic centre, built at the top of a rock outcropping, dominates the whole surroundings. In the medieval town of Castellabate you can relax in one of the nice port restaurants with a view of the mountain and further medieval villages.

The diverse landscape and culture of Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park remained almost unchanged until now. It is due to inaccessible mountains and uncomfortable roads, so the tourists could not get here. Thanks to this you can now see a national park in its original beauty. Coast is full of rocky cliffs and remote sandy beaches, dotted with medieval watchtowers, which are just proving the turbulent history. Massive rocks alternate with grassy plateaus, full of olive orchards and their grandeur will really amaze you. The area is also known as Dolomiti del Mezzogiorno (southern Italian Dolomites).

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In Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park you find kilometres of marked trails that take you through all the corners of the park. The dominant of the whole coast is a rocky cape Palinuro, a mythical place of Roman legends. The massif of the cape hides 35 different caves that you can visit with several diving centers. A few kilometres below you find the small town of Marina di Camerota, where you can enjoy Italian coffee with true Neapolitan cake, or you can go to the original Marina village, which lies high in the mountains. If you will still have some free time, you can go to the bay Infreschi or to the Gulf of Policastro.

Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park has finally received a major award in 1998. It was declared a unique cultural monument and inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. This national park between the sea and earth, definitely worth visiting.

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Area of Gennargentu National Park includes Gennargentu mountain that is mainly represented as the largest mountain complex in Sardinia, which peaks reach maximum heights of up to 1834 m above sea level (Punta La Marmora). During the brightest days you can see the entire coast of the island from those peaks. Other highest peaks of the mountain are Bruncu Spina (1.828m), Punta Florisa (1.822m), Punta Paolina (1.792m), Punta Erba Irdes (1.703m), Bruncu Allasu (1.701m), Monte Iscudu (1.676m) and Monte Spada (1.595m).

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Gennargentu mountains are connected to the mountains della Barbagia and extends to the sea where forms the bay of the Golfo di Orosei, wildest place over the Mediterranean.

The original idea of ​​establishing a national park in this area relates to people rather than nature itself. Recent local research has indicated that the area starts to slowly deteriorate and devastate and there was a noticeable decline in population. Unemployment also reached alarming values, the traditional sources of livelihood are dying and lack of employment alternatives.

Already in 1962 a plan to restore Sardinia was established, knowing that this exceptional region contains all the elements that clearly indicate the specific nature: richness of vegetation, flora, fauna, strong traditional economy (grazing) and also a very important historical and cultural aspects.

The climate of the national park is Mediterranean, with rainfall mainly concentrated in autumn, winter and spring. The higher mountain areas are characterized by a cool Mediterranean climate, which contributed to the maintenance of a typical high mountain vegetation. The snowfalls are frequent during the winter season but the length and thickness of snow cover is low.

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Throughout the Pollino National Park flow more than 10 rivers. The highest mountain of the park is the mountain Serra Dolcedorme, which reaches an altitude of 2267m. Other peaks are Monte Pollino (2248 m), Serra del Prete (2181 m), Serra delle Ciavole (2127 m) or Serra di Crispo (2053 m).

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The park include also four nature reserves and rocky complexes, such as Pietra Campauara and Tavola dei Briganti.

Pollino National Park as a whole is one of the most beautiful sceneries in southern Italy. There is a rich plant and animal diversity.

For hiking and cycling you can use lots of marked trails.

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Abruzzo National Park is surrounded by the mountain peaks, reaching an altitude of 2000m. Among the mountains the river Sangro creates the way through the narrow gorges to wide open valleys and occasionally through small villages.

Local information centers offer a multimedia presentation, about all the peculiarities of the surface and beneath the surface of Abruzzo National Park.

Walking through the park is a very nice rest. I recommend the route number 11, which leads to the Valle delle Rose. The trip takes less than 5 hours and you will surely see the red mountain goat, or deer.

Very nice is also a trip along the trail BN1, which leads to a beautiful viewing point from which you have open views across the valley Pescasseroli. It is a 50 minutes walk from the town Pescasseroli.

The settlement Barrea has a lot to offer as well. It covers the lake Barrea, several churches, and Nature Reserve Lago di Pantaniello.

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Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy by Lexe-I

The Alpine ibex was a popular animal to hunt throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. As a result of this hunting, only 60 of them were said to have been left. People hunted the ibex for sport as well as for their various body parts. There is a cross-shaped bone that can be found in the ibex which has been used as a means of protecting people from dying a violent kind of death.

It was Victor Emmanuel who would first make steps to prevent the further decline of the ibex population. Set to become the king of Italy, Victor designated the area as the Royal Hunting Reserve of the Gran Paradiso back in 1856. Then in 1920, King Victor Emmanuel III set out to make the area the first nation’s park. Today there are more than 4,000 ibex living in the Gran Paradiso National Park.

Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy by SNappa2006

There are 57 glaciers in the Gran Paradiso National Park as the area includes more than 703 square kilometers of land. Some of the park is used today for agricultural purposes and much of it is for leisure. The Gran Paradiso Mountain stands 4,000 meters above sea level which makes it one of the tallest mountains in Italy. From its peak, you can see both the Matterhorn as well as Mont Blanc. When combined with the Vanoise National Park just across the border in France, you have the European Union’s largest protection area. The French park is also dedicated to the Alpine ibex.

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Cinque Terre National Park can be found on the southwest corner of the Ligurian coast, at the Riviera di Levante, between the town of La Spezia and the town of Levanto. This unique coastal landscape with villages is included in UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The creation of this stunning mountainous landscape dates back to the Tertiary Period, which is more than 25 million years. Rocks are made ​​up of colorful sandstone, in which the action of wind and rain created deep valleys, steep cliffs, coves and peninsulas. Since the local slopes are too steep, there could never be built any of the larger houses or suburbs.

Homes are built together and rise up the steep slopes, or are even built on their peaks. On the local hills, the farmers even managed to build the distinctive terraced fields, some of which are wider than 1 meter. Also, the soil for farming was imported here from afar. Then there were planted olive trees and vines. At an altitude of around 100-150 m, the terraces are already so narrow that the cultivation is very difficult and unpleasant. The paradox is that right in these areas grew the best wines, such as the rare and highly prized wine Sciacchetrà. Wine production in this area has a long tradition, since the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages the wine was frequently shipped to Rome and to the French and English royal courts.

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Those five villages in Cinque Terre have always been accessible only by the sea or walking through winding and steep routes. At the end of 19 century the railway was built here and many local poor peasants went to La Spezia.

If you go from Monterosso al Mare to Riomaggiore, during the journey you can enjoy beautiful views of the terraces, villages and crystal clear waters bounded by rock walls.

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At the southeastern part of Cinque Terre – not far from the coast, you can find three small islands: Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto. The most popular destination for tourists is the island of Palmaria. On the island of Tino there is a supporting military base, which is open to the public. But the tourists can visit it only in the 13th October on the feast of San Veneria. The smallest of the islands, Tinetto, has only a few hundred square meters, however there was a big church with a monastery, whose ruins can still be found here.

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Also, the sea surrounding the Cinque Terre is a protected area. The rock walls, reefs and shoals have created ideal conditions for a number of colorful sea organisms. We can find here especially colorful gorgonians, occasionally rare white gorgonians Funicella verrucosa. Shallow waters are home to even the very rare black coral. On the islands and in the area of ​​the Cinque Terre, there is a Mediterranean climate with summer temperatures around 30°C. During winter months the temperature rarely drops below 10°C. The area offers a large amount of accommodation, since it is quite frequently visited tourist destination.

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