Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by giovanna.alborino

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.

View Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park – paradise for lovers of the sea and nature Italy in a larger map

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).

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by giulio nepi

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.

View Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park – paradise for lovers of the sea and nature Italy in a larger map

The post Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park – paradise for lovers of the sea and nature | Italy appeared first on Europe Explored.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by hugos007

Menorca boasts several “Best”, it is not only the second largest and geologically the oldest island of the Balearic Island, but also the easternmost and northernmost situated island. Covers an area of ​​702 km2, which is a mere fifth of Mallorca. From west to east is approximately 50 kilometres long and from south to north just 17 kilometres wide. In the north of the island there is the wild and unspoilt area called Tramuntana. South of the island known as Migiorn is characterized by reddish soil plains with snow-white beaches and rocky cliffs. Inland of the island is full of fields, pastures and picturesque villages where the time has stopped years ago. They are a far away from a lively tourist centers on the coast. Inland also houses the island’s highest peak, Monte Toro which is soaring to an altitude of 358 meters.

Many visitors of Menorca, talk about it as a “green island”. The green color is really typical for the island, lush green vegetation surrounding you at every step. This is due to high humidity. There are trees that managed to adapt to the quality of soil and climate. These are mainly oak, pine and wild olive trees. Along the roads you can see prickly pear or cactus figs. In addition, there are about 250 kinds of medicinal aromatic herbs and rare Menorca’s flowers Socarell and Daphne.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Jaume Meneses

Green colour on Menorca is certainly the major, but not the only colour which the visitors encounter with here. The island is surrounded by azure waters of the Mediterranean Sea, warmed by the golden rays of the sun. There are red-brown rocks and along the coast you can see the villages with bright white houses.

Menorca has a rich history as well, in the past a number of nationalities have changed here, which left traces not only in architecture, gastronomy, nomenclature, but also in the style of life of local residents. So Menorca still retains its unique character and is quite different from the other Balearic islands. The Romans named it Balearis Menor, which means “small island”, which subsequently evolved the present name of Menorca.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Miguel Perez

Local residents are working hard to save the virgin nature on the island and preserve it for future generations. In 1991, almost half of the island has been declared a protected area, two years later has Menorca been even declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. As a result is a good balance between man and nature. On the island there are 19 protected areas under the highest level of protection. These areas are home to many animal species like small mammals, reptiles, insects and birds.

The construction of the high hotels is not allowed here and all accommodation structures have to meet certain standards. Thanks to it they all fit nicely into the landscape and does not affect its character. Menorca offers 60,000 hotel beds, which is in comparison with other tourist destinations very few. The number of tourists who can visit the island is so limited and hoteliers, of course, use this situation and raise the prices. All services on Menorca are significantly more expensive than in mainland Spain.

Coast of Menorca is very rugged, about 200 kilometres long and is made up of picturesque beaches, which are separated by rocky cliffs. Very interesting are the rocky bays having the shape of the fjord, a typical example is the area of ​​Cales Coves. The longest and of course the most popular beach on the island is a sandy beach Son Bou, reaching a length of over two kilometers. But will certainly find the beach that suits your needs and thoughts.

The post Menorca – colourful island of Spain appeared first on Europe Explored.