Grand Paradise National Park
Author: VeronicaThe first Italian national park covers 70,000 hectares in the territory of high mountains, between 800 meters of valley and the 4061 meters of the Gran Paradise.
Grand Paradise Park
The history of the park is linked to the protection of the ibex, which, already in 1856, the King Vittorio Emanuele II had saved from extinction , declaring these mountains as Royal Hunting Reserve. The king had also created a specialized body of guards and built a road network for the protection of fauna and for excursions.
In 1920, the king gave the reserve to the Italian State, to create a national park; two years later, the National Park of Gran Paradise was established.
The Grand Paradise National Park protects an area characterized by an environment predominantly of alpine type. The mountains of the group have been previously modelled and carved by great glaciers and streams till to create the existing valleys. The group of Grand Paradise is made up of rocks of varying age and origin. In particular there is a set of laminated gneiss (metamorphic rocks derived from granites, which are still preserved here and there).
FLORA
In the forests of the valley the the most frequent trees are the larches, mixed with red fir, pines and rarely white pines. As you climb along the sides, trees leave the area to the vast alpine pastures, full of flowers in late spring. Climbing further up to 4061 meters of the Grand Paradise, rocks and glaciers characterize the landscape.
Among the rare flowers of the park there are: the Potentilla Pensylvanica, which grows in dry meadows above 1,300 meters; the Astragalus Alopecurus, located only in Aosta valley; the Aethionema thomasianum; the Linnaea borealis, glacial relic still present in the woods of conifers; the Paradisea liliastrum, the beautiful white lily who gave the name to the historic Paradisia garden.
Aethionema Thomasianum
White Lily
FAUNA
The rich fauna of the park includes many alpine species. It is difficult to make trips without sighting animals, even at short distances. The ibex, the symbol of the park, is pretty confident and is frequently encountered in the pasture: the males, recognizable by the long curved horns, live in small groups, while females from shorter horns, remain with their young. Also the chamois is common, but much more shy and difficult to observe. Other protagonist of the park is the marmot, nice rodent that digs long tunnels to escape from dangers and prepare winter hibernation. Among birds you find the golden eagle, visible when flies over the “territories for hunting”, and many small passerines. Recent acquisitions have been: the bearded vulture, a large vulture disappeared in 1912 and returned to the Alps for an international project, and the lynx, a splendid small predator.
Ibex
The park has three visitor centers, respectively, in the villages of Cogne, Valsavarenche and Rhêmes-Notre-Dame, where you can discover in every season, in-depth learning, the various aspects of the protected nature.
How to arrive there
By car: through the highway A5 Torino-Aosta, at exit Aosta Ovest-Saint-Pierre, continuing then through the principal way SS No 26 in the direction to reach Aosta Sarre or direction to Courmayeur for all other villages of Grand Paradise.
By train: the main train station is in Aosta (Torino-Chivasso-Aosta line orMilano-Chivasso-Aosta line). There are stops also at: Sarre, Saint-Pierre Villeneuve, Arvier (line Aosta-Pré-Saint-Didier).
By plane: the nearest airports are Aosta, Torino-Caselle, Milan-Malpensa, Milan-Linate, Geneva.
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