Gran Paradiso National Park
Glaciated peaks, alpine meadows and ibex country in the Graian Alps of northwest Italy
Gran Paradiso is the only mountain entirely within Italy that tops 4,000 metres, and 57 glaciers cover 9.5% of the park around it. The land began as a royal hunting reserve to save the Alpine ibex, and trails still follow its former royal hunting tracks.
Things to do
- On footWalk the 724 kilometres of marked trails and mule tracks, many of them former royal hunting tracks
- HeritageVisit the Paradisia Alpine Botanical Garden near Cogne, which shows more than 1,000 plant species
- On footClimb Gran Paradiso, first summited by John Cowell in 1860, for views of Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn
- Try thisLook for wildflowers such as gentians, martagon lilies and alpenroses in the high meadows in late spring
Italy · Aosta Valley and Piedmont Est. 1922 Size 710 km² Highest 4,061 m Protected area category: IUCN II
Also worth seeing
- 2
Paradisia Alpine Botanical Garden
More than 1,000 plant species, near Cogne inside the park. - 3
Vanoise National Park border
The shared boundary with France, which the ibex cross seasonally.