Nature: Nus, Verrayes

At the bottom of the central valley, a highly interesting ecological habitat

Location: on the Dora Baltea river, at Brissogne municipality.

The nature reserve extends across 35.4 hectares at an altitude between 526 - 532 meters.
The riparian mid-central valley environment, located in an area formerly occupied by a bend in the Dora Baltea river, is characterised by two quarry lakes with mainly naturally re-populated shores.
The reserve is the most important regional stop over and feeding ground for migratory birds. Many species also nest here. The reserve is home to amphibians, reptiles and, in the lake waters, tenches and pikes.
The vegetation, representative of the ancient riparian landscape now receded from almost the entire valley, is made up of marsh cane, reeds, sedge and a few prominent plants such as the Dwarf bulrush.

How to get there
From Aosta, follow State road 26 towards Turin and turn right at the Brissogne bridge. Go on walking along the Dora Baltea river, until you’ll reach the reserve entry, indicated by an explanatory board.

A concentration of natural processes in a very rich habitat

An old pond rapidly drying out located on a glacier terrace in the heart of a sunny and dry climate zone.

The lake is home to a rich zooplankton population, numerous invertebrates including different species of dragonflies and amphibians such as the common toad and the brown frog. In the reserve there are more than fifteen different plant associations and almost seventy species typical of wetlands and aquatic environments, some rare or unique to the Valle d’Aosta.

The nature reserve is one of the European ecological network Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

How to get there
From Aosta, take the national road 26 towards Turin. In Chambave, follow the signs for Verrayes and Loson.

This arboretum, the oldest of this kind in the Region, was realized between 1905 and 1908 by Canon Vescoz, an eminent religious, scientist and geologist native of Verrayes, in a poor and dry ridge, called Pointys (1050 m) and purchased by him with huge economic sacrifices.
This was the first forestation experiment carried out in Aosta Valley with exotic species, on an area of over 12 hectares.
More than 11.000 non-indigenous plants were put in, including 3 varieties of cedar, 2 varieties of douglas, 2 varieties of Italian cypress, the Monterey cypress, the thuja, the giant sequoia, the black pine in addition to native species, some of which are completely out of the station, including the beech, the French oak, the mountain pine, etc. ...
The visitor can admire a wooded area of great naturalistic, botanical and scientific interest, given by the uniqueness and the particularity of the site. The massive presence of aromatic thyme is to mention.
The site is open since 1995 and the most suitable season to visit the Arboretum is spring, characterized by an exaltation of colors and scents.
Three explanatory boards integrated with the mapping of arboretum show tourists the vegetation, the various trails (each appropriately marked) and the most panoramic areas.