Nature: Valsavarenche

The Visitors Centre Water and Biodiversity in Rovenaud is dedicated to scientific research and environmental education about the preservation of watery ecosystems and of otters.

The centre, in a well-preserved ecosystem, hosts a nice exhibition and proposes visit routes inside and outside, with videos and aquaria in order to be truly ‘immersed’ in a part of the Park where everything is connected with water.

This section of the Park hosts some otters in partial freedom. Once this species was free and present here, but today it almost disappeared because of persecutions and environmental transformations made by men.

Otters, being at the top of the food chain, is the symbol of the problems linked to the preservation of watery environments.

Thus, the visit to the centre outlines the importance of preservation and of the balance between men and environment.

The visitor centre for lovers of the oldest Park in Italy is situated in Dégioz, near the splendid parish church. A meeting point for tourists, the small information centre also houses areas dedicated to two animals who seem to be repopulating this land: the lynx and the wolf.

The Lynx Museum
“It is dusk in the forest. As always, the survival instinct drives the search for food. The lynx’s senses are on alert, leaves camouflage it as it lies in waiting…”
Predators are territorial animals, furtive and curious. It is often difficult to encounter them. Only five carnivorous predators are present in the Gran Paradiso park: from the smallest to the largest these are the weasel, the stoat, the stone marten, the pine marten and the fox. Large predators, such as the wolf and the lynx, often unjustly accused of damage to man or domestic animal, were killed off in the past.
The exhibition shows images of the Park collected by the Associazione Professionale Guide Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso in association with the Fondation Grand Paradis.

The Wolf Space
Spazio Lupo is open to the public since August 2011 inside the Gran Paradiso National Park Visitor’s Centre at Valsavarenche. This documentation centre was created by the Gran Paradiso Foundation in collaboration with the Gran Paradiso National Park to gather and provide testimonials and documents about the presence of wolves in the Park.
This is a work in progress which will develop through time and to which visitors can offer their contributions and get more familiar with this predator which has once again begun living in North-western Italy and the valleys of the Gran Paradiso National Park.
The Spazio Lupo presents two wolves, interactive films featuring the presence of wolves in the Park, interviews and a selection of texts and websites where further information can be obtained. It is also possible to develop events for first-hand experiences and a special blog on the web.

In 1856, King Victor Emanuel II declared part of the current park area a Royal Hunting Reserve, thus saving the ibex, whose population was drastically reduced in those years, from extinction. The King created a specialised guard and had paths and mule tracks created that are now hiked by park rangers and tourists. In 1920, King Victor Emanuel III donated the 2,100 hectares of the hunting reserve to Italy to create a national park. Two years later, on December 3, the Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso, the first Italian National Park, was established. The protected areas was managed by an autonomous commission until 1934, then by the ministry of agriculture and forestry until the end of the Second World War (suffering serious damages during the war) and again by an autonomous institution from 1947. An outline law on parks has been in place since 1991.

The Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso covers a vast mountainous area in the Valley d’Aosta and Piedmont, ranging from altitudes of 800 meters at the valley floor to the 4,061 meter high Gran Paradiso peak. Larch and pine woods, vast alpine prairies, rocks and glaciers create the ideal settings for the rich and varied fauna and for a glimpse of the wonderful mountain world.

The protected area in Valle d’Aosta extends across three valleys: Cogne, Valsavarenche and Rhêmes.
The Park provides different opportunities in each season. The park is in full bloom in late spring and summer and is perfect for mountain climbing The leaves turn colour in the fall and the ibex and chamois enter their mating seasons In the winter, the park is covered in snow and is perfect for walks with snow shoes or cross country skiing when it’s easy to see the animals who climb down to the valley to feed.

The highest peak of Gran Paradiso, 4,061 metres, was first reached on 4 September 1860 by the Englishmen Dundas and Cowell and the Frenchmen Payot and Tayrraz.

The village of Pont, at the end of the Valsavarenche, is the natural starting point for this ascent. After spending the night at Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele, reachable via an easy, well-marked trail, climbers ascend the west side: first over scree, then over glacier, up to a few metres below the Madonnina at the summit. Reaching it requires crossing a steep section over the Tribolazione Glacier, the main glacier of the massif, located on the northern side in the cirque beneath the summit at the head of Valnontey (Cogne). This passage is the main climbing challenge of an otherwise hiking route.

From the Madonnina, placed on the main summit, you can enjoy a stunning panorama: the impressive arc of the Piedmont Alps stretches to the Argentera and beyond, including Monviso.

Gran Paradiso also gives its name to the National Park, established in 1922 to protect the ibex, the main reason for creating the park under King Vittorio Emanuele II. In addition to ibex, the park is home to golden eagles and marmots.

The summit is not only visited in summer: the slopes are also popular for ski mountaineering in winter and spring.