Biodiversity and natural idyll

Hiking adventures in South Tyrol’s nature parks

Splendid flora and fauna, lots of peace, and exciting themed hikes: South Tyrol’s nature parks have a lot to offer!

In total there are eight nature parks in South Tyrol. Actually, to be precise, there are seven nature parks and one national park. Here we’ll give you a quick summary of these native wonders, and provide you with some highlights of each park.
The Sciliar-Catinaccio/Schlern-Rosengarten Nature Park: This is South Tyrol’s oldest nature park. It includes one of South Tyrol’s landmarks, Mt Sciliar/Schlern, but also the mountain forests around Seis, Völs, and Tiers. The highest peak in this nature park is Mt Catinaccio d’Antermoia/Kesselkogel at 3,002 metres high.
The Gruppo di Tessa/Texelgruppe Nature Park: It extends over a wide area in South Tyrol, namely across Valle dell’Adige/Etschtal, Val Senales/Schnalstal, Val Passiria/Passeiertal, and even the main Alpine ridge.
The Puez-Odle/Puez-Geisler Nature Park: It is also referred to as the “history book of the Earth”, as this area contains all the rock types typical of the Dolomites. It offers stunning alpine meadows and rugged mountain silhouettes, erosion valleys and coniferous forests. The Odle/Geisler Peaks are particularly striking.
The Fanes-Senes-Braies/Fanes-Sennes-Prags Nature Park: It stands out for its rugged peaks and rock walls, surrounded by gentle meadows and high plateaus. Many lakes can be found in this nature park, such as Lake Braies/Pragser Wildsee and Lake Dobbiaco/Toblacher See.
The Monte Corno/Trudner Horn Nature Park: The southernmost nature park in South Tyrol is also the most diverse. This is made possible by the distinct climate contrasts between north and south, mountain and valley.
The Three Peaks Nature Park: This park is widely known for its world-famous silhouette, the Three Peaks. However, the nature park also offers outstanding landscapes and serves as a hotspot for high-performance climbers.
The Vedrette di Ries-Aurina/Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park: This is part of the largest network of protected areas in Europe, along with the Hohe Tauern National Park and the Zillertal Alps High-Alps Nature Park.
The Stelvio/Stilfser Joch National Park: This is a high mountain park with glaciers and rocky regions and is also one of the largest nature reserves in Europe, spanning altitudes between 700 and 3,900 metres.