Gran Paradiso / Grand Paradis

The Gran Paradiso areas is spread over the right bank of the Dora Baltea, and comprises four valleys to the south: the Valgrisenche , the Rhêmes Valley , the Valsavarenche and the Cogne Valley . A small strip on the left bank of the Dora completes the territory of this area: the slopes that from Saint-Pierre climb up towards Saint-Nicolas, reaching the 3000 metre altitude of Monte Fallère and the Vertosan Valley , a flat depression that seems unimaginable after the climb required to reach it.

Between the Valsavarenche and the Cogne Valley lies the Gran Paradiso massif , the only mountain in Italy higher than 4000 metres and the focal point of the National Park that bears its name. Once a hunting reserve of the Savoia family, it was the first of the national parks to be created in Italy in 1922 to save the ibex from extinction. The park can be visited all year round, and a dense network of paths wind their way through spectacular landscapes, allowing for curious encounters with the local wildlife, especially in the spring, when the ibex and chamois venture down into the valley in search of the first new grass of the season.