Cogne and the Gran Paradiso National Park

Cogne and the Gran Paradiso National Park

Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso

A world to discover. The birth of the Gran Paradiso National Park dates back to the 1922. The Italian State, accepting the donation of the royal hunting reserve by Vittorio Emanuele III, established the national Park, entrusting the administration of these territories to a Royal Commission. The creation of a protected area is strongly linked to the safeguarding of the animal symbol of the Park, the Alpine Ibex, of which, after the WW II, only 416 specimens had survived in the whole world and all of them within the territory of the Park.

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Cogne

Cogne is a genuine, characteristic mountain village with 1,500 inhabitants and lies at 1534 metres above sea level. The valley offers a wealth of natural beauty extending as far as the eye can see over meadows, crystal-clear streams and on towards snow-capped peaks. All of this makes the village an ideal place for both summer and winter tourism. Cogne Valley is considered the capital of the National Park, created in 1922 when Savoy King Vittorio Emanuele III donated his legendary hunting reserve to the country. The Gran Paradiso is Italy's oldest national park and offers a home for many rare species of animal, plants and flowers within a splendid Alpine setting.

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Flora e Fauna

Larch, European spruce, Swiss pine and silver fir, these are the trees you will find in woods on the valley floor. At higher altitudes, first there are alpine meadows, which are carpeted with flowers in spring, and then these give way to rocks and glaciers. The main animals populating our valley are the Alpine ibex (the Park's symbol – the population numbers around 3,500), the chamois (numbering around 7,000), marmot, fox, lynx, stoat, golden eagle and, in recent years, the lammergeier and wolf. There are also numerous species of birds: buzzard, woodpecker, titmouse, ptarmigan, Alpine chough, sparrowhawk, goshawk, tawny owl, little owl. In the lakes and torrents there are two species of trout: one native, the brown trout, the other introduced, the salmon trout.

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Giardino botanico

The Giardino Alpino Paradisia is a truly unique garden, hovering at 1700 m above sea level in the Grand Paradiso National Park.

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Cascate di Lillaz

The Lillaz waterfalls are only an easy 10-minute walk from the hamlet of Lillaz (part of Cogne municipality) and are by far the most attractive ones in Valle d'Aosta. These waterfalls, which ice over in winter but are very powerful in summer, are fed by the abundant waters of the Urtier torrent and cover a drop of 150 metres in three long rocky falls. There are also splendid views over the Valleile valley, dominated by its own and the Sengie glaciers.

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Les dentelles de Cogne

The tradition of the hand-made lace date back around 1665.

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