The great beech forest in the heart of the Gargano
In the heart of the Gargano promontory, between 400 and 800 metres, the Foresta Umbra, the "shady forest", is one of the largest and oldest broadleaf forests in Italy, covering over 10,000 hectares, and the green heart of the Gargano National Park. Its name comes from the dense shade of its trees. It is an unexpected landscape just a few kilometres from the sun-drenched beaches of Vieste and Peschici: a forest of majestic beeches, some over 40 metres tall, which grow here at an unusually low altitude thanks to the humidity of the sea winds, mixed with oaks, maples, hornbeams, yews and holly.
Parts of the old-growth beech forests of the Gargano are included in the UNESCO site "Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe". The forest is home to roe deer, wild boar, foxes, badgers, the wild cat, many species of woodpecker and birds of prey, and a rich undergrowth with orchids, cyclamens and mushrooms. A network of marked paths, suitable for walking and mountain biking, starts from the visitor centre at the heart of the forest, which has a small natural history museum and an area with fallow deer. There are also picnic areas and a small lake, the Laghetto d'Umbra. In summer the forest is a cool refuge from the heat of the coast.
Tip: the visitor centre is on the road between Vieste and Monte Sant'Angelo; autumn, when the beeches turn gold and red, is the most beautiful season.
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