Gran Paradiso National Park at Ceresole
Ibex and high-altitude lakes
The Gran Paradiso National Park, founded in 1922, is the oldest national park in Italy. It extends across the mountains between Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, around the Gran Paradiso (4,061 metres), the only peak over 4,000 metres entirely in Italy. It was born from a royal hunting reserve created in 1856 by King Victor Emmanuel II, who wanted to protect the ibex, then on the verge of extinction: at the beginning of the nineteenth century fewer than a hundred survived, all here. Thanks to protection, today there are about 2,500 to 3,000 in the park, and the ibex of the Gran Paradiso have repopulated the whole Alps.
On the Piedmontese side, in the Valle Orco, lies Ceresole Reale, a village at about 1,600 metres on the shores of a large artificial lake, the Lago di Ceresole, surrounded by peaks and larch woods. From here the road climbs to the Colle del Nivolet, at 2,612 metres, a high plateau of pastures, lakes and streams, among the most beautiful landscapes in the Alps, with the Serrù, Agnel, Rosset and Leità lakes, and splendid views of the glaciers of the Gran Paradiso. Along the way it is easy to see ibex, chamois and marmots, as well as golden eagles and the bearded vulture, which has returned to nest in the park. In summer, on some days, the road to the Nivolet is closed to private traffic to protect the environment.
Tip: check the days when the Nivolet road is closed and use the shuttle bus; the ibex are easiest to see at dawn and dusk.
Where it is
More things to see in Piedmont
Where to stay near Ceresole Reale
Tours and activities nearby
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