Hiking in the Western Alps of Italy: Gran Paradiso

ByTravesía Pirenaica
Vetta Gran Paradiso / Photo: Francofranco56 (wikimedia commons)
Vetta Gran Paradiso / Photo: Francofranco56 (wikimedia commons)

Some of the Italy's most spectacular places are located in the Western Alps, and so you will consider it all the more if you love the mountains. Of course, there is the highest peak in the country, which no mountaineer will be able to resist. In addition, Italy's oldest national park is also in the Western Alps. Get an idea of the incredible variety of flora and fauna, alpine meadows and accessible but remote wilderness areas, and you have the perfect setting for a dream holiday in beautiful Italy.

Discover the Colonna mine or the wildlife at Vallone del Grand Nomenon. Test yourself with the 12-day trek through Alta Via 2known as a particularly demanding route. From the Gran Paradiso National Park to Valle d'Aosta and Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco. (the highest peak in Western Europe), there are a number of wonderful trails for trekking enthusiasts, who will no doubt consider the adventure of crossing the Western Alps one of their greatest experiences.

Hiking in the Western Alps of Italy. Valle d'aosta (pixabay)
Hiking in the Western Alps of Italy. Valle d'aosta (pixabay)

The Gran Paradiso National Park will amaze you with its beauty.The Alps: deep peaks and deep valleys that will surprise even the most experienced hiker. The valleys were carved by glaciers, which left behind the jagged silhouettes and sharp peaks for which the Alps in general have become famous. There are still numerous glaciers within the Gran Paradiso National Park, including Italy's highest mountain, Gran Paradiso.

Gran Paradiso is 4,061 m high and its lower slopes are full of magnificent larch trees. Larch is a deciduous conifer, the only type found in the whole of Europe. Some trees reach more than 30 metres high and large larch forests form wide green surfaces in the sky that will protect you from the sun when walking. In addition to larches, hikers will find red firs, Arolla pines and silver firs. The Arolla pine is in decline here in Italy. Furniture makers and others crave the beautiful wood for their products, and the pine has been exploited for many years.

Gran Paradiso is also home to several species of birds that are rarely found anywhere else in Europe. The bearded vulture, which was hunted almost to extinction in the 19th century because it was thought to feed on domestic animals. Since the 1970s, however, it has been reintroduced and is now making a comeback. Also, as you climb the mountain, keep an eye out for white partridges, owls, jackdaws, alpine chaffinches and spotted woodpeckers. You may even see a lynx if you reach the higher rocky areas during the summer.

Practical guide

How to get there?

Getting to Valle d'Aosta is easy: take a SAVDA bus from Torino (Turin) or Milan. It is also close to Frances Annecy, Chamonix and ValdIsere, and Switzerlands Martigny, if you are in any of those neighbouring areas. There are also regional trains to Aosta, via Chivasso if you leave from Milan. You can also go by car: A5 road from Turin or Milan.

Where to sleep?

The accommodation in Valle d'Aosta include small, moderately priced hotels around Aosta and in the Saar district. Use any of these as a base, and enjoy the wonderful experience of hiking in Italy's Western Alps and Aosta Valley.

Not to be missed

Trekking Alta Vía 2 through the Gran Paradiso National Park, parallel to the Aosta Valley. Glittering glacial lakes, ancient royal hunting trails, the ascent of Becca della Traversiere, Punta Basei, viewpoints on Mont Blanc, the valleys of the southern trader and Ceresole Reale.

Cities & Services

Cogne, Rhêmes-Notre-Dame, Pont Valsavarenche, Valgrisenche, La Thuile, Chardonney, Ceresole Reale, Ronco Canavese.

The routes

  • Cascate di Lillaz
  • Lake of Loie
  • Money Glacier Terrace
  • Casolari dell'Herbetet Traverse
  • Pointe Pousset - local 'Gornergrat'.
  • Beneath the Grivola
  • Passo d'Invergneux and Mines Circuit
  • Laghi di Lussert
  • Pondel's Roman bridge
  • 2205m Mont Blanc
  • At the foot of Gran Paradiso
  • on Gran Collet a Col del Nivolet
  • The King's Way in the Meuse Valley
  • Vallon di Sort
  • Col Rosset
  • Basei Point
  • Becca della Traversière
  • Legendary San Grato
  • Becca dei Quattro Denti
  • The Royal Track to Ceresole Reale
  • Lake Serrù Glaciological Sentiero Glaciologico Lake Serrù
  • Beneath the Tre Levanne
  • The villages of the Val dell'Orco
  • Dam in Vallone di Piantonetto
  • Nivolastro to Andorina
  • Frescos and coolers en route to Bivacco DavitoSanctuary of San Besso
  • Cabbage Larissa