Page 26 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italian Riviera

24  INTRODUCING THE IT ALIAN RIVIER A

Parks and Nature Reserves

The wildest and most unspoiled natural areas of Liguria are
found, not surprisingly, in the hinterland. Here, a crisis in
upland agriculture has seen the abandonment of mountain
villages, with many vineyards and olive groves left to lie
fallow. Plants and wildlife are the main beneficiaries of such
depopulation. Liguria’s protected areas make up around 12
per cent of the region’s land area and include six national
parks, as well as nature reserves, mostly in the mountains.
Each has a different character, from the Alpine valleys on The Parco del Finalese
the border with Piedmont, to the hills close to Tuscany. On (p148), above Finale
the coast, after decades of tourist development, a series of Ligure, has fascinating
karst formations.
marine and coastal reserves aims to conserve the last
remaining unspoiled fragments of the Ligurian coast.
Piana
Crixia
The Alta Via dei
Monti Liguri Beigua
Created around a series Fiume Bormida
of mule tracks which
criss-cross the region and Varazze
traverse more than one
regional park, the Alta Savona
Via dei Monti Liguri (see
p201) is a protected trail
which extends the length of
Liguria. It can be explored
The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri, either on foot or, for the Finalese
offering stunning walks more energetic, by bicycle. Finale Ligure
and views
Alpi
Liguri Albenga
Isola
Gallinara

Imperia

Isola Gallinara
Ventimiglia (see p155), and
Bergeggi (see pp144–
5), already regional
nature reserves,
0 kilometres 20 are set to become
marine reserves.
0 miles 20 The Parco Naturale de Beigua (see pp138–
9) is a park of high mountains. Its territory
Key includes Monte Beigua and a series of
National Park other peaks which are only 6 km (4 miles)
Regional Nature Reserve from the coast and yet exceed 1,000 m
(3,280 ft) in height. Towards the border
Other protected area with Piedmont, the vegetation is typically
Marine reserve alpine, while lower down, pines and
Alta Via dei Monti Liguri larches give way to chestnut forest and
then to Mediterranean maquis.

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