The Gran Sasso National Park is one of the largest protected areas in Europe.

The National Park of Gran Sasso and Montes de la Laga is a natural park in Italy, which was created in 1991.

It covers an area of ​​2,014 square kilometers and is developed by the province of Teramo, L'Aquila, Pescara and, in a lesser manner, in the provinces of Ascoli and Rieti.

The territory is predominantly mountainous.

It is managed by the Parco Nazionale Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga, based in Assergi, in the province of L'Aquila.

Included in Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, is a popular touristic attraction and ski resort, used several times as filming locations.

Panorama of Gran Sasso d'Italia. Monti della Laga is seen in the background.

1. National Park of the Gran Sasso and Montes de la Laga.
   1. The kingdom of perpetual snow, rocks and wind.
   2. The flora in the Gran Sasso.
   3. The fauna in the Gran Sasso.

National Park of the Gran Sasso and Montes de la Laga.

The Great Highway of Gran Sasso and Montes de la Laga runs through the park between the Gran Sasso peak and the Sierra known as Montes de la Laga. 

The park is one of the largest protected areas in Europe, its most important part being the Gran Sasso massif, which dominates the landscape that surrounds it; it rises vertically in the immense pastures of Campo Imperatore.

A panoramic view of Campo Imperatore.

The kingdom of perpetual snow, rocks and wind.

On the eastern side, from Teramo, there is a majestic "Paretone" which is a part of the landscape of the Adriatic center. It is the kingdom of perpetual snow, rocks and wind.

Read more: Discover the nature and beauty of the high mountain environments in the Valle d'Aosta.

In the north is the profile of the Sierra de los Montes de la Laga, where thousands of migratory birds stop at the shores of Lake Campotosto. 

The frost decorates the cross of the Gran Sasso.

There are more than 200 kilometers of horse trails that can be used to visit the park.The National Park of Gran Sasso is developed by the province of Teramo, L'Aquila, Pescara and in a lesser way in the provinces of Ascoli and Rieti.

The flora in the Gran Sasso.

Intensive deforestation, especially for the purpose of providing new pastures for herding, has heavily upset the landscape.

To talk about the flora of the Gran Sasso, we must distinguish, also in this area, between the two sides, the Teramo and the Aquila. 

The first, oriented to the northeast, is characterized by a clay substrate and is subject to greater precipitation; These factors favor the hegemony of the beech, with the development of beech trees of great value. The south side, on the other hand, has a calcareous substrate and a continental climate. 

These factors mainly favor the development of poplars, hornbeam and oaks. In the area are the hazel, the chestnut tree (which forms forests with shade), the maple (often present with mammoth specimens). 

On the sunniest slopes you can find mountain ash and wild cherry. Only thanks to the reforestation are the black pine, the fir and the larch. The introduction of this last species, according to Fernando Tammaro and Carlo Catonica of the University of L'Aquila, was a mistake because the environmental conditions of the place are too severe for a deciduous conifer, which is precisely the larch.

The wild rose grows mainly in calcareous, deep soils, rich in nutrients, in deciduous forests, near hedges and at the edge of the woods.

Among the bushes we can mention the juniper, the bilberry (edible), the belladonna (similar in appearance to the bilberry, but poisonous and sometimes even deadly), the holly. 

The blooms are characterized by lilies (a species protected by a Regional Law of Abruzzo), bells, saxifrage, primroses, gentians, carnations and numerous orchids. 

Read more: Discover Italia: off the beaten path, wine and food itineraries and naturalistic routes.

The alpine star apenine deserves a special mention, a very rare plant in the Apennine mountains.
The Ribes alpinum, is a species of small deciduous shrub characteristic of the Gran Sasso.

The fauna in the Gran Sasso.

The Apennine wolf is confined to the most inaccessible areas of the Gran Sasso and the Monti della Laga.

The most imposing exponent of the fauna of the Gran Sasso is the Marsicano bear, a subspecies endemic to the Apennines, of relatively small size, which until a few years ago seemed to have disappeared, but was recently monitored in sporadic raids in the national park territories . 

Apennine fox and wolf specimens were also present. 

Other common mammals that live in the area are: the wild cat, the wild boar, the deer and the roe deer. 

The chamois has a reddish-brown coat with a dark dorsal line, from the throat to the anal mirror in white.

The apenine chamois had become extinct in the Gran Sasso (due to excessive hunting) around 1890, but it was reintroduced in 1992, and now forms a stable colony composed of more than 1,000 specimens. Among the birds of prey, it is worth mentioning the golden eagle, hawk, griffin, common hawk and hawk. 

The presence of the alpine bird and the woodpecker stand out among the other birds. Between the reptiles it is possible to mention the viper of Orsini, also endemic, smaller than the common viper and characterized by a less lethal and almost inoffensive poison, given the scarcity of sightings of this species. 

Placed in the rocks, close to the water courses and in the areas of low juniper avoid, as far as possible, contact with man.



The population of Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata present in Gran Sasso is estimated at 622 specimens (2015 census), and that of Majella is approximately the same size

Gran Sasso raid.