Stelvio National Park was set up in 1935 to care for and improve plant life, increase wildlife and preserve the special geological formations, including the beauty of the Ortles-Cevedale mountain range, and also to promote the development of tourism in some of the loveliest valleys in the Alps. The range of plant species in the park is particularly extensive. Along a vertical line of 1000 metres, there is every altitudinal band of vegetation, from the conifer woods at the bottom of the valley to the snow areas with species which are resistant to the cold and which grow where the glaciers were. Wildlife is one of the most spectacular attractions of the park. There are ibex goats, chamois, deer, roe deer and marmots, as well as numerous species of birds, including the eagle, which is the park’s symbol.

Provinces: BOLZANO, TRENTO, BRESCIA and SONDRIO
Number of communes: 22
Area: 134,619 hectares

Information
Consorzio del Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio, Via Roma 1, 23032 Bormio (SO)
tel. 0342 910100

Getting there
From Trento you take the SS 12 (the Brenner road) or the A 22 motorway going north as far as San Michele all’Adige (16 km). You continue on the SS 43 towards Mezzolombardo; at Rocchetta you enter the Non Valley and you go by Taio and Dermulo as far as Cles. At the Mostizzolo bridge, you enter the Sole Valley and you continue on the SS 42 for Caldés. A little before Malé you turn right for the Rabbi Valley going towards San Bernardo and Bagni di Rabbi. From here you reach the Cercena Valley and the Saènt Valley.

Geography
The park borders Switzerland in the north and has direct contact with the Swiss National Park for several kilometres in the Livigno Valley. In the south, in the Tonale Pass, it is connected to the Trento natural park of Adamello-Presenella, and through this, to the Lombardy regional park of Adamello. Thus, Stelvio National Park, which on its own is the largest in the whole of the Alps, is also the heart of an even vaster protected area covering a total of almost 400,000 hectares.

Excursions
Guided excursions in the valleys in the National Park with the help of Alpine guides from the “Ortles-Cevedale” Mountaineering School, with the chance to see some of the park’s wildlife.

Visits
Guided visits to museums and cultural centres.