The Italian & French Alps

As early as 1856 the Gran Paradiso mountains in the Italian Alps were afforded protection as a wildlife reserve by Italy’s King Vittorio Emmanuel II to protect their herds of Ibex. By 1922 the reserve had become Italy’s first national park, and today it covers 720 square kilometres. On the creation of the adjoining Vanoise National Park by the French in 1963, the largest protected area in Western Europe was formed. On this 2- centre holiday we aim to enjoy daily natural history walks amongst the beautiful Alpine valleys, forests and high peaks of this spectacular region, focusing on their alpine flora, birdlife, butterflies and, of course, such mammals as Ibex, Chamois and Alpine Marmots. The area’s geology is also very varied, one of the reasons for the outstanding flora which includes such special ‘alpines’ as the pink-flowered Aethionema thomasianum, an endemic of the Aosta Alps growing on calcareous screes; Astragalus alepocurus, the central Alpine milk vetch found in the high alpine meadows; Campanula alpestris (Largeflowered Bellflower), to be found on limestone rocks and screes, and Saxifraga biflora, a compact saxifrage with red flowers favouring acid rocks. Many other alpine species of saxifrages, sedums, vetches, composites, campanulas and of course various gentians and orchids also occur here.

We will be based for our first three nights in Cogne, a small and friendly Italian town in the Val di Cogne, high above the Aosta Valley and surrounded by gentle green meadows and towering, glacier-covered mountains. The region is both Italian and French speaking, though each valley tends to have its own dialect, and the area is noted for its Valdostane cuisine, which includes plenty of Chamois, venison, excellent local cheeses and Valle d’Aosta wines. We will then cross the border to spend our last four nights at Lanslevillard, a French village near Mount Cenis, one of the finest sites for Alpine flowers. From both these bases we will explore the trails of the Gran Paradiso and Vanoise National Parks, and enjoy the exceptional variety of birds, plants and butterflies of the region.

On one day we will walk from Valnontey, a small village in the Gran Paradiso, along the beautiful valley of the Torrent Valnontey, towards the impressive glaciers that cap the park. A wayside botanical garden introduces us to many of the alpine plants that we hope to find during the week. In the delightful forests of beech, larch, spruce and Arolla Pine above, we will look for Firecrests, Coal Tits, Serins, Citril Finches, Crossbills and, with luck, Bonelli’s Warblers and the elusive Black Woodpecker, before we reach the alpine meadows above the treeline where Choughs, Alpine Choughs, Lammergeiers, Golden Eagles and other birds of prey may all be seen overhead, and Wheatears, Ring Ouzels, Dippers, Black Redstarts, Rock Buntings and Water Pipits all breed. On other days we will explore further valleys and also the meadows and screes of the Col de Petit St. Bernard where we look for Alpine and Small White Orchid, the various prostrate willows such as Salix breviserrata, S. reticulata, S. serpyllifolia and S. herbacea, Alpenrose and Creeping Azalea. Typically, at the high point of each day’s walk, we will break the day with a leisurely and delicious picnic lunch; a time to appreciate the abundance of alpine flowers and the clouds of attendant butterflies, and scan the slopes around us for views of Ibex and Chamois … and noisy Alpine Marmots. We will also look out for Peregrine, Golden Eagle and Lammergeier, as well as two specialities of the highest slopes, Snowfinch and Alpine Accentor.

Next we cross into France to spend our last four nights in the Vanoise National Park. France’s first national park lies in the Haute Savoie, just to the south of lordly Mont Blanc, and also holds an impressive diversity of wildlife. Chamois, Alpine Ibex and Alpine Marmots are all found here, whilst amongst 125 species of breeding birds are Lammergeier and the enigmatic Wallcreeper. It is, however, the flora that is most spectacular and, in the alpine meadows, we will look for such plant specialities as Mount Cenis Restharrow (Ononis cristata), Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum), Erigeron uniflorus, and both Primula pedemontana and Primula hirsuta. Alpine specialities of the screes and rocks include Blunt-leaved Rock Jasmine (Androsace obtusifolia), Hairy Rock Jasmine (Androsace pubescens), Androsace helvetica, Phyteuma globulariifolium, the Glacier Buttercup (Ranunculus glacialis), Petrocallis pyrenaica and Mount Cenis Bellflower (Campanula cenisia).

To complete our week we will visit the area of Mount Cenis, renowned for its alpine flora. Amongst the species we will look for here are the two mountain pansies, Viola calcarata and Viola cenisi; the yellowflowered Erysimum rhaeticum and pinkflowered Androsace adfinis subsp. puberula are found in the rocky crevices, whilst the screes hold Mount Baldo Anemone (Anemone baldensis). Other plants we will look for are Alpine Pasque Flower (Pulsatillas alpina), many species of gentian, including the diminutive Snow Gentian (G. nivalis), various campanulas and rampions, the handsome False White Helleborine (Veratrum album), and Frog and Alpine Orchids.