For those who love the mountains, taking excursions in the Gran Paradiso National Park is an excellent choice for staying in contact with nature, exploring this renowned protected area of the Aosta Valley.
National Park
The Gran Paradiso massif is a mountain group formed by the Gran Paradiso and the eastern part of the Graian Alps.
The six valleys called Val di Cogne, Valsavarenche, Val di Rhêmes, Valle dell’Orco, Val Soana and Valle di Champorcher spread from it and the surface above three thousand meters is occupied by perennial glaciers.
The Gran Paradiso represents the highest peak of the massif with 4,061 meters, followed by the Herbetet with 3,778 meters and the Grivola with its 3,969 meters.
In the nineteenth century this area was a hunting ground for the sovereigns of the House of Savoy, including Vittorio Emanuele II who had formed the Royal Reserve of Gran Paradiso.
The main mountains are the Gran Paradiso 4,061 m, the Roc 4,026 m, the Grivola 3,969 m and the Piccolo Paradiso.
The main glaciers include the Tribolazione glacier, the Gran Valle glacier and the Laveciau glacier.
There is a wealth of alpine huts created to encourage high-altitude hiking, including the Vittorio Emanuele II refuge and the Vittorio Sella refuge.
Excursions
The Vittorio Emanuele II refuge is located on the shores of Lake Moncorvé in the heart of the Gran Paradiso National Park at an altitude of 2,732 m.
The most popular path is the one that starts from the hamlet of Pont which allows you to reach the refuge in about 2 hours of walking and the possibility of being able to observe, in the last stretch, some ibexes and marmots is not uncommon.
The Vittorio Sella refuge is instead located in Val di Cogne, a suggestive valley of the Graian Alps, at 2,584 meters above sea level.
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It can be reached by an easy path starting from the center of the town of Cogne with about 2 and a half walking at medium pace.
The Alta via della Val d’Aosta number 2 is a hiking route in the Aosta Valley that crosses various lateral valleys including the Champorcher Valley, the Cogne Valley, the Valsavarenche and the Rhêmes Valley.
In the first section, this high altitude path crosses the Gran Paradiso National Park to arrive in Val Veny in front of a spectacular view of the Mont Blanc massif.
