Nature Parks and Reserves
Wonderfully unspoilt coutryside
One national park, two regional parks, sixteen nature reserves, hundreds of footpahts in protected coutrysite, dozens of species of animal to observe, thousands of species of plants to see: Savoie Mont Blanc is a hiker's paradise...
The Vanoise National Park
Created in 1963 to protect the ibex, The Vanoise is twinned with its Italian neighbour, the Grand Paradiso National Park. Covering 125,000 hectares, the Vanoise is the largest nature reserve in Western Europe. It has 107 summits above 3,000 meters and it is home to ibex, chamois, marmots, ermines, snow voles, golden eagles, lammergeyers, eagle owls, black grouse and common frogs, etc. Although very little of the Vanoise is forested, the park contains 1,200 species of plants including edelweiss, lady's slipper orchids and larch trees.
The Bauges Regional Park
is an area of exceptionnal diversity, with 1,300 species of plants, 150 species of nesting birds and 9 species of amphibians .
In the Bauges, Mother Nature is the guardian of a veritable treasure trove with its legends, its secrets and its gems, including cyclamen, Dauphiné cinquefoils, alpine longhorn beetles and golden eagles.
The Chartreuse Regional Park
It's priority is to preserve the natural environement. In this respect, the diversity and wealth of its habitat are an inestimable source of delight to experienced naturalists and novices alike. The wonders of the Chatreuse are expressed most audibly in the autumn, when stags can be heard rutting in the twilight, and most colourfully in the spring, when fields bloom with lady's slipper orchids. And, with luck, attentive nature-lovers may also glimpse chamois, pygmy owlets, black grouse, the orchid Gymnadenia corneliana, or even a lynx.
Nature Reserves in Savoie
La Grande Sassière, La Bailletaz, Tignes, Les Hauts de Villaroger, Plan Tuéda, La sache, Les Hauts Plateaux de Chartreuse.
Nature Reserves in Haute-Savoie
Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, Passy, Aiguilles Rouges, Les Contamines-Montjoie, Carlaveyron, Vallon de Bérard, Roc de Chère, Bout du Lac d'Annecy, Delta de la Dranse.
