Natural parks

South Tyrol has a total of nine Natural Parks: Sciliar Rose Garden, Gruppo di Tessa, Puez-Odle, Fanes-Senes-Braies, Monte Corno, Dolomiti di Sesto, Vedrette di Ries-Aurina, Alpi di Sarentino and the National Park Stelvio Pass.
They are the home of rare animals and a few endangered plants as for example the cow lily with its beautiful yellow blossoms or the widely known edelweiss - also 21 other plants are listed as protected. As for South Tyrol’s fauna, about 41% of its species are protected. The 5-level scale ranges from “potentially endangered” to “extinct”. In South Tyrol 25 species are momentarily under protection including the mole, the red ant or the ring snake.
The Natural Parks which are spread throughout the country are highly-sensitive living environments which can be explored by visitors. They are impressing worlds that you should definitely visit during your stay in South Tyrol. Immerse yourself in this amazingly beautiful cosmos of small and big natural wonders and realise the importance of each of these paradise-like spots in the fight for the conservation of the local flora and fauna.

The following is a list of the most important Natural Parks in South Tyrol:

Sciliar Rose Garden

Size: 6.796 ha
The nature reserve Sciliar Rose Garden is located in South Tyrol’s Western Dolomites.
Natural Park municipalities: Castelrotto, Tires, Fiè

Gruppo di Tessa

Size: 33.430 ha
The protected area of the nature reserve Gruppo di Tessa is located between the Adige valley in the South, the Senales valley in the West, the Passiria valley in the East and the main range of the Alps in the North.
Natural Park municipalities: San Martino in the Passiria valley, Moso in the Passiria valley, Rifiano, Parcines, Naturno, Senales, Tirolo, Lagundo

Puez-Odle

Size: 10.196 ha
The limits of the protected area of the nature reserve Puez-Odle are the Passo delle Erbe
in the North and the Gardena pass in the South. Its area stretches to the Alta Badia valley in the East and to the Funes and the Gardena valleys in the West.
Natural Park municipalities: Badia, Funes, Corvara, S. Christina in Val Gardena, Ortisei in Val Gardena, S. Martino in Badia, Selva di Val Gardena

Fanes-Senes-Braies

Size: 25.680 ha
The Northern limit of this park are the mountains facing the Pusteria valley, in the West the park ends at the forested hills of the Alta Badia valley; in the South it stretches all the way to the provincial borders; the Eastern limit of the park is the Landro valley with the Dolomites mountain range of Sesto.
Natural Park municipalities: Badia, Marebbe, Valdaora, La Valle, Braies and Dobbiaco

Monte Corno

Size: 6.866 ha
The nature reserve Monte Corno is located South of Bolzano; orthographically seen it lies on the left side of the river Adige. The Northern limit is the Fiemme valley, the South Eastern limit is the Cembra valley and in the West the park ends at the Adige valley.
Natural Park municipalities: Anterivo, Trodena, Salorno, Montagna and Egna

Dolomiti di Sesto in the municipalities of Dobbiaco, Sesto and San Candido

Size: 11.635 ha
The nature reserve Dolomiti di Sesto marks the most North-Easterly spot in the Dolomites region. It is limited by the Pusteria valley in the North, the valley of Sesto in the East, the provincial border with Belluno in the South and the Landro valley in the West.
Natural Park municipalities: Dobbiaco, San Candido and Sesto

Vedrette di Ries-Aurina

Size: 31.505 ha
In the North-West this nature reserve ends at the Aurina valley. The Eastern limit of the park is the Austrian border all the way to the Passo Stalle. The Anterselva valley in the South-East and the Pusteria valley in the South are the limits of this protected area.
Natural Park municipalities: Campo Tures, Rasun-Anterselva, Gais, Aurina valley and Predoi

Stelvio Pass

Size: 135.000 ha, of which only approximately one third lies on South Tyrolean soil.