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The Tarvisio forest is huge and stretches throughout Friuli along the Valcanale and the Slizza valley, touching the municipalities of Pontebba, Malborghetto-Valbruna and Tarvisio, reaching the Austrian and Slovenian borders next to the wonderful lakes of Fusine.

Surrounded by the Julian Alps, it is crossed by the Fella River. The Tarvisio Forest Reserve belongs to a protected area, which covers some 59.000 acres of the alpine landscape, a quarter of which are covered with productive forests.

It represents one of the most precious natural areas with rich biodiversity, especially regarding Italian fauna. Officially acknowledged as “Biogenetic Oriented Nature Reserve” it belongs to the FEC (Religious Building Trust) and is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and partly by the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Regional Forestry Authority.

Flora and Fauna

The forest is made of thick European larches (Larix decidua), white firs (Abies alba), Norway spruces (Picea abies, which provides very precious wood, used for making violins and other musical instruments), and secular beeches (Fagus sylvatica).

Between the end of June and mid-July, Wulfenia carinthiaca blooms, a species native to the Tibetan Himalayas, which has naturalized there, and whose collection for private use is strictly prohibited.

In the woods many animals and birds can be found, like golden eagles, golden jackals, weasels, stoats, martens, skunks, badgers, otters, common and white hares, Western capercaillies, black grouses, rock ptarmigans and hazel grouse. There are also gryphons and, in the higher areas, ibex. Brown bears and lynxes have been seen as well.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)