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This is the first Valle d’Aosta natural park, established in 1989 in the valley of the Chalamy Stream, in the municipality of Champdepraz.
It is acknowledged as a piece of paradise on Earth thanks to its rugged orography that has kept agro-pastoral activities at bay while preventing mass tourism.

The valley features more than thirty stretches of water and several peat bogs that are home to very interesting flora and fauna; the latter includes the best-known animals of the Alps, a great variety of insects, and over 1.100 species of butterflies.
In the past, the park woods were cut to be used in iron and copper mines and for building the peat quarries. The highest quarry is Lac Gelé – a very profitable source of magnetite (set at 8.530 ft above sea level), exploited in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In the municipality of Champdepraz, in the Chevrère area, there is the Visitor Centre, from which several paths depart. This facility includes an information point, a naturalistic museum, a multipurpose room and a 1: 5000 scale model of the park and its surroundings.

BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS

One third of the park is covered with forests of mountain pines (Pinus uncinata), Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris), larches (Larix decidua), and beeches (Fagus sylvatica). Mountain pines (Pinus uncinata) are a true rarity in this area; they grow well on poor soils and around the peat bogs. They feature grey-brown trunks and branches, while pine cone scales have hooks.

Another interesting feature is the presence of over one hundred species of rock lichens.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)