Walking in Italy's Stelvio National Park. Gillian Price

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СКАЧАТЬ are most at risk). In the unlikely event that someone is bitten, seek help immediately and keep the victim still and calm. Learn to identify a viper and distinguish it from non-venomous snakes.

      Birdwatchers will enjoy the sight of crag martins skimming alpine meadows and lakes in search of insects. Arolla pine forests, meanwhile, are the favourite habitat of the dappled, aptly named nutcracker, expert at cracking open pine nuts with its thick beak. From a perch at the top of the tree they also act as lookouts, their piercing squawk a clear warning for other inhabitants of the wood of potential danger. Higher up are alpine choughs, elegant crows with glossy black wings and yellow beaks; they perform entertaining aerial displays of acrobatics to the accompaniment of a noisy, chattering commentary. Choughs have the incredible knack of appearing out of nowhere at the mere rustle of a picnic bag, to beg for crumbs.

      On a larger scale are birds of prey such as kites, buzzards and the superb golden eagle, which has a wingspan that can reach 2.2m. These prey on small mammals such as hares and young marmots, but will also take birds. In winter the eagle has been known to scavenge the carcasses of animals such as chamois which have fallen victim to avalanches. This puts it in direct competition with the recently returned bearded vulture or Lammergeier, which also keeps an eye out for migrating birds which drop from exhaustion as they fly through the lower alpine passes in springtime on their way north. With a wingspan up to 2.8m, a body over 1m long and weighing in at 5–7kg, the bearded vulture is easily recognised, especially as its eyesight is poor so it often flies close to the ground. Its diet is composed of 80% bones, which it cracks open by dropping them from a height onto rocks. Successfully reintroduced across the Alps, it has made its home in the park. Check out the webcam in a nest in Val Zebrù: www.gipetostelvio.it is reality TV like you have never seen before.

      Wildlife lovers will especially enjoy Martelltal, Val Zebrù and Valle di Rabbi, where there are lots of animals that are relatively easy to spot. A final note: injured creatures are nursed back to recovery in the area faunistica (wildlife area) at Peio Fonti. Here visitors have better chances of seeing deer and other ruminants than out in the wild.

      One excellent guidebook is the Birds of Britain and Europe by B Bruun, H Delin and L Svensson (Hamlyn, 1992).

Valleys and bases

      We begin with the eastern section of the Stelvio National Park in Südtirol. A short way south of Meran/Merano is Lana, where Ultental/Val d’Ultimo breaks off southwest. A world apart – inhabited by descendants of migrants from a monastery in German Swabia – it is a rare traditional valley of great allure. The mountainsides are dotted with clusters of timber chalets and barns crafted with bulky tree trunks intricately notched together. Stained red with age, they stand witness to the valley’s agricultural heritage. All around extend manicured emerald meadows, on impossibly steep slopes where mowers must be fitted with spikes to enable farmers to harvest the hay without slipping. Pastoral activities have been key to the economy since as early as the 17th century, when 20,000 sheep were sent to graze from as far afield as Verona. Vast forests of larch and pine provide shelter to both red and roe deer, and feed the sawmills of the flourishing timber industry.

      Traditional timber farms in Ultental

      The tourist office, supermarket and ATM are located at St Walburg/Santa Valburga, about halfway up the valley. The highest village is St Gertraud/Santa Geltrude. Served all year round by SAD buses, it is the start of Walk 1. There is a grocery shop, café-restaurant, a scattering of hotels and a centuries-old Venetian-style sawmill driven by water. Fully operational until the 1980s, the Lahnersäge now doubles as a Park Information Point. A stroll away stand the Urlärchen, three ancient larch trees that have been there for over 2000 years. A trifle battered and damaged by lightning strikes, they are still the oldest conifers in the whole of Europe. The road ends further uphill at Weissbrunnsee/Lago Fontana Bianca (Walks 2 and 3), one of the many lakes dammed in the 1960s for hydroelectricity to capture the glacier melt.

      Forming the southernmost edge of the Stelvio National Park, Val di Sole lies wholly within the Italian-speaking region of Trentino. Although sole means ‘sun’ in Italian, the name is derived from the Celtic goddess of waters, found in abundance here. It runs due west–east from Passo del Tonale beneath glaciated ranges and alongside apple orchards. Malè is the key railway station (FTM Ferrovia Trento Malè trains from Trento to Marilleva), while all the district’s bus services (Trentino Trasporti) fan out from here. Its charming historic centre hosts markets, a wealth of gourmet food shops, hotels, ATMs and a tourist office.

      Two beautiful side valleys branch north off Val di Sole; both correspond to geological faults and are rich in mineral waters (a bottling plant operates at Peio). Mining was once widespread, and traces of the activity live on in place names such as Fucine, meaning ‘furnace’.

      On the Saent waterfall route in Val di Rabbi (Walk 7)

      Val di Rabbi forks north from Malè. San Bernardo is the first sizeable village with tourist information and an ATM, as well as hotels. Not far along is the low-key spa resort of Rabbi Fonti (with a Park Visitor Centre and hotels), the end of the bus line and the perfect base for Walks 4–9. The attractions of this lovely valley – free from ski infrastructure – include the fascinating Segheria Veneziana sawmill, the spectacular Saent waterfalls, the varied wildlife and the active dairy farms that play an important part in the economy. Summer shuttle buses organised by the National Park serve the side valleys.

      Val di Peio, or Pejo, forks northwest off the Val di Sole at Cusiano. A string of old alpine communities that thrive on tourism and a mineral water bottling plant are centred around Cogolo (Park Visitor Centre, ATM). Here the valley forks – north leads up the narrowing thickly forested valley to Malga Mare, gateway to a refuge set opposite the Cevedale and cascading glaciers (Walk 10).

      The other fork goes west to Peio Fonti, a renowned spa resort that makes a first-rate base for walkers, with a jumble of hotels, groceries, ATM and cable car. Walks 11–13 are accessed from here, including spectacular Monte Vioz. Buses from Malè serve Peio Fonti before continuing up to the pretty village of Peio Paese, a peaceful spot perched on the sunny hillside with lovely views, food shops and accommodation. Its 15th-century bell tower boasts a remarkable 7m tall fresco portraying St Christopher. A minor road proceeds west along Val del Monte (Walk 14) as far as Fontanino di Celentino (Walk 15).

      Peio Fonti spa resort (Walks 11–13)

      Located in Alta Valtellina, the bustling alpine township of Bormio is an excellent starting point for visiting the western Lombardia slice of the Stelvio National Park. It has a charming centre with medieval buildings that testify to the town’s strategic importance at an alpine crossroads, and in winter people flock here for the extensive ski domain. There is a decent range of accommodation and facilities (supermarkets, ATM, park and tourist information). Bormio is easily reached by public transport: Perego buses are plentiful from Tirano (on the rail line from Milano as well as St Moritz in Switzerland and the spectacular Bernina Express). At a sunny confluence of valleys, it is dominated by a striking limestone crest, Reit. Bormio is handy for Walk 23; moreover, the dramatic Stelvio Pass road strikes out north close to the Swiss border, providing access for Walks 24 and 25.

      Branching east from Bormio is Valfurva; here the village of San Nicolò marks the opening of wild and wonderful Val Zebrù, explored in Walk 20. From there it is a very short trip to the resort village of Santa Caterina Valfurva (bus, hotels, groceries, ATM, tourist information) and Walks 16 and 21. A convenient base in itself, it acts as the gateway to Valle dei Forni and Val Cedèc, which offer high-altitude СКАЧАТЬ