REGIONAL NATURE PARK OF MONT AVIC

Mont Avic: ophiolites amid the pines and eternal snows
Most of the area of the Park is characterized by outcroppings of ophiolites of the ultrabasic complex of Mont Avic, that give the park a highly original, fascinating landscape: near the peak there is a prevalence of rocky zones, bare of any vegetation and with clear signs of the action of the glaciers, while lower down, the soil is poor and shallow, and is covered by the largest Italian forest of Swiss mountain pine. In addition to countless streams rushing down its steep slopes, the park boasts 30 lakes, including the Gran Lac, the largest natural basin in the Aosta Valley.


Ancient lakes, long silted over, are now the sites of peat bogs of enormous naturalistic value. The Protected Area is crossed by over 70 km of well-marked trails and three Alpine refuges permit visitors to sleep at an altitude of over 2000 meters.
The Nature Park of Mont Avic is a site of Community Importance in the "Nature 2000 Network" and obtained UNI EN ISO 14001 certification in the spring of 2003. It is the first Italian Protected Area registered according to the terms of rule CE 761/2001 EMAS.


Founded: 1989
Area: 5747 hectares
Altitude: 1000 – 3185 meters above sea level
Management: Ente Parco, Champdepraz (AO)
tel. 0125-960643
e-mail: parc.avic@libero.it
Visitors' Center and Nature Museum: loc. Covarey tel. 0125-960668
Information point (24 hours a day): p.le F. Foy, loc. Fabbrica
Internet: www.montavic.it ; www.parks.it/parco.mont.avic
Municipalities involved: Champdepraz, Camporcher.