Ampezzo Dolomites Natural Park

About

The Ampezzo Dolomites Natural Park (Italian: Parco naturale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo) is a nature reserve in Veneto, Italy. Established in 1990, it is entirely located in the territory of Cortina d’Ampezzo, in the Province of Belluno, and encompasses some of the most famous Dolomitic groups, such as the Tofane, Monte Cristallo, the Croda Rossa d'Ampezzo, Lagazuoi, Pomagagnon and Col Bechei. Together with the adjacent Naturpark Fanes-Sennes-Prags in the Province of Bolzano, it forms a protected area of 37,000 hectares in the heart of the Dolomites.

The park has been designated as a Site of Community Importance, and about one quarter of its territory is afforded further protection through twenty smaller reserves. The flora includes 68 species of trees and shrubs, 32 species of ferns and over 1,000 species of flowers, including 35 species of orchids. At lower elevations, tree species include European beeches and European yews, whereas between 1,300 and 1,900 meters the sides of the valleys are covered with forests of Norway spruces.

Silver firs and Scotch pines are also present; at higher elevations they are replaced by larches and Swiss pines, then by mountain pines, and finally by grasslands...