Enjoy nature and wildlife in Calabria
A commonplace often associated when speaking about Calabria is… something like “a Switzerland with the sea”.
It is easy to understand why. In an hour and a half by car you can appreciate an extraordinary sequence of mountains, hills and beaches with a fabulous sea, and the same show on the way back ⛰ ⛱ .
In a short time, even by motorbike, you pass from a delightful maritime scenario to an almost fairytale alpine landscape.
We are talking about an immaculate territory, since Calabria has almost never been touched by a great, massive industrial development.
A region that can boast a solid vocation for agriculture and a centuries-old tradition of breeding cattle and sheep, which allow the production of extraordinary cheese.
Kissed by Mother Nature: Calabria by bike or by car
Plan the best nature excursions in Calabria with the local tourist guides.
The orography of Calabrian land is a welcome gift from Mother Nature, which proposes an intersection of roads and paths that lead to sudden paradises.
The gratifying discovery is for sure, always guaranteed. When you leave the main road and choose to run an old provincial one, the enchantment of a valley suddenly opens up. Sometimes it seems to be on the Riviera, golden beaches appear after sheer cliffs, suddenly you find yourself immersed in a dense forest, an inland forest populated by pines that you would like to embrace one by one as paternal figures that protect travelers.
It can also happen to walk in the snow – a snowshoe hike with friends – and at the same time rolling up your eyes for that huge expanse of blue navy a few miles far. Sea and snow in a small picture.
Sometimes, an overall view in the clear sky that allows you – if you are lucky – to “embrace” (turning your eyes): two seas (Ionian and Tyrrhenian), a village on the top of the mountain, and even two volcanoes that erupt between the Aeolian Islands and Sicily.
Trip in Calabria: don’t forget your camera!
During your trip along Calabria do not forget to bring with you a good camera, as the view is very generous.
It will be a memorable experience, that you will tell everyone.
Can you imagine how Calabria was millions of years ago?
It looked like a group of… islands!! Completely submerged by the sea, only the big mountains tops emerged from the water.
Those mountains are the main characters in naturalistic tourism, constantly growing.
Mountains in Northern Calabria
Today you can explore Calabrian peaks in 6 geographical areas.
The first one you “meet”, if you come from Napoli-Salerno, is the Pollino Massif.
Pollino marks the border with Basilicata. This special, pure natural habitat holds millennial trees (loricato pine).
The homonymous national park is one of the largest protected reserves in Italy.
The Pollino mountains stand out for their vertical architecture. There are huge rock faces and deep canyons formed by streams over millennia. Serra Dolcedorme is the highest peak in Calabria (2267 mt).
A little further down you find the Orsomarso Mountains, wild, rousing and uncontaminated like a few other places.
The Coastal Chain, a long barrier faced to the Tyrrhenian Sea, traces an interesting trekking route in the province of Cosenza, on the west side.
Mountains in the middle of Calabria
The Sila Plateau is amazing. It’s the green lung of the region, is a national park that has, among its safeguarded elements, gigantic specimens of laricio pine and chestnut.
The horizontal lines of this vast forest make you think you are in a completely different region.
The visual contrast with the aesthetics of the Pollino mounts is evident. You can walk on soft curved hills and in airy valleys.
The Sila plateau is really the green Eden of Calabria. Sila National Park includes the provinces of Cosenza, Crotone and Catanzaro.
Mountains in Southern Calabria
The Serre group, mainly characterizing the province of Vibo Valentia, also offers awesome green and peaceful oases.
Continuing the journey towards the south, you’ll think about some famous western movies.
Aspromonte Massif is the end of the backbone of the Italian Peninsula. You find here the last series of mountains in the Southern Apennines.
There are numerous streams crossing these reliefs, that create wonderful spaces in their descent towards the sea.
Core Calabro supporting trekking and nature lovers
Plan the best nature excursions in Calabria with the local tourist guides of Core Calabro.
In our in-depth information sheets, we periodically propose tours to do absolutely.
We talk about the natural treasures that can be visited 🌲 , places that can be enjoyed with satisfaction by the tourist who loves trekking.
In particular we recommend which destinations need a competent tourist guide. We know if you need a specific alpine guide who knows environmental features.
The specialist literature is fruitful, there is no lack of skilled professionals, so we will always point out the best experts, the most original narrators and the most engaging, comprehensive books.