Aiguestortes y Estañí de San Maurici, Spain
Northeastern Spain is home to a wild and wonderful water world. Located north of Lleida in the central Pyrenees, the Aiguestortes y Estany de Sant Maurici National Park is home to more than 200 lakes, rivers, streams, gorges, waterfalls, and swamps formed by melting snow and ice. It’s a feature. (Aiguestortes means “crooked water” in Catalan, and Sant Maurici is the largest lake.)
Visitors can explore by bike. There are 13 routes ranging from family-friendly flat trails to challenging mountain biking. There are also 27 hiking trails that offer great views of the lake reflecting the surrounding forests and mountains. These include Los Encantados, his two mountains that are almost identical. Wildlife includes the bearded eagle and the grouse, one of the symbols of the Pyrenees.
In a centuries-old midsummer ritual, giant torches are carried from the mountain to the village.
Val des Bois is home to eight Romanesque churches and hermitages built in the 11th and 12th centuries, with a tall, slender bell tower. You can walk between villages and visit them all in one day. Then relax at the Caldes de Boi Thermal Spa, which has 37 natural hot springs and is set in a large garden.
June and July are the best months to experience the Fallas Festival. In the centuries-old midsummer ritual, giant torches are carried from the mountains to villages, where large bonfires are lit and the party begins. This year’s dates are June 14th in Duro, June 23rd in Voi, July 6th in Baruela, July 13th in Eril La Val, July 19th in Tauru, El Pra de… It’s July 26th in L’Hermita.
Accommodation options include Aiguestortes Camping Resort (from 25 euros for a campsite for two) and a network of mountain refuges including Amidges (B&B from 40 euros). Wild camping is prohibited. Buses run daily from Barcelona, Lleida and Tremp to most of the villages around the park, and from June to September the park bus connects his two main entrances, Voi and Espot.
Mercantour, France
Lake Trecolpa, Mercantour National Park. Photo: Westend61 GmbH/Alamy
Mercantour National Park is located in the southeastern tip of France, between the southernmost Alps and the Mediterranean Sea. From Barcelona to Sospel, 60 uninhabited valleys stretch for 100 miles, dotted with villages. This diverse landscape, from mostly alpine to coastal, is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Of the over 2,000 species of flowers and plants, 200 are rare and 30 are endemic. There are 200 species of birds, including golden eagles and ptarmigans, and 78 species of mammals, including wolves, marmots, and all six French ungulates (deer, deer, boar, ibex, seimwa, and mouflon).
One of the must-see attractions is the gigantic ruins of around 40,000 rock carvings, the oldest of which date back to around 3,000 BC. These depict everyday life and beliefs with carvings of cows, weapons, and geometric patterns. Other highlights include the glacial lagoon of Wens, which is fed by a series of waterfalls, and Lake Allos, Europe’s largest natural high-altitude lake.
Rock carvings in the amazing valley.Photo: Hemis/Alamy
For hikers, there are more than 1,000 miles of trails (approximately 350 miles in the center of the park), ranging from gentle walks through meadows and forests to strenuous mountain treks, with the highest peak, Lleras, at 3,143 meters high.
The website for hikers details more than 100 days of walking, about 20 itineraries ranging from two to seven days, and the 17-day, 140-mile Grand Traverse du Mercantour. Accommodations ranging from hotels to campgrounds are also listed. The mountain reserve offers dormitory beds and shared meals. These include La Cantonnière, Refuge de Lac de Vin, Refuge de la Cougourde and Chalet de la Madone de Fenestre (from 20 euros per person) . Tent camping is prohibited, but bivouacs are allowed from 7pm to 9am.
Many visitors choose to stay in one of the towns along the main road that runs south of the park, such as Saint-Martin-de-Antranne, Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tine, Saint-Etienne-de-Tine, and Saint-Etienne-de-Tine. Saint-Martin-Vesubier.
Car-free travel is encouraged. Buses run daily from Nice, Monaco and Menton to each valley, as well as shuttle buses within the valley. Tourist trains also run from Nice, passing through several villages. In the summer, there are also private buses for hikers from Nice.
eifel, germany
The Eifel National Park has been recognized as Germany’s first international dark-sky park. Photo: Dneutral Han/Getty Images
Technically speaking, the Eifel National Park in North Rhine-Westphalia in far western Germany is still classified as “under development.” The park was established 20 years ago and it will take another 10 years for 75% of the land to return. Naturally. However, more than half of the area has already been rewilded. Beech and oak trees that had once been felled have been left as untouched forests, and animals such as ocelots, woodpeckers, red deer, rare lizards and bats have returned. There is a red deer viewing gallery near Dry Bones. September and October are the best times to observe the heat season. Storks and kingfishers flock to the river, and wild daffodils can be seen on the Drybone Plateau. The bird observatory on Lake Ulftsee has two of his telescopes where you can observe storks, red kites, black kites, herons and cormorants.
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One of the best ways to explore the park is on a four-day, 53-mile Wilderness Trail. Visitors can walk independently or book a package (from 269 euros per person) that includes three nights in a B&B and transport by bus and train. There are also five short hiking circuits (3 to 11 miles each). 65 miles of bike paths. and 40 miles of carriage roads. Free ranger tours are held most days, and there are also boat tours in the summer.
In 2014, the Eifel became Germany’s first international dark sky park. Vogelsang Observatory regularly hosts astronomy workshops and dark sky walks. Historic sites include Monschau Castle, Steinfeld Abbey and Mariawald Abbey.
Around 30 national park hosts offer eco-friendly stays, including two campgrounds and nine hostels. As a guest, you can use your GästeCard for free travel on buses and trains within the Eifel National Park Discovery Area, which stretches from Aachen on the Dutch border to Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen.
Risnjak, Croatia
Lake Rokvarsko in Risnjak National Park, Croatia.Photo: iascic/Getty Images
Mountainous and forested, Risnjak National Park is named after one of its rarest habitats, the lynx (Croatian for “squirrel”). The Risnjak and Sněžnik massifs in the northern Dinaric Alps are important habitats for brown bears, wolves and chamois. Birds include the greater sage-grouse and the pygmy owl. 89 species of butterflies have been recorded and a variety of wild orchids grow there.
Panoramic views stretch across the Istrian peninsula, with the Adriatic Sea just 18 miles away, and all the way to Slovenia’s Julian Alps.
Visitors can walk (35 minutes) to the bright turquoise pools at the source of the Kupa River via the Wonderful Butterfly Valley. Follow Leska’s educational path to learn about the park (3 miles) and climb 11 mountains. Mount Rysnjak is the highest at 1,528 meters above sea level, while Mount Sniežnik is just behind him at 1,506 meters. Panoramic views extend across the Istrian peninsula, with the Adriatic Sea just 18 miles away, and all the way to the Julian Alps in Slovenia. In summer, guided chamois viewing tours (from 65 euros for 5 hours) are offered. Cycle routes range in length from 2.5 miles to 40 miles (mountain bike rentals start from 4 euros for 3 hours and 12 euros for 24 hours). From spring to autumn, fly fishing for brown trout and grayling is permitted (€55 per day).
Only about 60 people still live in the park. Limited accommodation includes a guesthouse and hostel (beds from 13 euros) in the mountain village of Krny Rug, a mile from the main entrance, and a shelter beneath the summit of Risnjak, built in 1932 by botanist Josip Schlosser. It is included. There’s even more to see in the nearest town, Dernice, 8 miles away, and the nearest city, Rijeka, on the coast, about a 100-minute drive.
Buses run from Delnice and Rijeka to Krni Rag, which is a 90-minute drive from Zagreb. Admission is 6 euros for adults and 3 euros for children.
Peneda Geres, Portugal
Peneda Geres is known for its beautiful pools and river.Photo: Pauline Cutler/Alamy
Portugal has only one national park. It is Peneda Geres in the northwest, close to the border with Spain. Luckily, we have a little bit of everything here: mountains, oak forests, holly bush forests, wildflower meadows, peat bogs, rivers and waterfalls. It is home to endemic species such as the gold-striped salamander, endangered species such as the Iberian wolf and Iberian wild goat, as well as roe deer, wild Galano ponies, Barosa cattle and sheepdogs.
There are about 15 official day walking trails, ranging from a few kilometers to a 10-mile loop trek through megalithic necropolises and bird-watching plateaus. Other routes take you through medieval castles, monasteries and sanctuaries. But the ultimate way to explore the park is the GR50, a 120-mile, 19-stage route along the Roman Road, Pilgrim’s Way, and Smuggler’s Path. The GR50 crosses the hills of Castro Laboreiro, the mountains of Peneda, Soajo, Serras Amarera, Gerres and the Plateau de Mourera. Each stage ends in a village. The park is home to around 9,000 people and has simple lodges and guesthouses to stay in.
For shorter trips, visitors can combine one or two stages with canoeing or canyoning. In May there will be a trail running event where he will run five distances ranging from 10 miles to 100 miles.
The easiest way to access the park by public transport is to take a bus from Braga to the town of Geres. It is a 5 minute walk from one of his 5 gates in the park.
