5 natural parks to explore in the surroundings of Pinerolo

Piedmont is a green land that hosts many parks and nature reserves (111!), the most important resources of the Alpine territory, which are worth to be valued and respected. The valleys and the mountains of Pinerolo and its surroundings host some of the most beautiful natural parks in Italy: ideal places to lose yourself in nature, relax and have fun with the whole family.

We chose for you 5 parks, with very different characteristics, but each one in its own way will conquer you with an extraordinary and spectacular naturalistic wealth. 

Conca Cialancia

In the Germanasca Valley, just a few kilometers from Pinerolo and from the Hotel Barrage, you will find a valley lined by countless canyons that modify the territory by constantly downloading material: from here it derives its name, “cialancia” in local dialect means “avalanche”. Despite this, the typically alpine vegetation is rich and varied, in fact prevails the mountain alder, resistant to the passage of avalanches, as well as many species of trees such as artemisia from which the famous Genepy liqueur is derived. But the symbol of the park is an amphibious, the Lanza salamander, typical of the Cozie Alps and completely black, which has adapted to the highest altitudes. After exploring the park you can relax on the shores of the lake and admire the surrounding alps where they still graze cows, sheep and goats.

Tre Denti – Freidour Mount

The contour of the crest of Tre Denti mountain in Cumiana is recognizable from every distance and is the focal point of a semicircular park to crown this lovely Piedmontese town, with the typical vegetation of a hill-mountain transition: a forest full of beech and chestnut trees where rocky masses emerge, which are exceptional panoramic points, where it is not difficult to see a flying pilgrim falcon nesting here, with the background of the western Alpine arch in the background. The territory is perfect for every explorer: walking, horse riding, mountain biking trails, climbing and snow-plowing walls in winter.

San Giorgio Mount

An extremity advanced towards the plain of Turin that will surely attract your look if you are traveling from Turin to Pinerolo. At the opening of Sangone Valley, in the municipality of Piossasco, this park stands out for its particular cultural and historical value as it carries the signs of the ancient civilizations that inhabited the area. On the summit there is a tiny chapel of the eleventh century, the remains of a monastery and a water collection tank, and all around dozens of rock carvings dating back to the age of bronze and iron. From here you can also look out over the city and the Basilica of Superga, or the mountains, from Monviso to the Cervino.

Troncea Valley

In the heart of the Cozie Alps, in the municipality of Pragelato, a park that develops around the basin of the Chisone stream and all enclosed by peaks that touch the 3000 meters. A typically mountainous setting with pine and larch woods, beyond which you will be fascinated by the Alpine flowers that have earned the valley the name of “Valley of Flowers“: the Alpine star, rhododendron, gentian, and the Moncenisio violet. If you are lucky, you might also be able to see an Alpine ibex, a chamois, a fox, a wolf or a majestic royal eagle.

Orsiera – Rocciavré

Between the Chisone, Susa and Sangone valleys, a park that is particularly interesting from the point of view of vegetation and fauna. This is because the three valleys on which it develop have different characteristics along with a wide altitude band. Among the small lakes, the peaks, the pastures and rhododendron and blueberries shrub, you will meet squirrels, dormouses, badgers, red peaks, but also Alpine ibex, boar and groundhog.