Gran Paradiso & Italian Mont Blanc

The Gran Paradiso National Park was established in 1922 to protect the ibex — a species that had been hunted almost to extinction. Today the park holds the largest ibex population in the Alps, and walking here means regular encounters with these magnificent horned animals on the high ridges above the Aosta Valley.

The Gran Paradiso itself (4,061 m) is the most accessible high alpine peak in Italy, often chosen by mountaineers as their first 4,000 m summit. Our trekking program does not require summit ambitions — the walking routes through the valley and to the high rifugios are spectacular in their own right.

We combine Gran Paradiso walks with excursions to the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif around Courmayeur — the Tour du Mont Blanc passes through here, and the Skyway Monte Bianco cable car offers extraordinary high-altitude access. Two very different mountain characters within an hour's drive.