The Lessinia Natural Regional Park instituted in 1990 covers 10.000 hectares extending to the North of Verona, nestled between the Val d'Adige, the Trentino, the group of the Small Dolomites-Pasubio, the Val dell'Agno-Chiampo and the high plain of Verona, where several hilly ridges are detached from the plateau of Lessinia.
To make this protected area an ideal destination for visitors looking for a genuine contact with nature and with the ancient traditions of mountain people, are the gentle grassy peaks, with its animals free to graze, the dreadful rock formations scattered on the territory, the numerous valleys and canyons that run through the land and the unique and typical products that only such a wild territory can offer.
Throughout the plateau you can admire mixed forests of hornbeam, oak and chestnut trees typical of the hilly belt which in autumn, changing color, transform the entire landscape. Higher up, however, we find beech and fir woods, an ideal area for pastures.
Lessinia offers the opportunity to observe many types of animals, such as deer, roe deer, alpine chamois, marmots, foxes, weasels, beeches, hares and squirrels as well as numerous species of wild birds such as the peregrine falcon, the golden eagle, the wood grouse
and the porcupine, thus developing a tourism linked to nature and, in particular, to observation such as bird watching. Recently the wolf was also seen in Lessinia Natural Regional Park, returning to colonize the area with a brood, an event of extraordinary naturalistic and scientific interest. The Lessinia mountains offer several opportunities for athletes, in any season, with numerous ski lifts for the ski season up to cross-country trails, which twisted and turned through the most beautiful corners of the mountain range.
In the summer you can go hiking, horse riding and mountain biking through the mountain pastures. In the northernmost part of the park we find the testimony of the Great War, with trenches, tunnels and mule tracks that are part of a defensive system of about 34 km. Do not miss the naturalistic jewels that offers the plateau like the Folignani Forest, the Giazza Forest, the Valdadige Forest with the Corno d'Aquilio and the Molina waterfalls.
The karst phenomena and the various natural monuments are spectacular:
- The Veja Bridge, a massive natural rock bridge, formed by the collapse of a huge cave, with one of the largest and most beautiful arches in Europe. Its beauty is such that the Ponte di Veja was visited and subsequently represented in 1474 by Mantegna in the Bridal chamber of Palazzo Ducale in Mantua.- The Spluga della Preta is a karst abyss among the deepest in Italy and is located in the municipality of Sant'Anna d'Alfaedo. The depth currently explored is 877 meters but some unexplored tunnels still remain.
- - The Covolo di Camposilvano is located at 1220 meters in the municipality of Velo Veronese and is the largest karst cavity in the Veneto Prealps and, according to local tradition, it was visited by Dante Alighieri when he was a guest of the Scaligeri of Verona.
- - Peschiera di Bolca is a cave in the gallery where fossils dating back to the Eocene are are found, about 50 million years ago, preserved in excellent condition.
- - The Valle delle Sfingi is located near Camposilvano. The valley is about 800 meters long and has a series of limestone monoliths created for the erosion and the dissolution of a layer of Red Ammonitic, which with time formed some nice mushroom shapes.
- - The Riparo Solinas, also known as the Fumane Caves, is located along the road from Fumane to the hamlet of Molina. Precisely in this place some scholars found numerous artifacts dating back to the Neanderthal Man (about 60,000 years ago) and the first Homo Sapiens, (about 32,000 years ago), so much that is considered by many the most important site in Europe , both for the long period of use and for its own characteristic
- - The Park of the Molina Waterfall is an ideal oasis for everyone, from adults to children, surrounded by lush greenery, between vertiginous rocky walls, large mysterious caverns and thundering waterfalls. It is located near the small medieval village of Molina, where time seems to run slowly. The park offers several walking and walking trails, well-marked and with an excellent.
