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Top Ten Regional & National Parks of Europe

Many of our walking holidays explore regional or national parks, areas that are protected because of their great natural beauty or rich (and rare) flora and fauna. Some are wild and remote-feeling, others are easy to access yet nevertheless shelter a variety of wildlife, but all will amaze you with their often unusual landscapes.

North York Moors National Park, Britain. With so many of our staff living right by the park (our office is only a 25-minute drive away), this had to come top of our list. The expanses of open moorland – at their best in August, when the heather is in bloom – are, of course, just part of the story: there are also tranquil wooded valleys, pretty stone villages, huge forests, historic abbeys and a rugged coastline peppered with tiny fishing ports. Our North York Moors walk is perfect for a long weekend in the park.

Swiss National Park, Switzerland. Established in 1914, this was one of the first national parks in Europe, and – perhaps somewhat surprisingly given the country’s majestic mountain scenery – remains the only one in Switzerland, leaving us with no choice as to our favourite Swiss park! It is a haven for a wide variety of wildlife, including elk, chamois and ibex on the ground, and golden eagles and bearded vultures in the air. The bearded vulture (or lammergeyer) had once been hunted to extinction in Switzerland (it was wrongly believed that the bird preyed on sheep, goats and new-born babies), but it was re-introduced into the park in 1991 and its population is now thriving. The second day's route on the Villages of the Engadine walk takes you through the park, with further opportunities to explore it on days three and four.

Pollino National Park, Italy. The landscapes of this park – Italy’s newest and largest – are so wild that around thirty wolves inhabit the remotest parts. Despite being located in Basilicata in Italy’s deep south, the park is surprisingly green, sheltering a wide variety of plant species, many of which are protected. The park’s symbol is in fact the rare loricate pine, an ancient species that was once widespread but which has declined since the last Ice Age as the climate has warmed. They can reach up to 40 metres in height and one option for the second day of our Mountains & Coast walk takes you to a point from which you can see a few examples.

Teide National Park, Spain. The Teide National Park in the centre of Tenerife is important in that it incorporates Spain’s highest peak, El Teide (3,718 metres). The park’s volcanic, desert-like landscapes – coloured red, brown, yellow and ochre – boast a stark beauty, and the views over the island are, as you would expect, astonishing. Although it is very dry, the park is home to a wide variety of plants, fifty of which are endemic to the Canary Islands, including the Teide violet. High above, Egyptian vultures, sparrow hawks and red kites patrol the blue skies, watching for reptiles such as the tizon lizard.

Cabo de Gata Natural Park, Spain. This is another protected area whose landscapes can appear almost desert-like, not surprising given that the region of Almería is the driest in Europe, with fewer than thirty rainy days a year and an enviable 3,000 hours of sunshine. If that were not enough, the clear waters that lap the tiny coves and secluded bays – many of them only accessible on foot – are the warmest in mainland Spain, and are perfect for snorkelling. Inland, the landscapes are more reminiscent of North Africa than of Europe, with the cliffs, bays and salt flats of the coast giving way to bare, reddish hills dotted with small oases. Truly unique.

Monti Sibillini National Park, Italy. Perhaps the most picturesque part of this wild and remote-feeling park is the Piano Grande (‘Great Plain’), a high, windswept prairie that in late May and early June is carpeted with poppies and other wild flowers. You can admire the plain from on high as you walk across the slopes of the surrounding mountains on the thrilling final day of our Umbria - Italy’s Green Heart walk.

Hardangervidda National Park, Norway. The park encompasses just a third of Europe’s largest mountain plateau. The entire Hardangervidda, and hence the park, is above the tree line, with some parts so rugged that they look like lunar landscapes. Elsewhere, rolling fells are interrupted by expanses of lichen-clad rock, a good source of food for the herds of wild reindeer that roam the plateau. In the west, the national park extends almost as far as the Hardangerfjord, and you can ascend from the fjord to the edge of the park on our Serene Hardangerfjord walk.

Garrotxa Natural Park, Spain. Like the Teide National Park, the landscapes of the Garrotxa Natural Park are also volcanic, but, rather than being dominated by one large volcano and its huge caldera, this is characterised by lots of smaller volcanoes, plus several ancient lava flows. One of the best times to enjoy our Pyrenees to the Garrotxa walk is autumn, when the beech woods which coat the cones provide wonderful displays of colour.

Mercantour National Park, France. This park – which incorporates olive groves, small glaciers, thick forests, craggy peaks, twisting gorges and alpine meadows all in a relatively small area – features in our Top Ten for just one valley, the mysterious Vallée des Merveilles. As well as being very dramatic in its scenery, the valley is of great archaeological importance as it shelters tens of thousands of Bronze Age rock carvings. The carvings seem to suggest that the valley was once the focus of a cult of bull-worship linked to fertility, the bull being a symbol of virility. You can join a fascinating guided excursion through the valley, past a variety of carvings, as part of our Alps to the Mediterranean walk.

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