- Travel
- 31 Jan 2025
From Vieste Foresta Umbra, the Gargano National Park
A Vieste up from the sea to the mountain is very short, and while you enjoy the marine atmosphere, you can arrange excursions in Foresta Umbra, the green heart and full of life of the Gargano National Park. The best time to visit is between spring and summer, when the vegetation explodes in its colors, giving to those who observe the strongest emotions. Extended well to 10,426 hectares, the Foresta Umbra reaches 830 meters above sea level and is one of the richest Italian forests of flora and fauna. Deciduous and beech woods millennial, various types of orchids, anemones, violets and cyclamen cohabit thanks to a microclimate exceptional. While deer, wild cats, badgers, martens, woodpeckers, hawks and sparrows animate the forest of their presence, discreet or lively according to the seasons and the character of individual species. Mysterious and fascinating, with its immense and dense arboreal cathedrals, the Forest Umbra allows all exploration, thanks to the 15 trails made by the State Forestry Corps, with signs and is walkable. Along the way, deviations thanks to use more sports go to the spectacular examples of karst phenomena that characterize the geology of this area. At the Museum of Natural attached to the Visitor Centre it is also possible to rent a mountain bike. And there are many educational activities dedicated to children and teenagers.
- Travel
- 21 Jun 2015
The trips to the sea caves of Gargano
On the coast of the Gargano fabulous open sea caves, and visit them today, thanks to the excursions that depart twice daily from the port of Vieste, in the morning and afternoon. The motorboat, fast and comfortable, take visitors along the coast of Puglia that goes from Vieste to Mattinata: 40 km of white rock, high and jagged, between cliffs, bays, coves and spectacular natural arches. While the skipper become storytellers for the occasion, and tell the origin of the caves, because the names of their imaginative, mythical or real incidents that affect them. They discover so caves of incomparable beauty: the Cave of Contabbandieri, open on the south side and the north side; Grotta Campana Piccola, whose name repeats its shape; Cave also known as the Purple Grotto Hot, where the purple hues of the walls adds a mysterious warmth in winter; Cave Sfondata, open to the blue sky; the Cave of the Two Eyes, topped with two openings that filter a mystical light through dense vegetation; and then the Cave of the Sirens, the Two Rooms, Dream, Palette … and we could go on, but the wind is less! It is not for the extraordinary spectacle which can be observed: an explosive nature, made of Mediterranean pine trees, laurel, citrus and olive trees hilltop. While the sea reflects a blinding light and offers views to the clear waters enough to show the depth.