In 1995, the unspoilt Alpe Veglia and Alpe Devero Natural Park was founded, one of the richest biodiversity environments in the Alps.
Consisting of two large basins of glacial origin, Alpe Veglia and Alpe Devero, located on the western edge of the Lepontine Alps, the Park belongs administratively to the municipalities of Varzo, Trasquera, Baceno and Crodo.
The Veglia Devero Natural Park is a protected area that extends seamlessly over eight thousand hectares, from Monte Leone to Punta d’Arbola. The area is bordered to the east by the Upper Formazza Valley, to the south-east by the Antigorio Valley, to the south by the Divedro Valley, to the south-west by the Swiss Simplon Valley, to the north by the twin Binntal Nature Reserve, branch of the Rhone Valley, in the canton of Valais.
The Veglia Devero Nature Park was founded at the end of the 1970s to protect the Veglia pastures, while only at the beginning of the 1990s did the Devero area become part of the protected Alpine territory.
Wedged between the canton of Valais and the Ossola Valley, the Park’s territory has always been a convenient way of passage, between north and south, for goods and people. The first traces of the presence of man date back to prehistoric times.
The pastures of Alpe Veglia and Alpe Devero have been intensively exploited by the inhabitants of the valley floor since Middle Ages. Over the centuries, the work of farmers has profoundly changed the natural landscape, transforming it according to human needs. The waters have been channeled, the marshy soils reclaimed, the undergrowth of blueberries and rhododendrons reduced to increase the area cultivable. Finally, some houses were built.
Towards the end of the last century, the first tourist itineraries developed that contributed to making these alpine pastures very popular destinations. This is how the first accommodation facilities were born able to accommodate flows of tourists, still increasing. To facilitate access to the Alpe Devero in summer and in winter the service of Prontobus shuttle, allows you to get to Devero leaving your own means of transport in Baceno.
The hand of man and climate change, have not affected the charm and beauty of the Veglia Devero Natural Park.The conservation of these aspects, together with the protection of the valleys and the enhancement of the work of the Alpine people has always been the primary mission of the Ossola Protected Areas Management Board.
