The area of the Lanzo Valleys extends from altitudes of over 3000 m on the border mountain ridges to 500 m at Lanzo Torinese, offering a huge range of environments, each with their own unique characteristics. Walks can be organised to enjoy the white wild narcissi flowers in May or the bright and colourful alpine meadows in late June and July, or even to look for the rare Euphorbia gibelliana, wild peonies or edelweiss. Autumn is when the beech and larch forests come to life with their display of bright reds and oranges.

Alpine fauna includes majestic alpine ibex, chamois, friendly marmots and, with a little bit of luck, if you look skywards you might spot bearded vultures and golden eagles. For those with a keen eye there are stoats, black grouse, rock ptarmigans and signs of passing wolves which have now permanently returned to the region. In some areas there are red deer whose calls can be heard from mid-September, and you might easily meet roe deer and wild boar in the woods.

The Peony festival

This itinerary celebrates the flowering of what is now a rare plant, whose many medicinal properties have been known since ancient times and are described in myths involving the Olympian gods. This excursion is also an excuse to enjoy the vast array of colourful flowers which are characteristic of Pian della Mussa in June. The…

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