The Umbra Forest
The Umbra Forest is literally heart and soul of the National Park of Gargano.
Its area covers the central-eastern promontory of Gargano, currently 10% of the park, while it once covered 90% of it. Its heart beats in the green of its beauty, among the romantic leafy branches that caress the lakes' water and the shady intimate brushwood; through their penetrating, cool and silent fragrance, the peace of nature shall reign.
This forest is a natural museum of exemplary trees. These are generations-old woods, whose dimensions and brilliant colors reveal their maturity. Among all species stand out true masters of life, such as Zeppino di Scorzone, a beautiful example of 700 years old pine of Aleppo, or Cerro di Vico, which is 400 years old and has a waist of more than 5 meters.
In this natural paradise, the Colossus of the Forest, a beech tree near the lake Cutino of Umbria, which is above 40 meters high, overviews the whole landscape.
Rare species reign among the scents of flowers; for all these reasons Gargano is the promontory of the supremacies: there are 56 species of orchids, and, thanks to the suitable climate, the beech trees grow thick and lush, despite the small height for this type of tree, which usually grows at lower temperatures.
The forest is divided into four areas, called zones: Zone A, Zone B, Zone C and Zone D.
These areas are arranged like a spiral from the centre of the growing forest to the outside: the Zone A is the dwelling of most of the animals that live there; the Zone B is considered the real Umbra Forest, where it is forbidden to raise one's voice; the Zone C is only accessible on foot, and the Zone D includes all the small towns within the forest. Therefore it is considered as the most urbanized area of all.