Vergari Regional Nature Reserve

The Vergari Regional Nature Reserve is a true paradise for those who love living in contact with nature, with hiking trails, water basins and waterfalls, around a river park with a unique ecosystem. We are in Mesoraca, in the province of Crotone, precisely in the Sila National Park. Nature is spectacular in the Vergari Reserve: the rare black stork nests here, in an unspoilt environment far from the invasive presence of humans, along with hawks, sparrowhawks, buzzards, eagle owls and grey herons.

The Vergari Valley river park is ideal for hiking and nature lovers, with a series of circular trails of varying degrees of difficulty. You can walk accompanied by the sounds of nature, the gurgling of the river or the powerful voice of the Lazzara Waterfall, breathing in the pure air. We recommend stopping at the natural pool of Curtiddruzzo for a refreshing swim, while on the trail called "Carrozzella" you can swim and slide down a moss-covered rock. The Vergari Regional Nature Reserve is one of the centres of manna production in Calabria, a sugary substance extracted from the bark of certain trees that is used as a sweetener but also in pharmaceuticals.

Among the traces of a distant past that attest to the importance of the Vergari Valley are the Shrine of Ecce Homo (1400), the Cistercian monastery of Sant'Angelo del Frigillo, the remains of old terraces, ancient water mills and numerous pastiddàri where chestnuts were processed.