Stilfserjoch National Park: experience natural beauty

Plant life

The plants in Stilfserjoch National Park have adapted to the adverse conditions of the higher-lying terrain. They can cope well with the cold, storms and the intense rays of the sun. An example is the Glacier Buttercup, the record holder for altitude amongst the flowering plants in the Alps. This plant is protected beneath the snow until the snow melts and the first rays of the sun reach the soil. Then it blossoms and has been spotted even at 4,275 metres above sea level. While the snow is melting, on the other hand, the lilac-coloured flowers of the Snowbell catch the eye of mountain climbers. Stilfserjoch National Park continues to amaze thanks to the will of its plants to survive.

The habitat of endangered species

A hike in Stilfserjoch National Park takes you into marmot country. Anyone who has ever been hiking here will have heard the sharp whistle that these funny little chipmunks emit to warn their kind of potential danger. With a little luck, you can see one squatting on its hind legs to survey its surroundings. Only their habit of hibernating for six to seven months a year allows these cute Alpine dwellers to use the inhospitable high terrain as their habitat. An especially exciting experience is sighting a bearded vulture flying free. This has been possible in Stilfserjoch National Park for some time. In Martelltal valley, eleven young bearded vultures were released into the wild between the years 2000 to 2008. A few pairs have already made the nature reserve their territory and two young vultures hatched in 2015 and 2016 in Martelltal valley. This was the first natural brood of bearded vultures to be born in South Tyrol for 100 years.