Valle del Fiume Argentino nature reserve

The Valle del Fiume Argentino nature reserve is a protected area in the municipality of Orsomarso, near the Lungro mountains, covering 3,980 hectares within the Pollino National Park; it was established in 1987. It is the heart of the area where the last native roe deer live, a species indigenous to the Calabrian Apennines, estimated at a few dozen animals. The variety of habitats also hosts wild boar, foxes, hares, stone martens, pine martens, weasels, hedgehogs, black squirrels and important colonies of diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey. The woods alternate coppice, high forest and scrub: from the Bosnian pine along the north-eastern edges to beech and silver fir, which in the side valleys descend to 200 metres, and then ash, Turkey oak, maple, alder, chestnut, holm oak, broom, strawberry tree and myrtle. Places to reach include the Tavolara pond, the Ficara waterfall, the Pietra Campanara, a block of rock on the slopes of the Palanuda, the Canale Tufo, Ceraseo and Quagliarone springs and the cave of the Madonna di Lourdes, rich in stalactites and with a fine view. You can walk the Argentino gorges; on the nearby Lao you can go canoeing and rafting.