Wind Cave
A number of underground caves called the Wind Cave (“Grotta del vento”) are located on the territory of the Apuan Alps Natural Park, Parco Naturale delle Alpi Apuane. They are 4 500 meters long and 120 meters tall.
Garfagnana
Garfagnana is one of the most distinctive Italian places. The area stretches over the north-west of Tuscany in the province of Lucca.
Castelnuovo di Garfagnana is an informal capital of Garfagnana. Also the area includes fifteen small townships.
Garfagnana is located in the place where two great massifs of the Apuan Alps and the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines meet. To appreciate the indomitable nature of Garfagnana, you should visit the “Cave of the Wind” complex or take a risk and set off to Orrido di Botri Canyon.
The landscape of Garfagnana is very diverse. You can see here forbidding gulfs as well as green hills. Thanks to the third large Tuscan river, the Serchio, Garfagnana has abundant vegetation with lots of species of grass, bushes, and trees growing along its bed.
Parks and nature resorts have been created to preserve the unique flora of Garfagnana. The Nature Park of Orecchiella (Parco Naturale dell'Orecchiella) is one of them. It has preserved living conditions for such big animals as Apennine wolf, deer, moufflon, and wild boar.
Garfagnana is not considered to be the key destination of Tuscan tourist routs. However, it has everything for an exciting vacation. Hotels, villas and farms welcome tourists. At first sight, it seems that some of them are located in inaccessible places. A lot of hilly areas of Garfagnana have preserved traditional lifestyle same to the one they used to have a century ago.
Winter sports, horse riding, fishing in tarns, tracking are available for fun in Garfagnana. Abetone is the most famous mountain resort of the local area. The water resort of Bagni di Lucca is another well known place for recreation in Garfagnana. The resort flourished in the XIX century. Byron, Shelley, Dumas Senior, Rossini, Puccini visited it. It is remarkable that the first European casino was opened in Bagni di Lucca to attract tourists.
If you are fond of cultural recreation you should go to Barga. The city has distinctive architecture and long musical and literature traditions. Besides, you can visit such famous cities as Lucca and Pisa. Garfagnana is located right between them.
A vacation in Garfagnana is a chance to combine health improvement, fun and cultural recreation.
