Trentino is a land of woods, valleys and mountains where many wild animals still live. There is the brown bear, the symbol of these mountains, and then deer, chamois, ibex and marmots. Some can be seen up close in parks and wildlife areas made for families, others live free and, with a little patience, let themselves be spotted during a walk. In this guide we take you to the best places to encounter the wildlife of Trentino, from the enclosures that house animals who can no longer live free to the nature parks where wild life reigns. We will say one thing honestly right away: free animals are never seen on command, and that is part of the beauty. We at Italy Holiday have been welcoming guests to this land for a long time, and these are the places we would recommend to a friend who loves nature.

1. San Romedio Sanctuary, the bear's hermitage in Val di Non

The San Romedio Sanctuary is one of the most striking places in Trentino: five tiny churches stacked one above the other on a rock spur, linked by a covered staircase of 131 steps. Its story of pilgrimage goes back a thousand years, and is tied to the legend of Saint Romedius, who, the tale says, tamed a bear and used it to reach Trento. For this reason the bear has always been the symbol of the place.

At the foot of the sanctuary, along the stream, there is a wildlife enclosure that is home to a brown bear. You can watch it from a terrace, without disturbing it. The sanctuary is reached by a short walk from Sanzeno, in Val di Non. Keep in mind that the access path can be closed during certain times of the year: check the up-to-date opening times on the official website before you set off.

2. The bear of San Romedio, a story of rescued animals

The San Romedio enclosure is not a zoo in the usual sense. For many years it has taken in bears who can no longer live free, because they grew up in captivity or were rescued from difficult situations. The bear that lives here today arrived after a long life elsewhere and spends its years here, in a shaded space crossed by water, far larger than the places where it had lived before.

It is good to know this, because it changes the meaning of the visit: this is not an animal put on show, but a cared-for bear that would have nowhere else to go. Seeing it up close is an experience that stays with you, especially for children, and it tells well the ancient bond between these mountains and the brown bear.

3. Spormaggiore Wildlife Park, bears, wolves and lynx of the Alps

The Spormaggiore Wildlife Park, known as BELPARK, is one of the best places in the Alps to see the great forest animals up close. Here live brown bears, a pack of wolves, a few European lynx, as well as foxes, wildcats, deer and eagle owls, each in large enclosures that recreate their natural habitat. Many of these animals come from seizures or from situations in which they could no longer live free.

It is a place made for families: besides the enclosures there are a teaching farm, a play area and a trail that climbs towards Castel Belfort. It is in Spormaggiore, between Val di Non and the Paganella plateau. Opening times and days change with the seasons, so it is best to check the up-to-date information on the official website before your visit.

4. Adamello Brenta Nature Park, the realm of the brown bear

The Adamello Brenta Nature Park is the largest protected area in Trentino, over 600 square kilometres between the Adamello mountains and the Brenta Dolomites, a UNESCO site. Here, between the late 1990s and the early 2000s, a few brown bears were released as part of a conservation project: it is from that small group that today's population of bears in the central Alps descends.

Besides the bear, the park is home to deer, chamois and ibex, which move freely among woods, pastures and peaks. Here there are no enclosures: the animals are truly wild, and for that very reason spotting them is never guaranteed. The best way is to walk in silence at dawn or dusk, or to join the guided outings organised by the park, where those who know the mountains help you read the animals' tracks and signs.

5. Paneveggio Park, the deer of the forest of violins

The Paneveggio Pale di San Martino Nature Park guards one of the most famous forests in Italy: the Paneveggio wood, called the forest of violins, because its red spruces with their special wood have been sought for centuries by violin makers to build musical instruments. Among these trees live the deer, the real stars of the park.

Near the visitor centre there is a large wildlife enclosure where a group of deer lives in almost natural conditions, easy to reach even with children on a short walk. But the most thrilling moment is autumn: between late September and early October the male deer give their deep call, the rut bellow, and the park organises guided evening outings to hear it in the heart of the wood. It lies in eastern Trentino, towards the Rolle Pass and San Martino di Castrozza.

6. Stelvio National Park, marmots and high-altitude wildlife

The Trentino part of the Stelvio National Park takes in Val di Peio and Val di Rabbi, a still-untouched nature that climbs from the woods up to the glaciers of the Ortles-Cevedale massif. It is one of the best places in Trentino to encounter high-altitude wildlife, and the easiest animal to see is the marmot: there are many colonies, and in summer its sharp whistle often rings out across the pastures.

Climbing higher, with a little luck, you can also spot chamois and ibex among the rocks, while in the lower woods live deer, roe deer and foxes. The visitor centres of Peio and Rabbi help you discover the park, and at Peio Fonti there is a wildlife area. Here too the rule of wild nature applies: sightings are never guaranteed, but walking calmly and keeping your eyes open does most of the work.

Where to stay to discover the nature of Trentino

If you look at the map of these places, you notice that the wildlife of Trentino is concentrated mostly to the north and west of Trento: Val di Non with San Romedio and Spormaggiore, the Brenta Dolomites of the Adamello Brenta park, and further away the valleys of the Stelvio and Paneveggio. From our area in Valsugana, around the lakes of Caldonazzo, Levico and Calceranica, most of these places are within reach for a day trip, with Trento as a handy point of passage.

It is an ideal base for exactly this: in the morning you set off towards the parks and wildlife areas, and in the evening you come back to within minutes of the water, between beach and mountains. In a single holiday you can show your children a bear at the sanctuary, hear the deer's autumn bellow and look for marmots among the high pastures.

We at Italy Holiday welcome guests in this very area, in homes made to feel like your own from the first moment. If you dream of a holiday among nature and wild animals, discover where to stay near the lakes of Valsugana and set off to explore the wildlife of Trentino: it is waiting for you.