A trove of biodiversity
You set off between clearings and forest margins where roe deer can be glimpsed disappearing quickly among the trees. As you ascend, the landscape opens up to the semi-dry calcareous grasslands of Prada, poor pastures on stony ground, never fertilized but nevertheless extraordinarily fertile.
Arnica, gentians, hypericum and dozens of other species blossom together in an ancient equilibrium established from a single annual mowing cycle. The best mountain hay grows around Prada, feeding livestock and sustaining families for generations. The farmers slept on hay in the barns to recover their strength after a hard day's work.
Higher up the ground steepens and chamois appear on the ridges. A short diversion leads to a mud-hole, a dense pool where deer go to wallow during the mating season.
Your gaze rises upwards to golden eagles circling in the open skies, a sign of a healthy ecosystem, as the landscape opens up into the distance, all the way to Lake Molveno.
Prada offers more than just meadows. It is a demonstration that people, working with care and patience, can live without harming nature, instead safeguarding it.
