New Trip Report – Italy

As far as I know, Gioia Vecchio has become the most reliable site to see a wild brown bear in Europe excluding Scandinavia. Late spring and late summer / early autumn are best periods of year, but sightings are reported in most non-winter months. The site is easily reachable by car, no need to trek at all, you park the car in the old church’s backyard and scan the valley in front of you. Of course, you need to be there at dawn or dusk and use a good scope, cause bears can be quite far away. Personally, I was there twice last year (one afternoon in june and one afternoon in september) and had the bear both times. Lots of red deer and wild boar too, sometimes even wolf is reported, but random. The site is becoming a little crowded because of its increasing popularity, but you don’t disturb the animals due to hill-top position.
Luca