Parco Avventura Val di Vara: forest courses and a 250-metre zip line

Half an hour inland from Sestri Levante, near Tavarone in the municipality of Maissana, lies the Parco Avventura Val di Vara. It belongs to the Giandriale farm stay, whose 150 hectares of mountains, woods and meadows lie within a Natura 2000 protected area. You climb in an old forest of holm oaks, cedars, spruces and oaks.

Four colours and a children's forest

The four courses are sorted by colour: blue at 1 to 2 metres from age six, green at 4 to 5 metres and yellow at 2.5 to 5 metres, both from age seven, and red at 9 to 15 metres. For red you first have to pass an access test with the instructors; teenagers from 12 may do it only with an adult on the course, from 16 with an adult on the ground.

Separate from these is the Foresta dei Bambini, a nature trail 1 to 1.5 metres off the ground for children aged three to five.

Then there is the super zip line: 250 metres in a single span. According to the operator it is the longest tree-to-tree zip line in Italy. Body weight must not exceed 110 kg.

Prices and rules

Adults from 16 pay 25 €, teenagers aged 10 to 15 pay 22 €, children aged 7 to 9 pay 18 €. Six-year-olds pay 12 €, and children aged three to five pay 10 € for one hour in the Foresta dei Bambini. A ride on the super zip line costs an extra 10 €. A ticket covers three hours; more than four hours are not allowed. Tickets are valid all season and need no reservation.

Closed shoes and a T-shirt with at least half-length sleeves are compulsory, and long hair must be tied back. Meals are served at the organic farm stay next door, which is also the starting point for hiking trails.

Open until 22 November

The season starts at the beginning of April. In August the park is open daily, in early summer and early September from Tuesday to Sunday, otherwise at weekends and on public holidays, always from 10.30 am to 6.30 pm. This autumn it is open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays until 22 November. It is closed from December to March and during thunderstorms or strong wind; if the weather is uncertain, call ahead. On closing days it opens for groups of ten or more by reservation.

The Parco Avventura Val di Vara is new in the directory, together with more than 100 other parks from Italy and Switzerland. More parks on the coast and in the hinterland are listed under Liguria.