Visitor Center of the State Forestry Corps, Monte Sant’Angelo

The true Umbra Forest (5,500 hectares) is the heart of the state-owned forest complexes of the Gargano (10,330 hectares), a botanical gem of Gargano and the entire Apulia region. The entire complex is a truly exemplary case of conservation, management, and facilities for the tourist use of a natural asset. In the Umbra Forest, the tree coverage consists mainly of broadleaf species, dominated by oaks, as well as Aleppo pines and beech forests. In the Dispensa area, on the right side of the road leading from the Umbra Forest towards the coast, following the Treasure Valley, you can admire the “giant of the forest” (signposted), a beech about 40 m tall and with a circumference at the base of over 5 m. The fauna includes roe deer, a native population characterized by its small size, as well as wild cats, beech martens, badgers, dormice, martens, foxes, squirrels, and numerous bird species, including the rare Dalmatian woodpecker and raptors such as the eagle owl, goshawk, buzzard, and sparrowhawk. Preferred spots for observation are the cutini, small karst depressions where rainwater collects, representing the only natural watering sources for the fauna. A short distance from the path (about 800 m) is located the Umbra Forest Visitor Center, where you can admire a 1:25,000 scale model of the Gargano promontory, lithic artifacts evidencing ancient human presence in Gargano, a wood collection, large photos of faunal and floral highlights, and a rich collection of stuffed wildlife specimens. The center features an outdoor area where a typical charcoal burner’s station has been reconstructed.