Experience The Magic of Wolf Watching in Italy
The European Nature Trust, in partnership with Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo, invites you to an exclusive wolf watching trip in the wild heart of Italy. This immersive 4-night Coexistence Adventure takes you into one of Europe’s key strongholds for wolf populations, while directly supporting the coexistence of wolves and people.
Guided by conservationists from Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo and award-winning writer Adam Weymouth, observe and connect with one of Europe’s most captivating predators in the landscape it has always called home. Delight in Italian cuisine and state-of-the-art spa at the stunning Villa Parco accommodation, and discover a new, wilder side of a country dearly held by so many.
Why The Winter Wolf Watching Adventure?
A mosaic of highly biodiverse forests, grasslands, valleys, and river systems, the Apennine mountains form one of the best locations in all of Europe to witness wolves in their natural habitat. With sun-dappled peaks framing cascading forested valleys and ridgelines coated in rich beechwood, this area is home to an abundance of Italian wildlife. This includes the Marsican brown bear, chamois, and wild boar. There are golden eagles, griffon vultures, wild boar, alongside endemic species unique to the region.
The Winter Wolf Watching adventure takes you into the heart of the wolf’s historic home. Beyond wolf watching, you’ll learn about their ecology, their history, and the coexistence programmes designed to enable wolves and people to live alongside one another. And, led by wolf ecologists we’ve worked with for decades, you’ll have the best possible chances of observing wolves in the wild. This trip will be hosted by award-winning writer and TENT Ambassador Adam Weymouth, whose book Lone Wolf charts the revival of wolves across the European continent.
As you attune to the natural rhythms of Abruzzo, details of nature begin to emerge. You may hear woodpeckers drilling into tree trunks, spot eagles circling overhead, or find scratch marks left by Marsican bears in the bark of beech trees. Each of these moments builds a picture of an ecosystem that is genuinely wild and genuinely intact.
So, unlike conventional wildlife holidays, this is a true conservation-led wolf watching adventure. You’ll, therefore, travel slowly, observe carefully, and connect with one of Europe’s most captivating predators in the landscape it has always called home.
Crucially, 50% of your trip cost is a direct donation to Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo. So, your booking actively supports wolf conservation in Italy from the moment you confirm your place. You’ll be supporting the future of the wolves you’ll be looking out for.
The Wildlife and Landscapes of Abruzzo National Park
Your Conservation Impact
Brought Back From The Brink
Captivating and often misunderstood, the wolf is an iconic species for Europe. Once present across the entire continent, the species has naturally recolonised and now can be found in 21 EU countries.
Wolves are part of Italy’s native fauna and are deeply embedded in the country’s cultural history. Most famously, they appear in the Roman origin story, nurturing Romulus and Remus.
However, despite being vital carnivores in regulating landscapes, wolves have long been villainised. As a result, across the 18th and 19th centuries, wolves were heavily persecuted, and their numbers plummeted. By the 1970s, fewer than 100 wolves remained in Italy. In Abruzzo, though, wolves found refuge in the remote Apennines, and over time, legal protections and socioeconomic factors allowed populations to recover. As a result, Italy now supports more than 3,500 wolves.
The Refuge of the Apeninnines
Rugged and forested, the Apennine Mountains provide vital habitat for wolves, with dense woodland and abundant wild prey. There is also a connected network of protected parks that largely shield them from human disturbance. However, as wolf populations recover and return to areas from which they were historically driven, they increasingly encounter landscapes where traditional practices of coexistence have faded, leading to a rise in human wolf conflict.
In Abruzzo, however, wolves have always maintained a presence. Here, our partners at Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo are working to strengthen and share this long-standing model of coexistence, helping to support a more balanced future for both wolves and local communities across Italy.
How This Winter Wolf Watching Adventure Supports Conservation
Guided by conservationists from Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo, the Winter Wolf Watching Adventure offers a unique insight into the work being done to support coexistence between healthy wolf populations and the communities that live alongside them.
What’s more, a total of 50% of your trip cost is donated directly to the organisation, helping to fund vital initiatives such as population monitoring, the development of protected habitat corridors, and on-the-ground support for local communities to reduce human wolf conflict.
50% Of Your Trip Cost Is A Donation
Your participation helps fund:
• Effective wolf population monitoring
• Establishment of wildlife corridors between protected areas
• Community engagement and education
• Wolf damages and conflict prevention
• Anti-poisoning and anti-poaching units
Meet The Conservation Partners & Guides
From communication campaigns to tangible coexistence interventions, Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo leads wolf conservation work across the Apennine and Alpine regions of Italy. Their programmes span ecological research, community engagement, citizen science, and conflict mitigation with shepherd communities. Together, these efforts help secure the future of wolves in Italy and contribute to wider European wildlife conservation.
The organisation also delivers campaigns that improve public understanding of the wolf’s ecological role and how communities can live effectively alongside the species. In addition, they promote the adoption of preventative wolf-damage measures in farms and livestock-rearing activities. Because of this, their work is as practical as it is scientific.
Furthermore, as wolf populations have expanded across Italy and Europe, new challenges around coexistence have emerged. Your participation and contribution help address these challenges directly. It supports field research, community programmes, and the long-term monitoring that healthy wolf populations depend on. So, your booking allows you to play a meaningful role in one of Europe’s most important conservation stories.
Your Apennine Winter Wolf Watching Journey
Day 1 | Welcome to Pescasseroli, Abruzzo
Upon your arrival in Rome, you will be collected and transferred to your accommodation in Pescasseroli – the stunning, recently opened Villa Parco. After settling and a brief introduction from host and wolf expert Adam Weymouth, your private guide, Umberto Esposito, will meet you for your first opportunity to spot wild wolves. Return to Villa Parco for beautiful Italian cuisine.
Day 2 | Dawn to Dusk Wolf Spotting Tours
Your first morning will start with a sunrise departure for a hike along the southern slope of the surrounding mountain. Enjoy golden panoramic views across pristine habitat for deer, other wild ungulates. Where there are prey, wolves prowl. In the afternoon, we will visit the Civitella Alfedena, where we can visit the Apennine Wolf Museum to learn about the rich history of wolves in the area.
Finally, relax in the hotel and enjoy the state-of-the-art sauna and spa. You can book optional massage treatments (rates excluded) before heading out for an evening wolf watching hike, hearing echoes of howls throughout the mountain peaks.
Day 3 | Exploring the Mount Meta and Mainarde Mountain Range
Our third day starts with another dawn adventure, exploring the Mainarde mountain range with inspiring, rugged, and wild mountains. With your guide, you will hike to Passo dei Monaci, identifying iconic species like deer and chamois. Relax in the afternoon as we return to the valley for a cup of hot chocolate with homemade biscuits.
Day 4 | Valleys, Orchards, and Italy’s Wildlife
On our final day, we explore the picturesque Giovenco Valley, beginning among the colourful apple orchards of Ortona dei Marsi. Accompanied by your guide, you’ll discover the vital wildlife corridors linking the Central Apennine national parks and learn how local communities are working to coexist alongside returning wildlife. We then return to the valley in the late morning for a final lunch together before departure.
Winter Wolf Watching Adventure Accommodation
Villa Parco, Pescasseroli
Villa Parco is an intimate boutique hotel in Pescasseroli, set among the mountains and ancient beech forests of the Apennines within the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park. Its nine rooms combine contemporary design with mountain views, while facilities include a stunning restaurant serving modern Abruzzese cuisine, a guest spa with sauna, Turkish bath and hydromassage, massage treatments, a garden and cosy fireplace.
Here, you’ll have the chance to unwind in boutique luxury after mornings and evenings spent looking for bears and wolves in the surrounding area. Enjoy the panoramic outdoor drinks terrace; return to stunning indoor and outdoor fires; rest and relax in the all-new, state-of-the-art spa and enjoy optional massage treatments.
Meet Your Hosts
Throughout this adventure, you’ll be accompanied by TENT Ambassador Adam Weymouth. Adam is an award-winning writer and journalist whose work explores the often complicated relationship between people and the wild. His latest book, Lone Wolf, follows the thousand-mile journey of Slavc, a wolf who travelled from Slovenia across the Alps and into northern Italy, where his arrival helped spark the return of wolves to a landscape from which they had been absent for more than a century. Here you can enjoy an interview between Adam and TENT Trustee Catherine Capon.
To write the book, Weymouth retraced Slavc’s route on foot, travelling through the mountains, farms and communities of Central Europe and speaking with farmers, conservationists, hunters and others living alongside the returning wolves. His reporting examines not only the ecology and history of the wolf, but also the fear, fascination and conflicting ideas about rewilding that surround its return.
You’ll also be hosted by the Vice President of Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo, Francesco Romito, who has dedicated his career to improving the coexistence between wolves and people. Join expert wildlife guides from Wildlife Adventures, who have spent decades understanding the ecology of this beautiful Italian region.
Violet Leveson Gower
Ranger, Alladale Wilderness Reserve
Francesco Romito
Vice President
Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo
Umberto Esposito
Founder & Guide
Wildlife Adventures
Frequently Asked Questions
While no wildlife sighting can ever be guaranteed, the Abruzzo, Lazio, and Molise National Park is one of the most reliable locations for wolf watching in Europe. Your guides from Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo also bring years of field experience in these landscapes and a deep knowledge of local wolf movement patterns. The itinerary is structured around dawn and dusk, when wolf activity is at its highest. Sighting success has been strong on previous trips, and the multi-day format across known wolf territories maximises your chances significantly.
Very much so. The open mountain terrain, old-growth beechwood forest, and exceptional predator activity throughout the itinerary offer outstanding wildlife photography opportunities in Italy. Your guides will also position the group carefully and quietly for the best possible sightings. There is no requirement to bring specialist equipment, but those who do will find excellent conditions throughout the trip.
This trip suits most fitness levels. As such, activities include guided hikes of varying length, snow-shoeing, and time spent at observation points in the landscape rather than sustained strenuous exertion. The pace is therefore relaxed and adapted to the group. But if you have specific mobility considerations or health concerns, please mention these when you get in touch, and we’ll be happy to advise.
Yes, solo travellers are very welcome, and many of our solo guests find meeting like-minded wildlife lovers to be a highlight of the experience. However, a 20% single supplement applies if you would like sole occupancy of your accommodation.
The Winter Wolf Watching experience is recommended for adults and young adults aged 14 and over. Wolf watching requires patience and quiet observation over extended periods, which makes it most rewarding for those who can engage fully with the pace of the experience. If you have any questions about suitability, please get in touch before booking. And if you have particularly interested children, we will certainly accommodate.
Full details on payment schedules, alongside the terms and conditions of your booking, will be provided when you express interest. We require a 20% deposit payment to confirm your place(s); the full balance payment is then due 90 days before departure.
Villa Parco boasts a state-of-the-art sauna and spa facilities. Each day, we will have time for relaxation at the hotel. No activities are mandatory – if you would prefer to rest and recover, you are very welcome to.
Yes, you can see the full range of available treatments at Villa Parco here. These are made at an additional cost, and can be scheduled on your arrival.
Book Your Place.
Make An Impact.
If you want to immerse yourself in Italy’s most beautiful natural area, where ancient traditions of human-wildlife coexistence are being unearthed, this is the trip for you.
Complete the enquiry form, and a member of the TENT team will be in touch to discuss availability and next steps for your booking.
