Beigua Geopark

The Parco Naturale Regionale del Beigua, recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark, rises steeply behind Varazze through a landscape of maritime pine, chestnut forest, and upland heath. The park protects the Beigua massif, a geologically unusual area where ancient ocean-floor rocks were pushed to the surface during the formation of the Alps. The resulting terrain is rugged and botanically distinctive.

From Varazze, several trails lead up into the park from the town's outskirts. The path to Monte Beigua (1,287m) takes 3–4 hours at a moderate pace and rewards with panoramic views from the Alps to the Apennines and across the Ligurian Sea. The park is also good for birdwatching — the mountain ridges funnel migrating raptors in spring and autumn, and peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs.

things to do sight wildlife
A story
The Beigua massif contains rocks that are among the rarest in Italy — "ophiolites," fragments of ancient ocean floor that were thrust upward by tectonic collision millions of years ago. These dark greenish rocks, rich in minerals including asbestos (now quarrying is banned), give the Beigua its distinctive colour and support an unusual flora adapted to the mineral-rich, nutrient-poor soils. UNESCO recognised the geopark in 2005 for the exceptional quality of its geological heritage.