The WWF Wildlife Oasis at Pian dei Sali is a large plateau, particularly wet at high altitude, covering one and a half hectares in the territory of Finero, a hamlet of Malesco, and that of Villette, in Vigezzo Valley. Together with the Bosco Tenso Nature Reserve in Premosello Chiovenda, it is the only WWF nature reserve in the Val d’Ossola.
The flat marshy ground of Pian dei Sali is the ideal habitat for amphibians and reptiles, also thanks to the creation of small ponds shaded by centuries old pine trees. The most frequently observed amphibious species in the Pian dei Sali Nature Reserve is the common frog, which has an extraordinary ability to adapt to high altitudes. This wetland is populated prevalently by ungulates (roe deer, chamois and red deer), but it also easy to encounter woodpeckers, eagle owls and foxes.
Beech trees and resinous and grassy species of the abundant undergrowth make up the vegetation of the Pian dei Sali Reserve, which is interesting from the geological point of view too.
The most distinctive attraction at the WWF Pian dei Sali Nature Reserve is the curious human sundial: in this novel sundial, the visitor’s shadow serves to indicate the time engraved in the stone.