The Bosco della Ficuzza nature reserve, Rocca Busambra, Bosco del Cappelliere and Gorgo del Drago is a protected natural area of ​​the Sicily Region.

It protects the widest wooded area of ​​western Sicily.

The whole area was spared from deforestation until the early nineteenth century; later it was used as a reserve of firewood.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century Ferdinando I built the "Casina Reale di caccia".

The whole forest covers a series of natural environments (holm oak, cork oak, oak grove, cerreto, arbusteto, lacustrine area and prairies) in an area of ​​7,398.30 hectares and involves the municipalities of Corleone, Godrano, Mezzoiso, Marineo and Monreale.

The reserve is rich in torrential rivers, which form several natural ponds, the so-called "gorghi".

On the north-eastern border of the reserve is Lake Scanzano, or Lake Madonna delle Grazie, an artificial basin obtained by damming the Eleuterio stream.

In the Bosco della Ficuzza there are also two permanent artificial ponds called Coda di Riccio.

The reserve, in addition to several species of trees, hosts a lot of orchids and 80% of the animal species, including birds and wildlife, of the entire Sicily.

Points of interest are the source of the Acqua Ammucciata, the Alpe Ramosa, the Alpe Cucco, the Cozzo Fanuso (1078 m), the Gorgo del drago, the Grotta del Romito, the Laghetti Coda di Riccio, the Peschiera del Re, the Peschiera del Re (927 m), the Rocca Busambra (1613 m) which is the highest peak of the chain of the Sicani mountains, as well as the highest relief of western Sicily.

And more: the Torre del Bosco, the Valle Agnese, the Valle della Felce, the Real Casina di Ficuzza Hunting, the Rifugio Alpe Cucco, the Rifugio Val dei Conti, the Ethno-anthropological Museum Godranopoli of Godrano, and the Regional Wildlife Recovery Center "Ficuzza", located near the homonymous town, next to the Real Casina di Caccia; this structure, in addition to providing assistance to wildlife in difficulty, houses a teaching room where films and slide projections can be viewed on the reserve.

For information: Azienda Foreste Demaniali della Regione Sicilia Tel 091 6274111

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