Zompo lo Schioppo is the highest natural waterfall of the Apennines. It is located in the Monti Cantari, at the foot of extensive beech woods that cover almost all the valley amphitheatre in the borough of Morino. Although the land is calcareous, it is rich in springs and surface water.
Apart from the beech trees, the woods are made up from yews, maples and sorbs. Higher up there is widespread common juniper, meadowlands with lilies, ranunculus and various species of wild orchids.
(Fabio Bussi)
The fauna is not only characterized by the wolf, the pine marten, the bear and the roe deer, but also by the sparrow hawk, the goshawk, the white backed woodpecker, the spectacled salamander and the dipper.
A visit to the reserve is particularly suggestive in the spring when the waterfall is at its full.