Habitats and Wildlife
Visitors come to the National Park from all over the world because of the amazing scenery and the wildlife that lives here.
Nowhere else in Britain do such a collection of outstanding environments come together in a relatively small area to form such distinctive landscapes. It's the mountains that make the Park and the ski road and car parks at 2000 feet on the flanks of Cairn Gorm mean everyone can experience a little bit of what the mountains are all about. Alternatively, you can drive along Glen Muick into the shadow of dark Lochnagar or spend a day in the Angus Glens. Footpaths from the Linn of Dee and Glen Feshie soon put you in amongst the hills where you can appreciate something of the wild and remote without going too far.
The ancient Caledonian forests are one of the area's most distinctive features. The visitor centres at Rothiemurchus and Glenmore Forest Park in Strathspey and Glen Tanar in Deeside are great starting points for exploring. The ranger base at Nethy Bridge explores the relationship between the forests and the people who lived and worked in them. And the RSPB Osprey Centre at Loch Garten has binoculars, telescopes and friendly, helpful staff to tell you all about the wildlife.
There are also fantastic natural birch woodlands in the National Park. Trails wind through them at Craigellachie National Nature Reserve, Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve and Morrone Birchwood.
Lochs and rivers offer great opportunities for peace and quiet and of course, wildlife watching. Two internationally important wetlands in the Park have footpaths and easy access: Loch Kinord and Insh Marshes National Nature Reserve, where there are also birdwatching hides from which you can see, and hear, huge flocks of geese and swans in winter and wildfowl in summer.
Over half of the National Park is covered by moorland and there's nothing quite like the feeling of wide, open spaces that they offer. The road from Grantown to Ballater passes through the biggest area of moorland in the Park. There are lots of places to stop, get out of the car and sample the fresh air and freedom.
Moreover, these different habitats are home to plants and animals rarely seen anywhere else in Britain. Over a quarter of the UK's rare species found here and for some, like the red squirrel, capercaillie and others, this is their last stronghold in the whole of Britain.
