Riserva Naturale Regionale Tevere-Lago di Montedoglio
Just north of Città di Castello, the Tiber is still a young, clear-running river and the Lago di Montedoglio reservoir that feeds it has become one of the most important wetland bird habitats in central Italy. Herons, cormorants, osprey and migrating waders gather here in numbers that surprise even experienced birders, set against a backdrop of Apennine ridges.
The lake and its wildlife
Lago di Montedoglio was created in the 1990s by a dam on the Tiber and quickly colonised by waterbirds. The western shore near the village of Montedoglio has a marked nature trail and two wooden observation hides that overlook the reed beds where Great Reed Warblers, Purple Herons and, in winter, Bitterns are regularly recorded. Spring migration (April–May) and autumn migration (September–October) are the peak seasons.
The river corridor south of the lake, between the dam and Città di Castello, is designated as a regional nature reserve and the gravel banks here are nesting habitat for Little Ringed Plovers and Common Sandpipers. Otters have been recolonised along this stretch and are occasionally seen at dawn from the riverside path near Lerchi.
Activities and access
The lake is popular with local windsurfers and kayakers in summer; the Centro Velico Montedoglio on the eastern shore rents kayaks and stand-up paddleboards by the hour and the water is clean and calm in the mornings. Cycling around the lake perimeter (approximately 14 km on mixed tarmac and gravel) is a pleasant half-day from Città di Castello using the flat riverside cycle path that starts at Porta San Giacomo.
The village of Montedoglio itself has a small bar-restaurant with a terrace directly above the water that serves straightforward Umbrian lunches – grilled trout from the river, pasta e fagioli – and is a fine place to end a morning on the water.
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