Five of Europe's best national parks with all the beauty but none of the crowds | European holidays

Aigestortes and Estany de Sant MauriciSpain

There is a wild and wonderful aquatic world in the northeastern corner of Spain. of Aigestortes and Estany de Sant Maurici national park, in the central Pyrenees north of Lleida, is characterized by more than 200 lakes fed by melting snow and ice, plus rivers and streams, gorges, waterfalls and marshes. (Aigestortes means winding waters in Catalan, and Sant Maurici is the largest lake.)

Visitors can explore by bike, there are 13 routes, from flat family trails to challenging mountain biking. There are also 27 hiking trails with spectacular views over the lakes, which reflect the surrounding forests and mountains. These include Los Encantados, a pair of nearly identical peaks. The wildlife includes bearded vultures and barbels, one of the emblems of the Pyrenees.

IN Boi Valley, eight Romanesque churches and a hermitage, all built in the 11th and 12th centuries, are characterized by high narrow bell towers. You can visit them all in one day, walking between the villages. After that, walkers can rest inside Caldes de Boi Thermal Spawhich is set in large gardens and has 37 natural springs.

June and July are among the best times to visit, to experience the Fallas festivals. In these centuries-old midsummer rituals, huge torches descend from the mountains into the villages, where a huge bonfire is lit and the festivities begin. This year, the dates are June 14 in Durro, June 23 in Bo, July 6 in Barruera, July 13 in Erill la Vall, July 19 in Tall and July 26 in el Pla de lErmita.

Accommodation includes Aigestortes Camping Resort (from 25 for one field to two) and a network of mountain sheltersincluding Half done, half done (40 B&Bs). Wild camping is not allowed. There are daily coach services from Barcelona, ​​Lleida and Tremp to most villages around the park, and from June to September a park bus connects the two main entrances, Boi and Espot.

mercantour, France

In the far southeast corner of France, between the southernmost Alps and the Mediterranean Sea, it lies Mercantour National Park. Half a dozen uninhabited valleys stretch for 100 miles, from Barcelonnette to Sospel, with villages scattered around the outskirts. This diverse landscape, from near-alpine to coastal, provides a habitat for a large range of wildlife. Of more than 2000 species of flowers and plants, 200 are rare and 30 are endemic; there are 200 species of birds, including golden eagles and ptarmigans, and 78 mammals, including wolves, marmots and all six French ungulates (deer, elk, wild boar, chamois, chamois and mouflon).

One place not to be missed is the Valley of Wonders, a huge archaeological site with around 40,000 rock carvings, with the oldest dating back to around 3,000 BC. They depict daily life and beliefs, with carvings of cattle, weapons and geometric figures. Other highlights include the glacial lakes of Vens, which feed a series of waterfalls, and Lake Allos, Europe's largest high-altitude natural lake.

For hikers there are more than 1,000 miles of trails (about 350 miles in the heart of the park), from gentle walks in meadows and forests to strenuous mountain treks, the highest peak, Glas, is 3,143 meters.

A website for climbers details more than 100 day walks, about 20 itineraries from two to seven days, and the 17-day, 140-mile Grande Traverse du Mercantour. It also lists accommodation from hotels to campsites. Mountain lodges offer dormitory beds and shared meals: they include La Cantonniere, Vence Lakes Refuge, Accommodation Cougourde AND House of Madonna de Fenestre (from 20pp). Wild tent camping is prohibited, but bivouacs are permitted between 7:00 PM and 9:00 AM.

Many visitors choose to stay in one of the towns along the main road that runs south of the park, such as St-Martin-de-Entraunes, St-Sauveur-sur-Tine, St-Etienne-de-Tine and St-Martin-Vsubie.

Car-free travel is encouraged: there are daily buses from Nice, Monaco and Menton to each valley, and shuttles within the valley, plus a tourist train line from Nice that goes to several villages. In summer, there are dedicated buses for hikers, also from Nice.

Eifel, Germany

Strictly speaking, Eifel National Park in North Rhine-Westphalia, in far western Germany, is still classified as developing was established 20 years ago, and it will take another 10 years for 75% of the land to return to nature. But more than half of the area has already been redeveloped. Beech and oak trees that would once have been cut down are now left as undisturbed forests, and animals such as wild cats, woodpeckers, red deer and rare lizards and bats have returned. There is a red deer observation gallery near Dreiborn September and October are the best times to visit, to observe the rutting season. Rivers attract black storks and kingfishers, and wild daffodils can be found on the Dreiborn Plateau. At the birdwatching station on Lake Urftsee, there are two telescopes to see black storks, red-and-black kites, herons and cormorants.

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One of the best ways to explore the park is in four days, 53 miles The desert path. Visitors can walk it independently or book a package, which includes three nights B&B and bus and train transfers (from £269pp). There are also five shorter walking circuits (from three to 11 miles each); 65 miles of bike paths; and 40 miles of bridle. Free walking tours run most days, and there are boat tours in the summer.

In 2014, Eifel became the first dark sky international park in Germany. Vogelsang Observatory organizes regular astronomy workshops and dark sky walks. Historic sites include Monschau Castle, Steinfeld Monastery and Mariawald Abbey.

Around 30 national park lodges offer eco-friendly accommodation, including two campsites and nine guesthouses. Overnight guests are entitled to GsteCardwhich offers free bus and train travel in the discovery region of the Eifel National Park, which stretches from the Dutch border in Aachen to Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen.

Risnjak, Croatia

Mountainous, wooded Risnjak National Park it bears the name of one of its rarest inhabitants, the lynx bobcat in Croatian. It contains the Risnjak and Snjenik massifs in the northern part of the Dinaric Alps and is an important habitat for brown bears, wolves and wild goats. Birds include capercaillie and pygmy owl; 89 species of butterflies have been recorded and a variety of wild orchids grow there.

Visitors can hike to the source of the Kupa River, a bright turquoise pool, through the magnificent Butterfly Valley (35 minutes); follow the Leska educational trail to learn about the park (three miles), or climb the 11 peaks Risnjaku is the highest at 1528 meters, with Snjenik at 1506 meters. Panoramic views stretch across Istria, the Adriatic is only 11 miles away and up to the Julian Alps in Slovenia. In the summer, he instructed goat sore tour (from 65 for five hours). Cycle routes range from 2 to 25 miles (mountain bike rental is from 4 for three hours / 12 for 24 hours). Fly fishing for brown trout and grayling is allowed from spring to autumn (55 per day).

Only about 60 people still live in the park. Limited accommodation includes a guest house and guesthouse in the mountain village of Crni Lug (13 beds), one mile from the main entrance, and a refuge below the summit of Risnjak, built by botanist Josip Schlosser in 1932. There are more options in Delnice, the most nearby (eight miles away), and even more so in Rijeka, the nearest city, on the coast about 100 minutes' drive away.

Buses run from Delnice and Rijeka to Crni Lug, or it's a 90-minute drive from Zagreb. Entry fee is 6 adults/3 children.

Peneda-Gers, Portugal

There is only one national park in Portugal: Peneda-Gers, in the far north-west, near the border with Spain. Fortunately, it has a little bit of everything: mountains, oak forests, scrub forests, wildflower meadows, peatlands, rivers and waterfalls. It is home to endemic species such as the golden-banded salamander, endangered species including the Iberian wolf and Iberian wild goat, plus roe deer, wild garrano ponies, barros cattle and cattle dogs.

There are approx 15 official day hiking trails ranging from a few kilometers to a 16-mile round trip taking in a megalithic necropolis and a bird-watching plateau. Other routes go through medieval castles, monasteries and shrines. But the best way to explore the park is in the open GR50, a 120-mile, 19-stage route along Roman roads, pilgrim trails and smugglers' trails. The GR50 traverses the hills of Castro Laboreiro, the mountains of Peneda, Soajo, Serras Amarela and Gers, and the Mourela Plateau. Each stage ends in a village about 9,000 people live in the park with simple lodges and guesthouses to stay.

On shorter trips, visitors can combine a stage or two with some canoeing or canyoning. Super-fit can run it: there is one Trail running event in May with races over five distances from 10 to 100 miles.

The easiest way to reach the park on public transport is by bus from Braga to the city of Gers, a five-minute walk from one of the park's five gates.