It is an integral part of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park to which they were added later, the Alburni are a mountainous massif between the Sele valley and the Tanagro valley.
They extend for 23 kilometers in length and 10 in width and, due to their karst nature, they have physical characteristics similar to the Alps ones, to which they have been approached several times, enough to be identified as the Southern Alps. And the caves derive from the karst, the sinkholes: characteristic elements and the abundance of torrents, pools and waterfalls.
The whole mountain range takes its name from its highest peak, 1742 meters, Mount Alburno, from "albus" because of the light color of the peak, also known as Panormo, for the wide panorama it offers or because, perhaps, you can see Palermo fron the top. Other peaks are Monte della Nuda (1704 meters), Palommelle (1687), Colle Medoro 1482, Spina dell'Ausino 1441, Scanni 1413, Monte Pizzuto 1403, Figliolo 1364, Monte Timpone Petrosa 1139 and Mount Forloso 1102.
Mentioned by Virgil in the Georgics, the chain has a rich and diverse flora depending on the height. In the lower part, the climate is appropriate for Mediterranean scrub, olive trees and vines and then alder, poplar, maple, birch, willow, ash and oak. Then there are the broad-leaved trees with a prevalence of chestnut and black hornbeam, holly and lime, yew, oak, holm oak, service tree and ash and then, over a thousand meters, the silver fir, the rare Etna barberry and especially all the beech, with many species of mountain flowers.
The fauna is also very diverse. Both the mountain one and the one livng in the river areas, with the presence of numerous rare species.
