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The arbutus, or strawberry tree, is found in the lower valleys off-route and bears red fruit in the autumn

Wildlife

Wild animals are rarely spotted in the mountains. There are herds of mouflon – wild, long-horned, short-haired sheep that graze on almost inaccessible ledges. Hundreds of them live on the island’s mountains. Wild boar are shy and seldom seen – a more common sight is herds of feral pigs, ranging from black to piebald and pink. Pigs, cattle and goats graze at prodigious heights in the mountains and can be found even on high rocky ridges. Shepherds keep track of them by listening for the bongling bells on lead animals. Foxes are nuisances around campsites, so guard your food!

Pigs are turned loose to forage for food through the summer and are rounded up before winter

Lizards and amphibians

Lizards can be spotted every day that the sun shines brightly, and trekkers may also catch a glimpse of the larger, slow-moving salamander in woodland or near rivers, with its black body speckled with yellow blobs to ward off would-be predators. A curious newt-like creature called the euprocte lives and spawns in most streams on the island, even high in the mountains.