To see primeval forests or mountains where wolf, lynx, or brown bear still roam freely you do not need to travel to very distant places - yet. It is enough to visit one of the Certified PAN Parks in Europe. 

What is PAN Parks wilderness?
Wilderness has been defined as a major component for PAN Parks. PAN Parks wilderness is a large area of land, (at least 10,000 hectares) which, together with its native plant and animal communities and the ecosystems of which they are a part, is in an essentially natural state. PAN Parks wilderness areas are that lands that have been least modified by man, they represent the most intact and an undisturbed expanse of Europe’s remaining natural landscapes.

Why to have wilderness areas?
They greatly contribute to the conservation of biodiversity helping to protect rare plant and animal species from extinction or endangerment. Furthermore, wilderness provides us with a number of vital environmental services such as clean air, water.
Finally, these areas offer visitors an extraordinary experience of nature.

On the long run, with increasing numbers of  PAN Parks there will be ever-more opportunities for wilderness tourists, more understanding and hopefully more love for wilderness. With more wilderness lovers, we all become stronger and more effective in our task to protect European wilderness heritage.

Wilderness zones in PAN Parks
The hectares and percentages below show the size of the first European certified wilderness areas, the contribution of each park management to the concept of European Wilderness:

Bieszczady National Park
size 29,202 ha - wilderness/core 18,425 ha
63,1 %


Fulufjället National Park
size 38,414 ha - wilderness/core 23,048 ha 
60,00 %

Oulanka National Park
size 27,720 ha - wilderness/core 10,000 ha,
36,07 %

Central Balkan National Park
size 71,669 ha - wilderness/core 21,019 ha
29,32%

Retezat National Park
size 38,138 ha - wilderness/core 14,215 ha
37,27%