Where to See the Alpine Three: 6 Parks Ranked by Real Odds

Q: Where is the best place to see the Alpine Three?

Mercantour National Park. In Mercantour National Park, France, the chance of seeing all 3 (marmot, ibex and chamois) on the same day is about 60%, the highest of the 6 parks where all of them live, and over a three-day visit it rises to over 90%. Next come Vanoise National Park (about 30% a day), Ecrins National Park (about 20% a day) and Hohe Tauern National Park (about 20% a day). It multiplies each animal's daily chance, as if they were independent, so read it as a rough guide.

Q: Which of the Alpine Three is hardest to see?

Ibex. In Mercantour National Park, the best park for the Alpine Three, about about 80% of wildlife watchers report the ibex on a given day, against about 80% for the chamois. The hardest one decides how many days you need.

Q: How do you complete the Alpine Three on Wallace's Line?

Mark them as seen. Tick ✓ Seen on each animal's card, add your trips, or link your iNaturalist account. Your passport counts the Alpine Three three ways: anywhere in the world, all in one park, and all in a single trip.

The checklist: 3 animals

LC

Marmota marmota

Daily sighting probability ~90% · Very likely

LC

Capra ibex

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely

LC

Rupicapra rupicapra

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely

Where to go

Chance of seeing in

Month by month at Mercantour National Park

~20%

Jan

~30%

Feb

~30%

Mar

~70%

Apr

>90%

May

>90%

Jun

>90%

Jul

>90%

Aug

>90%

Sep

~80%

Oct

~80%

Nov

~40%

Dec

Time of day

Where they are recorded most Parks with some of them

Parks

#	Park	Country	Animals	All 3 in 3 days
1	Mercantour National Park	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3	>90%
	Alpine Marmot			>90%
	Alpine Ibex			>90%
	Northern Chamois			>90%
2	Vanoise National Park	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3	~90%
	Alpine Marmot			>90%
	Alpine Ibex			>90%
	Northern Chamois			~90%
3	Ecrins National Park	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3	~80%
	Alpine Marmot			>90%
	Alpine Ibex			~90%
	Northern Chamois			~90%
4	Hohe Tauern National Park	🇦🇹 Austria	3 of 3	~70%
	Alpine Marmot			>90%
	Alpine Ibex			~90%
	Northern Chamois			~80%
5	Triglav National Park	🇸🇮 Slovenia	3 of 3	~60%
	Alpine Marmot			~70%
	Alpine Ibex			~90%
	Northern Chamois			~90%
6	Pyrénées National Park	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3	~30%
	Alpine Marmot			~90%
	Spanish Ibex			~40%
	Pyrenean Chamois			~90%
7	Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 3	Missing: Ibex
	Alpine Marmot			>90%
	Pyrenean Chamois			>90%
8	Tatra National Park	🇸🇰 Slovakia	2 of 3	Missing: Ibex
	Alpine Marmot			~80%
	Northern Chamois			>90%
9	Aigüestortes National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 3	Missing: Ibex
	Alpine Marmot			~90%
	Pyrenean Chamois			~90%
10	Picos de Europa National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 3	Missing: Marmot
	Spanish Ibex			~40%
	Pyrenean Chamois			>90%
11	Sierra Nevada National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 3	Missing: Marmot, Chamois
	Spanish Ibex			>90%
12	Sierra de Guadarrama National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 3	Missing: Marmot, Chamois
	Spanish Ibex			~70%
13	Arthur's Pass National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	1 of 3	Missing: Marmot, Ibex
	Northern Chamois			~40%
14	Fiordland National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	1 of 3	Missing: Marmot, Ibex
	Northern Chamois			~20%

Zoos & centres

#	Zoo / Centre	Country
1	Parc animalier de Merlet	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3 in captivity
2	Alpenzoo Innsbruck	🇦🇹 Austria	3 of 3 in captivity
3	Aran Park	🇪🇸 Spain	3 of 3 in captivity
4	Parc Animalier d'Introd	🇮🇹 Italy	3 of 3 in captivity
5	Parc animalier des Angles	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3 in captivity
6	Pyrénées Animal Park	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3 in captivity
7	wildlife park Feldkirch	🇦🇹 Austria	3 of 3 in captivity
8	Wildpark Peter und Paul	🇨🇭 Switzerland	3 of 3 in captivity
9	Zoo Hluboka	🇨🇿 Czechia	2 of 3 in captivity
10	Alpine Wildlife Park Pfänder	🇦🇹 Austria	2 of 3 in captivity
11	Cumberland Wildpark	🇦🇹 Austria	2 of 3 in captivity
12	Domaine des Grottes de Han	🇧🇪 Belgium	2 of 3 in captivity
13	Heimat-Tierpark Olderdissen	🇩🇪 Germany	2 of 3 in captivity
14	Hellabrunn Zoo	🇩🇪 Germany	2 of 3 in captivity
15	Lüneburg Heath Wildlife Park	🇩🇪 Germany	2 of 3 in captivity
16	Molló Parc Aventura	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 3 in captivity
17	Parque Faunístico de Lacuniacha	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 3 in captivity
18	Salzburg Zoo	🇦🇹 Austria	2 of 3 in captivity
19	Tierpark Bern	🇨🇭 Switzerland	2 of 3 in captivity
20	Tierpark Biel / Parc Zoologique Bienne	🇨🇭 Switzerland	2 of 3 in captivity

Show all 20 Show fewer

Before you go

Where is the best place to see the Alpine Three?

Mercantour National Park

In Mercantour National Park, France, the chance of seeing all 3 (marmot, ibex and chamois) on the same day is about 60%, the highest of the 6 parks where all of them live, and over a three-day visit it rises to over 90%. Next come Vanoise National Park (about 30% a day), Ecrins National Park (about 20% a day) and Hohe Tauern National Park (about 20% a day). It multiplies each animal's daily chance, as if they were independent, so read it as a rough guide.

Which of the Alpine Three is hardest to see?

Ibex

In Mercantour National Park, the best park for the Alpine Three, about about 80% of wildlife watchers report the ibex on a given day, against about 80% for the chamois. The hardest one decides how many days you need.

How do you complete the Alpine Three on Wallace's Line?

Mark them as seen

Tick ✓ Seen on each animal's card, add your trips, or link your iNaturalist account. Your passport counts the Alpine Three three ways: anywhere in the world, all in one park, and all in a single trip.

← All challenges

The Alpine Three

The checklist: 3 animals

Alpine Marmot

Alpine Ibex

Northern Chamois

Where to go

Month by month at Mercantour National Park

Month by month at Mercantour National Park

Month by month at Mercantour National Park

Month by month at Mercantour National Park

Month by month at Mercantour National Park

Month by month at Mercantour National Park

Time of day

Parks

Zoos & centres

Before you go

Where is the best place to see the Alpine Three?

Which of the Alpine Three is hardest to see?

How do you complete the Alpine Three on Wallace's Line?