Snowdonia is a national park, the first national park in Wales and one of the UK's first three, after the Rocky Mountains and the Lake District. It is is located in the northern part of Wales. The name Snowdonia is derived from the name of Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales (1,085 metres); it originally referred to the only the surrounding area of the mountain, but with the creation of the national park in 1951, the whole park became known as Snowdonia.
The park covers an area of 2,140 square kilometres and contains the highest mountain in Wales and England Wales and England, the largest lake in Wales, picturesque villages, and is home to 26,000 people, more than half of whom speak Welsh. The length of the coastline is more than 60 km. In the UK, unlike other countries, national parks include not only public but also private lands. The central office of the park management is located in the village of Penrhyndeudraith. Every year the park is visited by more than 6 million tourists.
Snowdonia is traditionally divided into four parts, and the northern part, where the highest mountains, is the most popular with tourists. In the centre of the National Park there is an area not included in the park, which is the town of Blainay-Festiniog and its neighbourhood. It is not included in the national park because otherwise the industry of the town would be affected.
Snowdonia has 2,381 kilometres of hiking trails, 264 kilometres of trails for walking, horseback riding and cycling and 74 kilometres of other roads. A significant portion of the park also does not requires a special permit to visit. Climbing Snowdon itself and other peaks are very popular, since almost all of these mountains can be climbed on foot without having special mountaineering or rock-climbing skills.
Much of the park is covered in forests, mostly deciduous. Some plants are endemic to Snowdonia and are protected. There are also rare animals and birds such as otters, polecats, martens, ravens, peregrine falcons, ospreys, gyrfalcons and red kites.
