Riserva naturale Valle dell'Orfento, Nature reserve in Province of Pescara, Italy.

Riserva naturale Valle dell'Orfento is a 1,920-hectare state nature reserve established in 1971 in the municipality of Caramanico Terme. The Orfento river has cut rock scarps from the flank of Monte Focalone (2,676 m) down to 450 m, forming glacial cirques. The reserve contains the Sfischia waterfall, 60 m high, and the rock-cut Hermitage of San Giovanni.

The reserve was established in 1971 to protect the natural diversity of the Abruzzo region. This decision marked an early effort in southern Italy to safeguard endangered ecosystems.

The valley holds nine hermitages, five of them in this reserve: San Giovanni, Sant'Onofrio, San Benedetto, Sant'Antonio and Santa Maria. San Giovanni, cut into the rock, is the least accessible religious building in the Maiella national park and was visited in the 13th century by the future Pope Celestine V. Dry-stone huts built by transhumant shepherds stand on the heights.

The reserve is accessible via multiple marked trails that wind through different sections of the area. Visitors should wear sturdy footwear and be prepared for varied terrain and seasonal conditions on different routes.

The reserve's emblematic bird is the white-throated dipper, which lives along the Orfento river; the valley also shelters the Apennine chamois, the Marsican brown bear and a rare Apollo butterfly population. The deer and roe deer now present descend from reintroductions begun in 1983.