A natural park (quasi-national park) of arresting scenic beauty with 100 to 600 meter high mountains in the northern part of the mountain region in Mino City. In the park, a long gorge runs through the forests from the magnificent Mino Waterfall, with about a 5 meter wide and 33 meter high fall, forming a habitat for 980 species of plants and over 3,000 species of insects. Located in the precious natural forests in Osaka Prefecture, the park is the western starting point of the Tokai Natural Trail. Visitors can enjoy seasonal changes in the scenery, such as the cherry blossoms in spring, the trees covered with ice and hanging icicles in winter, and especially the brilliantly colored leaves late in fall. The Mino Mountains are an ancient sacred site of Mountain Buddhism, where there are old temples, including the Ryuanji Temple (otherwise known as Mino Temple), an important training center that is said to have been established by En-no-gyoja, the founder of Shugendo. The Mino Insect Museum, which is located on the way to the waterfall, is also well known. Here at this museum, visitors can see not only about 10,000 samples of insects, but also over 500 live butterflies of about 10 to 15 species and learn about their year-round ecology.