The park and reserve has been recognized by the United Nations as a Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983 because of its beauty, rich biodiversity, and maquis shrubland.

The jagged and sheer cliffs contain many grottos and are flanked by numerous stacks and almost inaccessible islets and coves, such as Tuara.

The average yearly maximum temperature is 28 degrees C, whereas the average minimum temperature is 3 degrees C.[2] The coastal area around the Scandola Nature Reserve have open cliff-top grass swards and tall maquis shrubland, although it has been degraded by historical fires and agriculture.

Precious coral lives in the littoral zone directly off of the coast, and the strong currents in the Gulf of Porto allow for large numbers of fish to congregate.

[2] There was once a population of endangered Mediterranean monk seals of the coast of the nature reserve, but they have since disappeared.