Dates & Prices

 BOOK NOW

Dates: 23rd – 30th May 2028 

Price: £1,795* Places available

Single Room Supplement: £195

Deposit: £150 per person

* price will be confirmed by June 2027

Price Includes: Accommodation, all meals, ground transport, services of guides, holiday report

Not Included: International travel, travel insurance, drinks & any other personal items

Conservation Donation: Butterfly Conservation Europe

Leaders: Jason Mitchell & Graham Hart

Group Size: Minimum of 4 and a maximum of 12 guests plus 1-2 leaders

Grade: Gentle pace in meadows & mountain terrain

Holiday Highlights

  • Visit one of the best areas in the whole of France (and indeed Europe!) for butterflies & flowers
  • One centre tour, staying in a picturesque village in the Pyrénées-Orientales – the perfect base for exploring the area!
  • See 75+ species of spring butterflies 
  • Special species – Violet Copper, Spanish Fritillary, Provencal Fritillary, Spanish Festoon, Apollo, Chequered Blue, Spanish Swallowtail and lots more!
  • Led by locals! Both of our guides are long-term residents in France with a deep understanding & knowledge of the country, it’s language, and its impressive nature!
  • Some great flowers & other wildlife to enjoy too!
  • Relaxed pace ideally suited to photography & full enjoyment of the wildlife & scenery
  • Contribute to Butterfly Conservation Europe

Join us in the eastern French Pyrenees for Violet Copper, Spanish Fritillary, and a feast of other spring butterflies!

BOOK NOW

The eastern French Pyrénées (Les Pyrénées Orientales in French) lie along the French border with Spain and Andorra. They are the eastern part of the chain of mountains linking the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean Sea and were once part of Spain.  The dominant climatic influence of the Eastern Pyrenees is the Mediterranean; the climate is warmer and the days sunnier than elsewhere in the Pyrenees.

The butterflies that we can find are a beautiful mix of interesting and colourful species. Because of the proximity to Spain (and we shall also enter Spain on at least one of our days), we will find many of the species more commonly associated there like Spanish Fritillary and Spanish Festoon, Spanish Gatekeeper and Spanish Marbled White and many spring time butterflies. We also have a particular target species that we’ll focus on finding and showing you – the stunning Violet Copper! Our guide is an expert on this species and has been studying and helping with its conservation for 30+ years. Under his guidance you will not only see this beautiful butterfly, but you will learn all about its ecology as well (including an illustrated talk given at the hotel at some point during the week).

There are many other butterflies we can find and these include Apollo, Clouded Apollo, Southern Scarce Swallowtail, Marsh Fritillary (subspecies beckeri), Provençal Fritillary, Weaver’s Fritillary, Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, False Heath Fritillary, Provence Orange Tip, Mountain Small White, Western Dappled White, Mountain Dappled White, Map Butterfly, Duke of Burgundy Fritillary, Cardinal, Southern White Admiral, Chequered Blue, Osiris Blue, Chapman’s Blue, Amanda’s Blue, Provençal Short-tailed Blue, Provence Chalkhill Blue, Green Underside Blue, Turquoise Blue,Geranium Argus, Sooty Copper, Pearly Heath, De Prunner’s Ringlet, Bright-eyed Ringlet, Red-underwing Skipper and Olive Skipper, are just a few of the other butterflies we will see.

Our base for the week will be in a charming village hotel with a family atmosphere.. The area boasts a wide variety of habitats, from Mediterranean garigue and maquis, through holm (Quercus ilex) and downy oak (Q. pubescens), beech woods, calcareous grasslands and alpine screes. The Mediterranean area will host orchids and other typical plants such as Galactites tomentosa, Aphyllanthes monspeliensis, Helianthemum, Salvia and other Labiates. The woods higher up host a different set of orchids such as Epipactis, Limodorum abortivum, Cephalanthera longifolia, Corallorhiza trifida, Platanthera and Orchis militaris. The subalpine areas are natural rock gardens festooned with Saxifrages, Sempervivums, Globularias, Saponaria ocymoides, Dianthus, Gentians, rampions, Aster alpinus and  Rhododendron ferrugineu.

We look forward to welcoming you on what promises to be a fantastic tour!

Male Violet Copper           

Day 1: Arrival and meet at Perpignan Airport, followed by a transfer to our comfortable hotel, which is situated in a picturesque village, nestled in the majestic mountains of the Pyrénées-Orientales.

Depending on flight arrival times, we will have the possibility of stopping on route for a stretch of the legs and a first taste of some butterflies, before getting into the mountains proper. If not, once we are at the hotel and checked in, we will take a walk out from there.

Day 2: Today we will have our first taste of one of the main target species of the trip, the stunning Violet Copper! Our site also provides other great species, including Purple-edged Copper, Amanda’s Blue, Marsh Fritillary (sub species beckeri), Bright Eyed Ringlet, Geranium Argus, Chequered Skipper. There are also other more common butterflies including Green Hairstreak, Duke of Burgundy, Small Copper, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Meadow Fritillary, Heath Fritillary, Grizzled, Red underwing, and Dingy Skippers.

We will also take a wander in the local area to some other hot spots – for the Violet Copper in particular. One such spot features fabulous meadows and some super colonies of Violet Copper, set against breathtaking views up the valley to the high peaks.

Day 3: We will head over the border into Spain today, to explore Cadi National Park, with some fantastic scenery, reminiscent of Gavarnie in the Haute Pyrenees. Target Species of the day include Osiris Blue, Chequered Blue, Lesser-spotted Fritillary, Iberian Scarce Swallowtail, Spanish Festoon, Cleopatra, and Provence Orange-tip, with many other species also present.

Last year we also found a Wryneck’s nest in an old wall so fingers crossed it will be there again. We will wander along on a good track on a steep and rocky hillside sometimes through light woodland and in other areas open and rocky habitat and one very damp place that attracts lots of mud puddling blue butterflies.

Day 4: In contrast to yesterday, today we will stay fairly local and head to Eyne and into the Reserve Naturel. Here we should see Clouded Apollos, Black-veined Whites, various small Fritillaries blues and Skippers. Then we will move on to another site about 20 minutes away where we will walk up a rough track in mostly open habitat, where there are many grassland and rocky terrain species, such as Chequered Blue, Amanda’s Blue, Turquoise Blue. and we may well be lucky enough so see an Apollo or two.

Day 5: We will take a longer journey today, but it should be very worthwhile as we aim to show you the Spanish Fritillary! Due to the extreme rareness of this species now, and the sad ever present menace of collectors, the name of where we are going is not disclosed, but our guides Graham and Jason visited it this year and saw lots of the target species as well as the  beckeri subspecies of the Marsh Fritillary, a lot of Chequered Blues, Spanish Festoons, Cleopatras, Provence Orange-tip, several species of small Fritillaries and many other species. It truly is a fantastic site!

Day 6: Reserve Naturelle de Py. We will take a walk through woodland glades and rocky areas where Graham and Jason have an “Apollo spot”. On their last visit they were serenaded by no less that 8 Apollos flying down from cliffs above and flying within a metre of them. There were also a good number of small Fritillaries and Duke of Burgundy was spotted which set Graham off on an egg hunt, finding several Duke eggs on Cowslip leaves, but not where you might expect them if you know the species in the UK.

Day 7: Our last full day and we will take you to another Violet Copper site to finish off the week.

We will spend half the day with the Violet Coppers and all the other species that accompany them, then we will go to the south facing side of a valley where the habitat is completely different, dry and rocky. We will go to a gulley with a stream in it which usually attracts a lot of butterflies. Sitting down here you can look down the valley to the breathtaking high mountain on the other side. If the weather is very good, we could go up to the Col where debilis, the mountain subspecies of Marsh Fritillary might just have hatched and where Graham also knows a spot for some beautiful Vanilla Orchids.

Day 8: Departure day with a transfer back to Perpignan airport. As usual, we will make wildlife stops on route as appropriate and as time allows.

 

Sue L, 2026: “This was a great trip. The hotel was really good and the staff brilliant. Highly recommended. Jason and Graham were first class. They had a great rapport with each other, and it was obvious they enjoyed each other’s company and respected each other’s skills. Jason is an excellent leader with encyclopedic wildlife knowledge. As a birder first, I personally appreciated his ornithological expertise. Graham’s butterfly expertise was clearly second to none, and I learned so much from him. His enthusiasm for his subject is very infectious, and I know the keen lepidopterists on the trip had a great time with him. The habitats they took us to were ideal, and honestly, there were rarely a few minutes without a butterfly being seen! We had some gorgeous walks. Very little time was spent in the vans. So a wonderful week and a group that were all great company.”

Eliza M, 2026: “Still on Cloud 9 after this trip, and expect to be for some time to come. Beautiful, abundant butterflies, mountain views, fascinating flora, knowledgeable and expert guides I loved it!”

Philip T, 2026: “This was a great trip with a very friendly group which really helped make the trip a success. Our guides Jason and Graham worked very hard and were extremely knowledgeable.”