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Dates: 10th – 19th July 2023 Confirmed departure
Price: £1,495 £1,395 Special offer
Single Room Supplement: £150
Deposit: £150 per person
Price Includes: Accommodation, all meals, ground transport, services of guides, entry fees, holiday report & a donation to Butterfly Conservation
Not Included: International & internal flights, travel insurance, drinks and any other personal items
Conservation Donation: Butterfly Conservation
Leader(s): Ben Greenaway, Yasemin Konuralp
Group Size: Minimum of 5 and a maximum of 12 guests plus 1-2 leaders
Grade: The trip is in remote, rugged mountains and requires a moderate level of fitness in order to see all the amazing butterflies. Although many days are easy walking down rough tracks and roads, where butterflies are seen easily along the edges, there are some steep and rough areas in the mountains. One of the hotels is also up some steep uneven steps.
Holiday Highlights
- Stunning landscapes of imposing mountains, alpine & subalpine meadows, woodland, rivers & Mediterranean habitats – home to an extraordinary diversity of flowers, insects and other wildlife!
- 200+ butterfly species have been recorded in the region – more than half of Turkeys impressive total number of around 380!
- More than 140 species seen in 2019!
- 45 endemic butterfly species & 21 near endemics make Turkey a very special place
- Rich flora with 2,500 species of plants, 300 of which are found exclusively in Turkey and 160 found only in the Kaçkar Mountains
- Relaxed pace ideally suited to photography & full enjoyment of the wildlife & scenery
- Contribute to Butterfly Conservation
After the tremendously successful tours in 2018, 2019 & 2022 we’re going back in 2023 for our unique tour exploring the Kaçkar Mountains in northeast Turkey for a wonderful array of butterflies & other wildlife!
The Kaçkar mountains rise steeply from Turkey’s Black Sea coast and are an extension of the Caucasus mountains which are considered by the World Wild Fund for Nature and by Conservation International as a biodiversity hotspot. The Çoruh valley lies at the very heart of the Kaçkar. Steep-sided valleys, alpine meadows, river-side vegetation, Mediterranean habitats, all contribute to a diversity of habitats that account for the formidable list of more than 140 butterflies that reside in the area – we recorded 134 on our first tour in 2017 and 135 in 2018! During our nine day long holiday we will sample all the different habitats of the Çoruh valley to look for the regions butterflies. A wealth of Lycaenids that include Little Tiger Blue, Odd-spot Blue, Bavius Blue, Bosnian Blue, Large Blue, Aedon Blue, Meleager’s Blue, Silver-studded blue, False Chalk-hill Blue, Checkered Blue as well as Lesser Fiery Copper, Turkish Fiery Copper, Balkan Copper, Ilex Hairstreak, White-Letter Hairstreak, and Gerhard’s Black Hairstreak. Other local or beautiful species include Orange Hermit, White-bordered Grayling, Geyer’s Tawny Rockbrown, Russian Heath, Lederer’s Heath, Small Bath White, Balkan Marbled White, Scarce Swallowtail, Caucasian Spotted Fritillary, Silver-Washed Fritillary, High Brown Fritillary, False Heath Fritillary, Queen of Spain, Apollo, Ionian Emperor and a wealth of exotic skippers! Turkish flora is incredibly rich, with 11466 species, 3650 of which are endemic. This diversity stems principally from country`s geographical position, sandwiched between the steps of Central Asia, the deserts of Syria, the cold afforested mountains of Central Europe, and the Mediterranean to the west. The unspoilt area we’ll visit is very rich botanically, with many species of Campanula, Gentians, Centaurea, Dianthus, Silene, Digitalis exotic Acantholimon, beautiful Papaver and many others. The many habitats of the Kackar support a good range of birds. The lower valleys host Blue Rock Thrush and Bee-eaters while streams support Grey and White Wagtails, Dippers and Common Sandpipers. Forests and Mountain hillsides are home to Tree Pipits, Rosefinches, Redstarts, Chukar, Red-Backed Shrikes, Red-Fronted Serins, Ring Ouzels, Ortolan Buntings, Rock Thrushes, Short-toed Treecreeper and several species of Woodpecker. Birds of prey such as Buzzards, Honey-Buzzards, Long-legged Buzzard, and Golden Eagles may be seen soaring over the valleys. There are also many lovely day-flying moths such as Nine-spotted Moth as well as spectacular crickets and grasshoppers in the upper valleys. Accompanying us will be Yasemin Konuralp, who has over 20 years experience in guiding tours in Turkey. During that time she has built up considerable knowledge about the endemic wildflowers of the country, which has culminated into a Wildflowers of Turkey field guide, published in 2013. We hope to welcome you on what will be a truly memorable tour! 
Day 0, 10th July: Overnight flight to Istanbul (mainly applies to UK travellers)
Day 1, 11th July: Arrival at Erzurum airport early morning. We will take a short drive to the beautiful Gungormez valley where we hope to see a wide range of species on the grassy hillsides. Target species include: Odd-spot Blue Turanana endymion, Alcon Blue Phengaris alcon, Anatolian Blue Argus Plebejus crassipunctus, Loew’s Blue Plebejus loewii, Meleager’s Blue Polyommatus daphnis, Ripart’s Anomalous Blue Polyommatus ripartii, Gerhard’s Black Hairstreak Satyrium abdominalis, Lesser Fiery Copper Lycaena thersamon, Cardinal Argynnis pandora, Spotted Fritillary Melitaea didyma, Balkan Marbled White Melanargia galathea, Yellow-banded Skipper Pyrgus sidae, and Persian Skipper Spialia phlomidis. There is also a small chance of a Yellow-legged Tortoisesehell Nymphalis xanthomelas. Overnight in Erzurum.
Day 2: Transfer to Barhal in the Coruh valley, stopping on the way to look for butterflies. We shall pass through different habitats, initially dry and becoming greener as we move up the valley, each with its different butterfly species. We shall investigate the Bahceli valley to look for Little Tiger blue, Tarucus balkanicus, Grass Jewel, Chilades trochylus, Turkish Fiery Copper Lycaena ochimus, White-bordered Grayling, Hipparchia parisatis, Nettle-Tree butterfly, Libythea celtis, Brown Argus, Aricia agestis, Scarce Swallowtail, Iiphiclidespodalirius and another of the specialities of the region, the Orange Hermit, Chazara bischoffii. The dry terrain at the beginning of the valley hosts plants typical of this habitat such as Dianthus orientalis, with its characteristic propeller-shaped petals, Andrachne telephioides, the food plant of the Grass Jewel and Paliurus spina-christi, the food plant of the Little Tiger Blue. Overnight in Barhal village.
Day 3: Today we will climb higher up to an alpine meadow for alpine plants and butterflies. Target species for today, Ionian Emperor Thaleropis ionia, Scarce Swallowtail Iiphiclides podalirius, Mountain Green-veined White Pieris bryoniae, Caucasian Clouded Yellow Colias caucasica, Green Hairstreak Callophrys rubi, Short-tailed Blue Cupido argiades, Alcon Blue Phengaris alcon, Bavius Blue Pseudophilotes bavius, Anatolian Blue Argus Aricia crassipunctus, Eros Blue Polyommatus eros, Caucasian Spotted Fritillary Melitaea interrupta, Dark Green Fritillary Argynnis aglaja, Niobe Fritillary Argynnis niobe, Scotch Argus Erebia aethiops, Large Wall Brown Lasiommata maera and Eastern Rock Grayling Hipparchia syrica. Overnight in Barhal village.
Day 4: We spend the day following the river along its course through the valley. We hope to see Blue-Spot Hairstreak Satyrium spini, Zephyr Blue Plebejus pylaon, Aedon Blue Phengaris alcon, Eros Blue Polyommatuseros, Meleager’s Blue Meleageria daphnis, High Brown Fritillary Fabriciana adippe, Silver-Washed Fritillary Argynnis paphia &White-letter Hairstreak, Satyrium w-album. The Çoruh River is home to two special Campanulas, Campanula troegerae and the similar looking but very rare Campanula choruhensis. Both are large-flowered beautiful species growing on the vertical walls of the gorge and we shall look for both. A number of Salvia species such as S. nemorosa and S. verticillata are common along the roadsides.Overnight in Barhal village.
Day 5: Transfer to Yaylalar, stopping along the way at points of interest. Possible species for today include Apollo Parnassius apollo, Zephyr Blue Plebejus pylaon, Aedon Blue Polyommatus aedon, Eastern Baton Blue Pseudophilotes vicrama, False Chalk-hill Blue Polyommatus corydonius, Mountain argus Plebejus artaxerces, Southern White Admiral Limenitis reducta, Caucasian Spotted Fritillary Melitaea interrupta, Marsh Fritillary Euphydryas aurinia, False Grayling Hipparchia arethusa, Great Banded Grayling Brintesia circe & Tufted Marbled Skipper Carcharodus flocciferus.Overnight in Yaylalar at the foot of Altiparmak mountains.
Day 6 & 7: Climb higher up to Olgunlar and to another yayla. We hope for the scarlet Papaver orientalis, the yellow P. lateritium, Gentianaseptemfida, Melampyrum arvense, Campanulas and Geraniums. Possible butterfly species for the two days include Eastern Bath White Pontia edusa, Purple-shot Copper Lycaena alciphron, Balkan Copper Lycaena candens, Idas Blue Plebejus idas, Pontic Blue Polyommatus coelestinus, Gavarnie Blue Plebejus pyrenaicus, Aedon Blue Polyommatus aedon, Chelmos (Iphigenea) Blue Agrodiaetus iphigenia, Russian Heath Coenonympha leander, Lederer’s Heath Coenonympha symphita, Alpine Ringlet Erebia melancholica, Apollo Parnassius apollo, Twin-spot, Marbled and Weaver’s Fritillaries, Niobe Fritillary & Large-Grizzled Skipper. Overnight in Yaylalar at the foot of Altiparmak mountains.
Day 8: After having breakfast we’ll leave our pension. We’ll make several stops on our way to Erzurum trying to spot any species we missed on the way up. Overnight in Erzurum.
Day 9, 19th July: Transfer to Erzurum airport and the tour ends.
New holiday so testimonials will follow later