Description

We are delighted to offer this new tour to the southern Spanish region of Andalusia for a selection of spring butterflies, many of which cannot be found anywhere else in mainland Europe, or are scarce outside the Iberian Peninsula.

The huge array of landscapes and terrain in this large region offer the opportunity to see a variety of rare wildlife, and this tour will allow nature lovers to explore some of the special places from Cabo de Gata in the far south east, to Tarifa in the west, and Antequera in the north.

Flying in to Malaga, this two-centre holiday will commence in Cabo de Gata, just east of Almeria, where we will look for butterflies such as Common Tiger Blue, Spanish Marbled White, Desert Orange Tip, Black-Eyed Blue, False Mallow Skipper, Green Striped White and Spanish Gatekeeper. There will also be several interesting bird species, with flamingoes within a kilometre of the hotel and some unusual flora in the unique dune habitat at this extreme south-eastern point of Spain.

For the second part of the tour, we will base ourselves in Antequera, a city located 47km north of Malaga at the foot of the El Torcal mountain range, the limestone slopes of which are home to many rare orchid species and butterflies such as Spanish Fritillary, Lorquin’s Blue, False Baton Blue and Spanish Festoon.

This location will also provide the opportunity to travel to see Monarch, Provence Orange Tip,  Portuguese Dappled White and the rare Aetherie Fritillary, whose flight period begins around a week before we arrive.

Whilst in high summer this area of Spain is generally dry and baking hot, in early May conditions are much more benign and the landscape much greener. Temperatures are usually in the 21 – 26c range, with cooler mornings than in July and August.

Travelling in early May is particularly convivial as this period falls outside the main holiday period and the roads, towns and sites are far less crowded. This should allow for 60-70 butterfly species to be seen along with orchids, birds and other interesting wildlife which inhabit this beautiful part of southern Spain.