Gallery

    • On arrival in Krakow, we are met by our tour leader and we drive to a nearby area for a picnic lunch. As we explore the meadows, dotted with an array of wildflowers, we look for our first butterflies of the trip. We focus our attention on the beautiful great burnets, as these often attract violet copper, scarce large blue and dusky large blue, and marsh gentian, which attracts the stunning Alcon blue.
    • After lunch, we take another short drive to an area of limestone rocks outside Krakow. In the dry meadows here we learn to identify many species including Reverdin’s blue, eastern baton blue and chalkhill blue. We can also enjoy an abundance of spectacular wildflowers.
    • Accommodation: Hotel Azalia, 2-nights on full board basis
    • Today, we visit an agricultural area, consisting of dry meadows and shrubs. It is a paradise for the blue family, where we may spot large, chalk-hill, little, short-tailed and common blue. Other highlights include brown argus, ilex hairstreak, blue-spot hairstreak, large, sooty, scarce and small copper. Fritillaries are also common here, and species include geranium argus, large copper, false heath, lesser marbled, silver-washed, dark green and Niobe.
    • Following breakfast, we drive to the Ponidzie region of southern Poland, famed for its gypsum hills and remnant steppe vegetation.  We make a stop en route in an area of chalk hills with interesting geological structures and steppe species. 
    • The butterflies found here are very diverse and include Ripart’s anomalous blue, which only occurs in a handful of locations in Poland. Many other butterflies in the blue family are also found, including Chapman’s, chalkhill, Meleager’s, short-tailed and eastern baton blues. This is also the best place on the tour to spot Lulworth skipper.
    • This area is known for its abundance of pale clouded yellow, and if we are lucky, we may also see two migrants - clouded and eastern pale clouded yellow.
    • Accommodation: Hotel Nad Stara Nida, 2-nights on full board basis
    • We spend half a day in a wetland area to look for the beautiful Pallas’s fritillary, as well as dryad, purple and lesser purple emperor, Camberwell beauty, yellow-legged and large tortoiseshell. 
    • We also visit a charming area consisting of mixed forest, rivers and streams, which is set against a backdrop of the spectacular Pieniny Mountains. This region is botanically-rich and the diverse habitat gives rise to a colourful range of butterflies and orchids.
    • The Pieniny Mountains also offer incredible birdwatching opportunities, and we will keep an eye out for lesser-spotted eagle and black stork soaring overhead. 
    • Accommodation: Pensjonat Spiski, 4-nights on full board basis.
    • After breakfast, we take a short drive to Orawa peat bogs where we can enjoy impressive views of the dramatic peaks of the Tatra Mountains. We enjoy a walk through the beautiful butterfly-rich habitat where we may see cranberry fritillary, large heath, arran brown and moorland clouded yellow. All of these species occur here thriving on plants such as northern bilberry, cranberry, bog rosemary, marsh tea, cotton grass, common butterwort, sundew – many of which are food for caterpillars and butterflies. 
    • After lunch, we go in search of any species we may have previously missed. Beside the butterflies, highlights may include fire salamander and a variety of dragonflies such as alpine emerald, sombre goldenring, white-tailed skimmer, blue eyed hawker and lesser emperor.
    • This morning we take a 30-minute drive to Tatra Mountains National Park - a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. The Tatra Mountain range is the highest in the Carpathians, and is home to an extraordinary diversity of life, including 43 mammal species, 200 birds and three endemic arthropod species.
    • To explore the scenic alpine landscape we take a cable car to a mountaintop (in the hope of walking down). We look for high altitude butterflies that should be emerging at this time, including Shepherd’s fritillary, mountain green-veined white and numerous ringlets. We will be visiting the Tatras at the end of the peak season for wildflowers but we can still hope to see Carpathian snowbell, edelweiss, mountain avens, alpine butterwort and alpine aster, as well as orchids such as lesser twayblade, creeping lady’s tresses, dwarf alpine, short-spurred and frog orchid.
    • If we are lucky we may also see some of the area’s popular mammals, including Tatra chamois, marmot and – with great luck – brown bear. Birds we may encounter here include alpine accentor, water pipit, dipper, grey wagtail, golden eagle and peregrine.
    • We drive back to Krakow and, depending on the time of our flight, we may have time for a short stop in the city before our return flight to London.

All prices are per person and include:

  • Services of the naturalist leader
  • Flights
  • Transfers
  • Accommodation
  • Guided activities
  • All meals

Accommodation

We stay in comfortable, picturesque hotels in the Jurassic Hills of Krakow, by the River Nida in Ponidzie, and in a dramatic location between the Pieniny and Tatra Mountains.

Meals

All meals are included.

Breakfasts and dinners are taken at the hotel. Lunches are a mix of picnics and leisurely sit-down meals taken at one of the region’s traditional restaurants. 

Butterflies

Visiting Poland during the summer months should reward us with up to 90 species of butterfly, including many rare and sought-after species. By travelling to a range of scenic locations, we hope to encounter Apollo, Pallas’s fritillary, marbled white, yellow-legged tortoiseshell, Camberwell beauty and a range of blues, skippers and ringlets. 

  • Apollo
  • Pallas’s fritillary
  • Violet copper 
  • Lesser purple emperor

Moths

Where possible we walk at dusk to see hawkmoths or set up a simple moth trap in our hotel grounds. Possible highlights include a range of hawkmoths such as elephant, small elephant, spurge, bedstraw and pine. Please note however that the principal tour focus is butterflies.

  • Hummingbird hawkmoth
  • Elephant hawkmoth
  • Eyed hawkmoth
  • Lime hawkmoth

Birds

Although we will be focusing our attention on Poland’s smaller species of wildlife, we will also keep an eye out for any interesting birds, such as lesser-spotted eagle, soaring overhead. 

  • Spotted nutcracker
  • Black stork
  • Lesser-spotted eagle
  • Ortolan bunting

Mammals

Our main focus will be the butterflies, however we may also come across a few of Poland’s resident mammals during our time in the Pieniny and Tatra Mountains. 

  • Alpine marmot
  • Tatra chamois 
  • European brown bear
  • Red squirrel

Flora

A spectacular array of flowers may be in bloom at the time of our visit, including a number of orchids. Happily the best habitats for butterflies are also excellent for wildflowers.

  • Great burnet
  • Marsh gentian
  • Greater butterfly orchid
  • Fly orchid

Photography

Photographic opportunities on this trip are good to excellent, with plenty of vibrant butterflies on which to focus.

Walking

Most walks are quite short and all are taken at a gentle pace. In the Tatra Mountains the best walk for butterflies is a five-hour descent from the top of a cable car. However, if members of the group are unable to undertake this, the leader will choose a different walk for the group. At Orawa peat bogs the ground is very wet underfoot and waterproof boots are essential.

Flights

Price includes return scheduled flights London – Krakow – London.

Ground transport

Ground transportation is by minibus with driver.

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