|
|
|
|
|
Picos de Europa
Wednesday 14 - Thursday 22 June 2006 (9 days) |
|
© Jamie McMillan/Nature Portfolio  The village of Pido, close to our hotel |
Some of Europe's most spectacular mountain scenery, combined with a variety of plants virtually unmatched in so small an area, an excellent range of butterflies, and some choice mountain birds including Snow Finch and the delectable Wallcreeper, and all in the company of a superb naturalist in her own local patch ... join us for spring in the fabulous Picos!Rising spectacularly from the Bay of Biscay, on the rugged, green north coast of Spain, the Picos de Europa offer dramatic mountain scenery: jagged limestone peaks rising to more than 2,600 metres are dissected by sheer river gorges, with more open ground clothed in swathes of flower-rich haymeadows and ancient forests of beech and oak. The varied plant life and its associated butterflies and other insects are the principal attractions of this superlative area. Traditional farming methods, particularly in the management of the hay meadows, have led to an abundance of grassland flowers probably without equal in Europe. Around 1,400 vascular plants, including some 40 species of orchid, grace the valleys, with a phenomenal 145 species of butterflies recorded. During our week we expect to see most of Iberia's characteristic mountain birds, notably Snow Finch and Alpine Accentor, and we also hope to encounter Wallcreeper in its dramatic mountain habitat. Water Pipit and both Red-billed and Alpine Choughs are widespread, while raptors abound, particularly Griffon Vultures, while Egyptian Vulture and Golden, Booted and Short-toed Eagles haunt the valleys. Picturesque villages of red-roofed stone houses with wooden balconies have resident Serins and Black Redstarts, with Red-backed Shrikes and Wrynecks inhabiting the old orchards. Once again we are led by expert naturalist Teresa Farino on her home territory, at an excellent time of year - before the high meadows are cut - for one of the best possible trips to this superb area. We are based in a pretty mountain village, at a small family-run hotel. The food here is superb, abundant, and made with local ingredients - and Teresa's picnics are legendary! The Picos is renowned as a walkers' paradise, and the area certainly lends itself more to exploring on foot than driving about, such that there will be a little more walking on this trip than on many of our others, some of which may be on fairly steep tracks and hillsides. Itinerary Days 1 - 8 We catch a scheduled flight from London to Bilbao, where we will meet Teresa, and head inland to our base at Espinama, in the southeastern corner of the Picos. Espinama lies at the head of the essentially Mediterranean valley of Camaleño, only a few kilometres from the spectacular limestone amphitheatre of Fuente Dé. On the first day we will explore the rich limestone meadows and forest in the immediate vicinity of the hotel, where we can expect a wealth of orchids - Fly, Sawfly, Burnt-tip, Bird's-nest and Man Orchids, to mention but a few - and clouds of butterflies in the meadows, particularly blues and fritillaries. The broad-leaved woodlands here are the haunt of Honey Buzzard and Black Woodpecker, with Red-backed Shrike and Cirl Bunting in more open habitats. Another day will find us in the humid, acid meadows and genista scrub of the 1,600m road pass of San Glorio (the highest in the Cordillera Cantábrica), where Mazarine Blue, Chapman's Ringlet (unique to this area) and the Queen of Spain Fritillary should be on the wing. Plants on offer include swathes of Wild Daffodils, Large-flowered Butterwort and several species of lousewort in the damp flushes, as well as Black Vanilla, Early Marsh and Elder-flowered Orchids. Wild Tulips can be found in some of the damper meadows, while Rock Bunting calls from the bare hillsides and Golden Eagle can be looked for overhead. A highlight of the trip will be the cable-car ride from Fuente Dé to the edge of the Central Massif - an ascent to 1,800m in just three minutes - where we should encounter Isard, Alpine Newt, Midwife Toad, Alpine Accentor, Snow Finch and, with a bit of luck, Wallcreeper, amid carpets of Spring and Trumpet Gentians. Rocky areas here will be examined for saxifrages, particularly Grooved, Cone, Purple and the yellow-flowered Picos endemic Saxifraga felineri, which share their habitat with Moss Campion, Anemone pavoniana, Alpine Toadflax, Fairy Foxglove, the rock-jasmine Androsace villosa and Globularia repens. For a completely different range of flora and fauna we will visit the dry pastures and evergreen cork and western holm oak forests near Potes. Here the oaks are home to Bonelli's Warbler and Firecrest, while the understorey can be a mass purple St Dabeoc's Heath and white Sage-leaved Cistus, with the spectacular Violet Limodore orchid to be searched for amongst them. Here we have previously recorded the dramatically-patterned Marbled Newt, as well as five species of hairstreak, Scarce Swallowtail and Cleopatra. A trip to the Sierra de Beges is also a must, as it is home to a unique range of flora and fauna, which includes Bloody Crane's-bill, Red Pasque-flower (here almost black), Yellow Bird's-nest, Pink Butterfly Orchid and Large-flowered Serapias. This is also a renowned site for butterflies in the Picos. The route from Espinama to the coast follows the Hermida Gorge, said to be the second-deepest drivable gorge in the world! Whether true or not, it is certainly an awe-inspiring place, and we aim to walk up one of the side-gorges, with its soaring limestone buttresses and ever-present squadrons of Griffon Vultures overhead. Here in this inspiring setting we also hope to visit one of the best-preserved of the area's pre-Romanesque churches. This year we have added on an extra night to the tour in case the scheduled flight times necessitate a stopover near Bilbao. If this is not the case, we will spend all eight nights in Espinama. Day 9 We may have time to stop at the dunes and pinewoods of Liencres on the coast, for a few new flowers and Tawny Pipit, before heading for Bilbao and our return flight to London. Accommodation We stay in a two-star hotel, in Espinama, at the head of the Camaleño valley, in the southern reaches of the Picos, with comfortable, well-appointed rooms, all with private facilities, and excellent home cooking. Some of the group may be accommodated - along with the leaders - in the hotel's 'house-next-door', but all meals will be taken in the main hotel. |
| Principal Leader: | Teresa Farino |
 |
||
| Numbers: | Max. 14 clients | |||
|
Price: |
£ | 1,245 | ||
| Single supp.: | £ | 130 | ||
| Deposit: | £ | 200 | per person | |
|
The price is per person, and is fully inclusive of 8 nights' accommodation as detailed above, meals, return scheduled flight London-Bilbao, transport and cable-car fees, and leadership.
The price excludes holiday insurance, optional tips to the local drivers/guides, drinks and other personal expenses. |
||||