Cilento, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia
Cilento, Calabria & Sicily
Southern Italy
An Italian extravaganza! This month long tour takes us the very finest of Southern Italy’s sublime landscapes, full of natural wonders, with in particular an amazing variety of orchids.
Three east-west mountain ridges form the backbone of the spectacular landscapes of Cilento. The stunning landscapes and the cultural history combine to justify Cilento’s status a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park protects much of this sublime landscape – it is Italy’s second largest national park. The mountains are impressive. Monte Bulgheria reaches over 4000 feet above sea level before dropping precipitously to the deep blue Tyrrhenian Coast. White cliffs hug beautiful crescents of sand, unreachable by anything but boat.
Virgil’s Aeneid recounts how Palinurus, the helmsman of the Trojan Aeneas’s ship, was singled out for sacrifice off this coast to ensure the safe passage of all on board; he was drugged by the god of sleep and thrown overboard and the beach of Cilento took his body. Today, one of the Europe’s most unusual and beautiful Primulas honours Palinurus’s name. Decorating the coastal cliffs above those same beaches Primula palinuri is perhaps one of Europe’s most unusual wild flowers. Large umbels of bright yellow flowers top a rosette of large lime green leaves in cracks in the cliff, an arresting and beautiful sight. It has an extremely restricted distribution in coastal areas of the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea. A fantastically architectural mini-forest of Euphorbia dendroides cloaks the slopes and drapes from the cliffs. We’ll take a boat trip along this most scenic of coasts to a secret place where we’ll see the very best displays of the Primula along with the rare Fritillaria messanensis subspecies gracilis, a recently described form which is known from only three localities. Tufts of white Iberis semperflorens are a fine sight amongst the strawberry trees.
Olive groves close by our quiet rural hotel will already be alive with colourful Anemones, ivory Bellevalia romana and abundant Cerinthe major. A rich variety of spring flowers include Allium roseum, the last blooms of the unusual Widow Iris, and orchids. Particularly prevalent in the area is Dactylorhiza romana, but there are many bee orchids too including Bumble-Bee Orchid, Early Spider Orchid and the lovely Ophrys exaltata.
Golden Eagles soar above quiet lanes in the higher mountains that offer wonderful views down to the brilliant blue Tyrrhenian Sea. Here amongst lovely open woodlands we can find plentiful Helleborus foetidus as well as Anemone hortensis and Romulea bulbocodium. Rock Partridges scurry for cover as we walk. Stands of Viburnum tinus are smothered in white blooms, making for a perfect picture with the green and grey mountain slopes and the cobalt sea below.
Calabria is arguably the most remote and least developed region of Italy cut off from the rest of the peninsula by the Pollino Massif which rises to over 2000 metres above sea level on one side and by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Sea on the other. This makes this rugged and wild peninsula more isolated even than Sicily itself! Calabria was also the part of Italy longer and more closely connected to the Byzantine Empire, and in the Aspromonte National Park people in the mountain villages still speak a Greek dialect.
Calabria is still pretty unknown to orchid enthusiasts from abroad, however there’s a small but very active local community of experts, and we’ll visit some of their ‘secret’ sites in the area, led there by Luigi Torino, a physicist by occupation who is now arguably the most knowledgeable orchid specialist of Calabria. The South of Calabria has much in common wildlife and orchids-wise with Sicily, and we’ll see over 20 taxa (species and hybrids) of orchids, plus a wide variety of other Mediterranean flowers and wildlife of early Spring.
For the second week of the tour we’ll catch a fery across the Straits of Messina to the island of Sicily. Ninety kilometres south of still active Mount Etna we find Monte Ible’s dry limestone slopes which in spring are adorned with a wonderful show of flowers.
Anemones, Irises and Asphodels are abundant in the abandoned fields and terraces above Syracusa but it will be the orchids that will steal the show. A dozen or more species can be seen in some of these tiny fields. Spectacular Pink Butterfly Orchids are joined by Orchis longicornu whose deep purple, white and pink flowers make it one of Europe’s prettiest orchids. Amid Giant and Naked Man Orchids we’ll enjoy a prolific show of bee orchids with abundant yellow and pink Sawfly Orchid, colourful Ophrys bertolonii and fur-rimmed Mirror Orchid. Sicily is a hotspot in the evolution of this group of orchids. Yellow-edged Ophrys biancae and both Ophrys lunulata and Ophrys panormitana are found nowhere else in the world and several others can only be seen here or on the nearby mainland.
We’ll explore limestone gorges, wooded valleys and even coastal nature reserves where a fascinating saltmarsh and dune flora will keep us busy when we’re not looking at the Flamingos, Black-winged Stilts and Slender-billed Gulls!
For the third week of the trip we move to Sardinia and the ‘lost world’ of the Giara di Gesturi is a landscape as unexpected as it is strangely beautiful. Outcrops of pinky-black basalt and prehistoric ‘nuraghi’ emerge from marshy meadows and dwarf Cork Oak woodlands on plateaux two thousand feet above sea level.
As a chorus of trills from Tyrrhenean Tree Frogs rises from pools we’ll enjoy lovely Crocus minimus and pink-purple Romulea revelieri amongst several orchids. Newly described Ophrys ortuabis blooms with yellow Anemones under the shadow of six-thousand feet high Monti del Gennargentu. We’ll visit a wood full of the endemic Paeonia morisii, a startling sight. Lower down the beguiling landscapes that lie between our ideally placed hotel and the Fluminese are rich in orchids. One of Europe’s most beautiful orchids, Orchis longicornu is rather common, and mixes with Pink Butterfly Orchid and the endemic Orchis ichnusae. The lovely Mirror Orchid is a frequent sight and amongst a host of commoner Bee Orchids we’ll see plenty of the island’s specialities of which there are quite a number! Ophrys eleonorae has lips of glowing blue and purple, endemic Ophrys chestermannii large velvety square flowers, and oval-lipped flowers of grey, purple and pink belong to exquisite Ophrys morisii.
The little green orchid Gennaria diphylla joins several species of Romulea, Bellardia and Barbary Nuts in one of Europe’s pre-eminent wetlands, the little-known Sinis. Corsican Swallowtails fly amongst dunes by lagoons that are home to birds such as Audouin’s Gulls. Even as we land at Cagliari’s airport we’ll see flocks of Greater Flamingos on lagoons next to the runway – Sardinia’s that sort of place!
The last week of the tour takes us to the Gargano’s tranquil limestone hills that rise to over three thousand feet and manage to pack an unbelievable flora into an area only fifty miles across. From the beautiful cool green beech and oak forests and limestone karst moonscapes of the higher reaches the hills plunge towards a deep blue Adriatic where the local inhabitants cling to the cliff-tops in stunning jumbled white-walled towns.
No less than 72 orchid species have been recorded and we should see over 48 during our stay. The sheer abundance of Pink Butterfly Orchids and Green-winged Orchids is a revelation and amongst these we can find swarms of the Gargano’s speciality – Bee Orchids. Many are found only in this region – Ophrys apulica, Ophrys archipelagi, Ophrys parvimaculata, Ophrys promontorii and the abundant and aptly-named Ophrys garganica. There’s Serapias apulica, improbably decorating a motorway verge, and Serapias laxiflora, also Ophrys virescens, rare Ophrys sipontensis, Ophrys funerea and the lovely Spectacle Ophrys. In Southern Murgia we shall find the local endemics Ophrys tarentina and Ophrys celiensis. But orchids are only part of the show. Swathes of Anemones, Cyclamens, Violas and Narcissus poeticus decorate the woodland floor. Woodpeckers, Hawfinches and Flycatchers inhabit their newly leafy boughs. Swallowtails and Southern Festoons sail across fields adorned with superb shows of Irises and Wild Tulips.
At reed-rimmed coastal wetlands are Spoonbills, Glossy Ibis, Bearded Tits, Greater Flamingos and colonies of pink-washed Slender-billed Gulls. We’ll find the huge blooms of Paeonia mascula and gorgeous Paeonia peregrina, endemic Campanula garganica, half a dozen Star-of-Bethlehem’s, Tulipa sylvestris, and amongst several irises are fine groups of Iris pseudopumila, Iris lutescens and the endemic Iris bicapitata. Rare Arum apulum inhabits the lovely Itria Valley. We have chosen very peaceful hotels so that you can enjoy the wonderful fauna, flora and scenery of the Gargano right up to your hotel balcony!
An extension takes us to Molise is one of the smallest and off the beaten track regions in Italy, where a popular recurring joke is that “Molise doesn’t exist”. While very small, Molise is an area of green, rolling hills that rises from the Adriatic up to the impressive 2000+ metre peaks and ridges of the Matese Mountains bordering Campania. Fabulous high-altitude grasslands are covered with millions of yellow or purple-blue Viola eugeniae, Anacamptis morio, Orchis pauciflora, Bellevalia romana and Spring Gentians. Extensive Beechwoods are full of Dactylorhiza sambucina and Dactylorhiza romana, Anemone apennina, Corydalis cava, Cyclamen repandum and Scilla bifolia… and being a limestone massif there’s plenty of orchids including rarities such as Oprhys minipassionis.
Dates and Prices
26th March - 26th April 2025 (32 days)
* doesn't apply if you're willing to share and a room-mate can be arranged
Flowers (particularly orchids), Birds and Landscapes.
Stefano Doglio , Alice Hunter , Matt Cauldwell
One leader for a group of up to 6, two leaders up to the maximum group size of 12. Stefano is first leader throughout, aided by Alice for the first two weeks and the last week and and Matt in the third week as required.
All flights. All transport, meals and accommodation in Italy. Services of your leaders. Please note: drinks, tips and items of a personal nature, including insurance, are not included. Butterfly and bird checklists are available.
Close by flowery olive groves, the quite little Hotel San Paolo in Palinuro will be our base for the first two nights of the holiday. Next we move to the Partenone Hotel, Riace, a small town Framed by the splendid green valleys of Stilaro and Allaro. The hotel nestles amid palm trees, olive trees and tropical gardens in the hills above Riace and is just 1.5km from the Ionian Sea. We finish the week with three nights at Le Saline Resort in the little resort of Saline Joniche at the very tip of Italy, an ideal base to Aspromonte National Park. This little resort has comfortable rooms, a nice pool, and is right by the sea.
The second week (actually 8 nights) will be spent at the delightful Feudo Bauly in Sicily. Feudo Bauly is an ancient property from the 1300s. In the 18th century, it was the noble residence of Baron Gabriele Judica, the archaeologist who started the excavations of the Greek Theater of Palazzolo. Now owned by the Corsino family Feudo Bauly has been converted into a welcoming 4-star hotel, with comfortable rooms, a restaurant and a swimming pool surrounded by nature and the natural splendour of the Iblean countryside. The restaurant is exceptional and provides plenty of traditional Sicilian fare.
In Sardinia we will be staying for the entire week at the Agriturismo Su Massaiu. Set atop a low hill and surrounded by orchards this lovely little hotel has views up to the Giara and is close to the famous Nuraghe of Barumini. Almonds and Olives populate Su Massaiu’s orchards and the farm is well-known for its organic produce that includes lavender, melons, lentils, vegetables and the precious Turri Saffron. The pleasant rooms are set around a wide courtyard in which there is a swimming pool. Each room has its own verandah entrance.
For the last week of the trip we move to the Gargano and the Hotel Poggio Degli Ulivi situated on a hill just west of Rodi Garganico and with wonderful views out over the Adriatic. We’ve three nights to enjoy the restaurant which serves great local cuisine, the swimming pool (if it’s warm enough!) and the bright modern air-conditioned rooms. Later we’ll move south to the Palace Hotel San Michele, over 2,500 feet above sea-level, and with magnificent views south to the Golfo di Manfredonia. This very comfortable hotel has a fine restaurant, orchid-filled terraces in one direction and the lovely old town-centre of Monte Santangelo a short walk in the other! Both are quality four-star hotels. On the extension we’ll stay at the Agriturismo Le Due Arcate. The rooms are straightforward but comfortable and they serve truly excellent cuisine. All rooms on this tour have en-suite facilities.
Relaxed and easy. Always at a slow pace, ideally suited to photographers. Much the time will be spent in fields and terraces on limestone where the ground may be a little rough.
UK outbound direct flights to Naples are available from London Gatwick, London Heathrow and Manchester Airports. The return flight will be from Bari(or Naples for those on the extension) and is direct to London Gatwick. Indirect flights are available from and to various regional airports*.
*These routes may incur a supplement.
Variable. Often warm and sunny with some showers, though sometimes cooler with occasionally prolonged wet weather.
This four week spectacular can be split into one, two or three week parts.;
For three week tours see Cilento, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia and The Orchids of Italy.
For two week tours see Cilento, Calabria & Sicily , Sicily and Sardinia , and Sardinia & The Gargano
For individual weeks see Cilento and Calabria Sicily, Sardinia and The Gargano
Contact us to check if there is availability for the number of places you require. Click on the ‘Book this Tour’ button on this page to be taken to the online booking form or contact us and we will send one to you which you can complete and send back to us. You will receive confirmation of your place, and then a detailed information pack will be dispatched to you about twelve weeks before departure. This will contain up-to-date health information.
