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| Itinerary Day 1 Flight to Vienna and one hour's drive north to Mikulov in Moravia in the Czech Republic. This enchanting historic town is overlooked by its impressive castle, restyled in the eighteenth century from an earlier building. In the afternoon we walk to the nearby limestone Palava Hill and later stop overnight in a hotel that is in part of Valtice Castle - a former residence of the House of Lichtenstein. Day 2 In the morning we visit the neo-gothic castle of Lednice and enjoy its wonderful park and colonies of 500 night and 500 grey herons. Here, Grey-headed, Syrian and Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Collared Flycatcher and Red-crested Pochard are easy to find near to the path. In the afternoon we visit the westernmost outpost of the extensive Carpathians with a highest point of 970m. This is a beautiful area of the White Carpathian Mountains, well known for its flowers and butterflies. Many of the orchids here should be in flower (possibly a late-flowering lady's slipper). Day 3 10 We stay in the White Carpathians today and explore the area further visiting a beech forest and large meadows and finishing the day viewing the magnificent Velehrad cathedral and adjoining monastery, founded in 1202 Day 4 A 3 hour drive into Slovakia will take us to Mala Fatra National Park where we take an easy walk to explore a small canyon looking for flowers along the path. In the meadows surrounding the entrance to the gorge, there should be two or three species of orchids still in bloom. Moving on we will look for Primula auricola, alpine butterwort, whorled Solomonis seal and Clusiusis gentian just a few feet from the path. Before noon we continue to the Terchova village and have lunch in a traditional restaurant. If the lift to the alpine meadows is working we climb up and stay for an hour or two looking for Dianthus nitida, an endemic pink of the west Carpathians, mountain avens, spring gentian and alpine coltsfoot. Day 5 Today we travel east and en route explore the Velka Fatra region where the local attraction is the fragile Cyclamen fatrense (syn), just starting to emerge from last year's beech leaves. Along the road, we will try to find matted globularia, birds eye primrose, one-flowered wintergreen, perennial honesty, alpine clematis, round-headed orchid, herb Paris and some saxifrages. Day 6 We drive to southern Slovakia, one of the best but less visited botanical areas of the country - the Slovakian Karst, holding an excellent flora. A very dry, warm climate together with south-facing aspect helps to create some of the most representative steppe plant associations in Central Europe. The flowering period spans from March to October and we hope to be here at the right time to see the steppes at their best. Turna golden drop is a flower of early summer but we will try to find some blossoms of this local speciality. Day 7 Today we visit the Muran plateau. The most charming plant of this area is Daphne arbuscula, a fragrant garden plant. It is very difficult to find because it favours cliff edges, but our walk will be easy and the local guides know where to find it. We may also find alpine aster and fly orchid or white and red helleborine. After lunch we move on to explore fine meadows and a small brook valley. Day 8-9 We transfer to the High Tatras. On the way we stop in the medieval town of Levoca, one of the most charming towns of Slovakia. Later we visit the museum of the High Tatras National Park and an open-air exhibition of local alpine flowers in Tatranska Lomnica. The High Tatras are the highest Carpathian mountain range reaching over 7,800 feet. The central granitic core is not so rich in plant species. Nevertheless, some fine Carpathian specialities can be found here. For example, least primrose, Carpathian snowbell, white pasque flower and narcissus-flowered anemone. We will search for them in the alpine zone, accessible by a cableway and a chair lift. About 1,000 feet lower but still above the tree line, we should find lousewort and alpine bellflower around a small mountain lake. In the afternoon, we return to lower elevations to look for the endemic Erysium wahlenbergii and E. wittmannii, large yellow foxglove and common spotted and early marsh orchids. We will also visit Belianske, the eastern section of the Tatras ridge and the only part formed of limestone. Day 10 17 We return to Slovakia today but on the way will visit the Chocske Hills, situated 100 km west from the High Tatras. The hills are a rather forgotten and seldom-visited complex of parallel valleys. Along a forest track, we hope to see columbine, May lily, globe-flower and Edelweiss. Day 11 Free time, one hour drive to Vienna for return flight or extra days in Vienna. |