Orchids in the Wild™ Ecotours

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An orchid blooming in its native habitat is one of the miracles of the natural world that every orchid lover should see at least once.

The OCA offers trips to see “Orchids in the Wild” in orchid rich environments all over the world, including here in North America . Over the past 15+ years we have organized trips to Mexico (Chiapas), Brazil (Atlantic Rain Forest, Minas Gerias, Rio Negro, Serra Bonito, Bahia, Espirito Santo), Ecuador (multiple trips), Colombia (multiple trips), southern China (Guang Xi, Yunnan), western China (northern Yunnan, Sichuan), Thailand, Papua New Guinea, France, Sicily, Crete, Mainland Greece, Switzerland, Cape of South Africa, Madagascar (multiple trips) and the Ohio Valley (USA). These trips are a lot of fun, and you will come home with many wonderful orchid, scenery and cultural photos and likely many new friends. The tour groups are small, and are often a mix of orchid experts and newbies. For some it is their first trip outside of the USA. For others, it is the first time they have ever seen an orchid growing in the wild. Our trips are also very educational: once you see how orchids grow in nature, you will be better able to provide the conditions that will make them thrive for you. After you have seen habitat destruction first hand, you will also appreciate how important it is to preserve the remaining primary forests. Orchids in the Wild tours take you to places you would never see otherwise. Our tours are led by experts on the orchids of the region who know where, and when to find the orchids. The tours vary in degree of physical difficulty, discussed in the description of each tour. We can also design small group custom tours, see Bespoke Orchid Tours.

Our line-up of upcoming tours is given below.

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Bespoke Orchid Tours

This is a new concept for the OCA, targeted to our members and their friends who would like a small, private, personalized tour. The ideal size of these small tours would typically be less than 6 participants.  If you are interested in something like this please contact Mary Gerritsen (mary@orchidconservationalliance.org) with details about the country or region you would like to visit, orchids you would like to see, reserves and nurseries you would like to visit. Mary will follow up with further questions to determine feasibility and pricing. The purpose of the bespoke trips is to create a highly personalized adventure. Note that these bespoke tours will be more expensive than our group tours, but offer the flexibility of selecting the dates, sites visited, participants, class of accommodation and transportation (depending on what is available) and personalized oversight of the itinerary.  The spectrum of places to visit and orchids to see is essentially unlimited, so let us know what you are interested in!

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Orchids in the Wild tours for 2024

October  31 – November 21, 2024 Orchids of Madagascar

Led by Johan and Clare Hermans, we will visit some areas not previously visited on our 2019 and 2023 tours. Additionally, we will be traveling somewhat later in the season, so we should see species in flower that were not seen on previous tours. We are still finalizing the itinerary and pricing, and will have information up soon.

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Orchids in the Wild tours for 2025

 

March 30-April 6 Orchids of Rhodes

Once again we have joined forces with Mariposa tours, with Jon Dunn and Sarah Cuttle as our tour leaders. Springtime in the Mediterranean can be breath taking, with the crystal clear waters of the sea, the gorgeous spring flowers, and a plethora of terrestrial orchids.

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April 1-April 15 Orchids of Sikkim

Our first trip to Sikkim, this tour has been 5 years in the making! Join us for an orchid and scenery filled tour of this Himalayan region. The tour is timed to coincide with the peak blooming season of the epiphytic orchids of this fascinating northeastern state of India. Sikkim borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north, Bhutan in the east, Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the south.

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May 1-May 12 & May 15-May 21 Orchids of the Rio Negro

This is the only way to view the orchids of the Amazon, on a cruise aboard a riverboat designed for seeing nature. Air conditioned staterooms with en suite bathrooms, wonderful meals, and lots of peace and quiet! Motorized canoes take you through the forest within arm’s reach of many orchids for easy photography. Only occasional walking, and no transferring to new hotels or traveling by bus. Just relaxed cruising. Tour accommodates a maximum of 16 travelers plus the tour leaders, Peter Tobias, OCA representative, and Gilberto Castro, boat captain.

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 June 21-July 3 Orchids, Scenery and Culture in the Kingdom of the Giant Panda, Northern Sichuan, China

Travel with Wenqing to the mountains of North Sichuan, mostly within the Aba Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. Enjoy some of the most spectacular nature reserves and scenery in the northern hemispehere including the incredible travertine formations of Huanglong, Kalong and Shenxianci valleys, alpine meadows and the jaw dropping Danyun gorge. The flora is amazing, and includes Chinese Cypripedium species, along with many other orchids, rhododendrons, paeonies, pedicularis, primulas, meconopsis poppies, lilies, wild lilacs, and more.

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July 13 – July 20 Orchids of the Upper Peninsula (Michigan)

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is one of the best locations for native terrestrial orchids in the United States.  A combination of glacial geography, diverse geology, pristine forests, a variety of landscapes and habitat types, and large swaths of protected land all combine to make the U.P. a fantastic place to visit, explore, and hunt for orchids! 

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August 7-August 22 Orchids of Papua New Guinea

This will be the third OCA tour to the fascinating Papua New Guinea. This tour features a wonderful mix of the local cultures, scenery, the famous Mt. Hagen Culture festival, a visit to the incredible National Museum and Art Collection, and the opportunity to see many of the beautiful orchids of this country, including Dendrobium cuthbertsonii, Mediocalcar decorata, and innumerable weird and wonderful Bulbophyllum species. For the bird watcher, we will have many opportunities to view the incredible Birds of Paradise, and for the mountain climber, the opportunity to summit two of the highest mountains in this part of southeast Asia, namely Mt. Hagen and Mt. Wilhelm.

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Orchids in the Wild tours for 2026

February 3- February 20, 2026 Orchids of Zimbabwe

Our first trip to Zimbabwe, we will visit several national parks, enjoy both terrestrial and epiphytic orchid species, a day of bird watching, a visit to Victoria Falls, and a one day jungle safari!

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