Orchids of the Gargano Peninsula

Note: subject to modification depending on weather, road conditions etc.

DAY 1 

Meet at Bari International Airport-Karol Wojtyla, and transfer to our hotel in the beautiful hilltop town of Monte Sant’Angelo. We will make some stops en route in the coastal lowland areas and lagoon margins to start looking for orchids and other Mediterranean coastal flora

DAYS 2-4

Our first three full days in the area will be spent exploring the hidden treasures of the southern portion of the Gargano Peninsula, an enticing mosaic of rocky, calcareous pastures, sheltered gorges, extensive woodlands and, of course, limestone pavement.

DAY 5

We transfer today to our second base for the week’s orchid-hunting, in the pretty fishing village of Peschici, nestled on the northern flanks of the peninsula. En route, we will make several stops to enjoy the habitat afforded by the magnificent Forest Umbra.

DAYS 6-7

Explore different elevations, and more verdant habitat in the northern and eastern area of the Gargano, which will open up a fine range of new orchid and other wildflower possibilities.

DAY 8

Depart Peschici, and transfer to Bari International airport. If time permits, we’ll stop en route to visit a good orchid site or two.

As with all of our tours, we want our guests to enjoy the very best views of the very best areas and, as such, we think it’s important to retain a little flexibility in the holiday itinerary. This means that we may choose to swap days around to take into account local weather conditions, or the timing of the flight or flowering season we find upon arrival at our holiday destination. Rest assured, we will ensure you visit all the best sites, and we have your best interests and comfort at heart.

From the airport in the city of Bari we will travel along the coast on our way to our first hotel accommodation on the outskirts of the beautiful hilltop town of Monte Sant’Angelo. The coastal lagoons and lowlands along the way will offer the opportunity for our first look at the flora of the area, and there are often interesting migrant wading birds on the lagoons, in addition to Greater Flamingo, Pygmy Cormorant, and displaying Black-winged Stilt. Before we even reach our hotel, we should have enjoyed two spectacular orchids that take their names from the Puglia region of Italy in which we’re based – Ophrys apulica, and Serapias apulica.

For the first part of the week we will explore the southern part of the Gargano. This area is largely rocky calcareous pasture mixed with scrub where the grassland is decorated with patches of bright Pink Butterfly Orchids Anacamptis papilionacea, the stunning Sawfly Orchid Ophrys neglecta, one of the best of the genus, and sprawling clumps of the deep blue Dyer’s Alkanet Alkanna tinctoria. Near the ancient monastery of Santa Maria di Pulsano a spectacular gorge is home to the range restricted Adriatic Bellflower Campanula garganica and, clinging tenaciously to rocky cliffs, Hairy Golden-Drop Onosma echioides. Here we may come across the spectacular endemic Ophrys sipontensis. The abundant flowers here attract butterflies like Scarce Swallowtail Iphiclides podalirius, Eastern Bath White Pontia edusa, and Adonis and Chapman’s Blues Polyommatus bellargus and P. thersites. The bright orange flowers of Field Marigold Calendula arvensis are a favourite for the tiny colourful beefly Usia versicolor.

A visit to the extensive woodlands of Bosco Quarto can be very productive. On the way we will stop to admire fields full of bright yellow Wild Tulip Tulipa sylvestris. In and around the woodlands we should find the endemic Argolian Bee Orchid Ophrys biscutella, Hollowroot Corydalis cava, the spectacular endemic Two-flowered Iris Iris bicapitata, and the beautiful Viola merxmuelleri, another endemic of SE Italy. Near patches of Aristolochia lutea we will keep a sharp lookout for the stunning Southern Festoon Zerynthia polyxena, and in shady areas the delicate Wood White Leptidea sinapis can often be seen.

On the limestone pavement around Monte Sacro numerous orchids can be found with Ophrys bee orchids as ever prominent stars of the show – we’ll expect to encounter Ophrys sipontensis, bertolonii, bertoloniiformis, minipassionis, archipelagi, bombyliflora, biscutella… the list goes on and on and, with it, so too do the opportunities to encounter a striking hybrid or two! We’ll also find the brightly coloured and charming Sparse-flowered Orchid Orchis pauciflora and Four-spotted Orchid Orchis quadripunctata here too.

En route to our second hotel in the pretty fishing village of Peschici we pass through the extensive Foresta Umbra where we will stop to see the magnificent Ophrys parvimaculata, in addition to large drifts of Apennine Lungwort Pulmonaria hirta, Spring Sowbread Cyclamen repandum, sweetly perfumed Common Peony Paeonia mascula, and Roman Orchid Dactylorhiza romana. Further roadside stops along the way will provide many more colourful plants, including Small-flowered Tongue-orchid, Bitter Blue Lupine Lupinus micranthus, and the deep red Winged Pea Lotus tetragonolobus.

Down on the coast Alpine Swifts can often be seen around the cliffs and screaming above our hotel, while Scopoli’s Shearwaters feed on baitfish out to sea. Along the cliff tops large shrubs of Jupiter’s-Beard Anthyllis barba-jovis are in full flower, while Pink Hawk’s-beard Crepis rubra, Boar Thistle Galactites tomentosus, Sicilian Snapdragon Antirrhinum siculum, and White Henbane Hyoscyamus albus decorate the rocky slopes.

The orchards of the area harbour colonies of the spectacular Lady Orchid Orchis purpurea growing alongside Greater Honeywort Cerinthe major and Pink Garlic Allium trifoliatum. Amongst other orchid treasures we’ll be hoping to enjoy will be the Italian endemic Ophrys montis-gargani, sporting enormous protuberant horns. Of great importance here too are the delicious gelato ice creams for which Peschici is justly renowned!

The area around Lago di Verano is relatively verdant compared with the more arid limestone pavement areas we explored earlier in the week, and here we should find a suite of new, enticing Serapias tongue-orchid and Ophrys bee-orchid species to lose ourselves in. In 2025 we found in excess of 10,000 tongue and bee orchids in one large field alone! As ever with all of our tours, we take particular care to tread lightly in the landscape, and take only photos and happy memories with us when we leave.

Access to the sites we visit is easy, and the pace of each day will be relaxed. Make sure you bring plenty of memory cards for your camera, as the opportunities for photos abound!

Your guides for the tour will be naturalist and European orchid expert Jon Dunn, author of botanical bestseller Orchid Summe, and legendary Italian naturalist and author Andrea Corso. Jon has been a professional wildlife tour leader for 15 years now, and loves sharing orchids in particular with his guests. Andrea, a native of Sicily, is renowned in his Italian homeland and beyond for his deep knowledge of the region’s natural history, and his love for his cultural heritage. A professionally trained singer, Andrea also has a beautiful voice that we may, if we’re fortunate, hear in soulful song. We consider these two friendly guides to be the dream team with whom to share a colourful week of Italian orchid-hunting.