Rising like a formidable spine through the heart of Austria, the Hohe Tauern mountain range stands as a testament to nature’s artistry and enduring power. Towering peaks clad in eternal snow, sprawling glaciers, pristine alpine meadows, and winding valleys define this region, which is both a natural treasure trove and a living tapestry of Central European culture.
The Hohe Tauern range forms part of the Central Eastern Alps, stretching over 120 kilometres in an east-west direction across the Austrian states of Salzburg, Carinthia, and Tyrol. The range is renowned for its rugged peaks, with more than 300 summits exceeding 3,000 metres in altitude. At the heart of the Hohe Tauern stands the Großglockner, Austria’s highest mountain, which soars to an imposing 3,798 metres above sea level.
The Hohe Tauern is the setting for a unique and exclusive Mariposa Nature Tours butterfly tour. This is a two-centre holiday, with the first part based just south of Heiligenblut am Großglockner.
The rarefied air and terrain above 2,400m is home to a variety of scarce montane species, with Little Fritillary, Eriphyle Ringlet, Warren’s Skipper, Alpine Blue, Small Apollo, and de Lesse’s Brassy Ringlet the most notable.
Other desirable butterflies are Silky Ringlet, the debilitata form of Marsh Fritillary, Eros Blue, Shepherd’s and Mountain Fritillaries, Blind Ringlet, and Alpine Grizzled Skipper.
The days spent here will concentrate on the butterflies to be found above 2,000m, although there is also a strong likelihood of encounters with confiding Alpine Marmot and the rather shyer Alpine Chamois, as well as the opportunity to enjoy the unparallelled vistas of this montane region of central Europe.
The second half of the holiday will be based in Mallnitz, with the local endemic, White Speck Ringlet, being the principal target, and others such as Lesser Mountain Ringlet, Moorland Clouded Yellow, Alpine Grayling, and Eriphyle Ringlet firmly in the sights.
Time will also be spent at altitudes below 1,600m, which will allow opportunities for species such as Titania’s Fritillary, Arran Brown, Map and Dryad to be found.
Both hotels are in beautiful settings, with travel times to the daily sites generally rather short (30-45 minutes).
The very nature of this trip means that there will be regular uphill terrain to negotiate, meaning that it is important for all guests to have good levels of fitness and mobility, although the walks will be at a leisurely pace with sufficient time apportioned to all the best locations that will be visited.
We are very excited to add the Hohe Tauern to our growing portfolio of European butterfly tours, and anticipate this will be a justly popular tour for years to come.
