Tailormade Wildlife Holidays: Butterfly-Watching in Armenia

Armenia is a landlocked country in the Caucasus, where Europe and Asia meet, with a long and fascinating history — and a wide range of habitats that support over 230 species of butterfly. For the lepidopterophile, Armenia is a top destination for a tailormade wildlife holiday. From flower-covered steppe to alpine meadows and semi-desert, and more, the landscape of Armenia offers a varied visit and the likelihood of sighting at least 80 species during a week under expert guidance.

Yerevan

Yerevan is Armenia’s capital, a city with a history that stretches back to the 8th century BCE and the foundation of the fortress Erebuni by King Argishti I. The city makes a good starting base for an adventure to Armenia, as it gives visitors a chance to learn about the cultural history of the country — and, more importantly, go on excursions to the nearby semi-desert and steppe habitats around Gaghadir and Hatsavan to start searching for butterflies. The waterways in these arid areas are an excellent place to look, as thousands of ‘mudpuddling’ white and blue butterflies gather at the water. Butterflies that lepidopterophiles can expect to see around Gaghadir and Hatsavan include the fritillary Melitaea trivia caucasi, the hairstreak Satyrium ledereri, the Persian Skipper, Persian Fritillary, Southern Swallowtail and Dawn Clouded Yellow.

Another excursion to consider on a tailormade wildlife holiday itinerary is Gharni, where basalt columns have been carved out in a gorge by the Goght River. This rich butterfly habitat is home to Jerusalem and Caucasian Lesser Spotted Fritillaries, Esper’s Marbled White, Marbled Skipper and Short-tailed Blue.

Dilijan

North of Yerevan is the spa town of Dilijan, which is surrounded by beautiful forests. The Acharkut Beech Forest and its meadows full of flowers is the draw here. They are home to many butterfly species: the attractive emperor butterfly Thaleropis ionia, Southern White Admiral, Hungarian Glider, Eastern Wood White, Great Banded Grayling, Northern Brown Argus, the hairstreak Satyrium abdominal and more.

Gyumri

A regional capital in the north of Armenia, Gyumri is a beautiful city with many buildings dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries and a cultural treat on a tailormade wildlife holiday. After admiring the architecture, it will be time to ascend Armenia’s highest mountain, Mount Aragats. On its rocky slopes and sub-alpine meadows, lepidopterophiles can look for the clouded yellow Colias chlorocoma, the high altitude white Pieris bowdeni, the skipper Pyrgus jupei, Nickerl’s Fritillary, the Scarce Copper subspecies armeniaca, Apollo, Mountain Apollo and many more species.

Eastern Armenia

Eastern Armenia has its own set of habitats to explore, including semi-desert, great Juniper and oak forests in the Khosrov Forest State Reserve, moist meadows and rocky slopes. Butterfly species to be seen include the blues Lysandra corydoniu and Polyommatus surakovi, Amasian Satyr, Oriental Meadow Brown, Agri Blue, Chelmos Blue and Pogges Skipper. The perfect end for a tailormade wildlife holiday in Armenia is the gorge Noravank, where a 13th century monastery is spectacularly situated among sheer red cliffs.

Marissa Ellis-Snow is a freelance nature writer. If you’re looking for tailormade wildlife holidays Naturetrek specialises in expert-led natural history and wildlife tours worldwide. Naturetrek brings over 25 years of experience to polar expeditions and tours to other spectacular regions on Earth.