We guide natural history holidays that will take you in search of birds, mammals, butterflies and wildflowers in some of the most beautiful and wild spots of southern Spain. These wildlife tours are highly adapted to your needs and targets. Some ideas:
Iberian Lynx watching
We’d love to take to the best place where to see Iberian Lynx, with good chances to see them. That is why we deeply recommend coming looking for them in Sierra Morena and in December-January. As we look for the Lynx we will also have chances to see Otter, Red Deer and Fallow Deer. You can have a look at our Iberian Lynx Safari or enquire us for a custom-made Lynx tour.
Spanish Ibex photo tour
We also run photo tours focused on Iberian Ibex. The impressive mountain scenery and the proximity to them make this tour a photographer’s dream. The best time to see Spanish Ibex is from late September till November, sunny days in winter and all spring till mid June. These photo tours take a full-day trip and will also give chances to photograph Griffon Vulture and other birds.
Red deer rut
We have access to restricted valleys of Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park where we can hear and see Red deer in the mating season. This trip is seasonal, from early September till mid October, weather depending. This trip is a half day trip where easy walking is required.
Orchids and wild flowers
The Serranía de Ronda homes up to 35 species of wild orchids out of the 70 species in Andalucía. The best months for orchids in here are April, May and early June, but please note that some orchids can be found as early as in Christmas (Giant Orchid) and as late as September. Check some of the species of wild orchids in south Spain here.
As for wildflowers in Ronda, we can recommend visiting the area from April to beginning of June for number of species and quantity of flowers.
Butterflies walks
Although the best time of the year to see Butterflies in south Spain is from early May till early July, we can organize nature walks with an interest on butterflies and insects from early March till the end of summer.
Among the top species to find here, Two-tail Pasha, Spanish Festoon, Common and Scarce Swallowtails, Cardinal and Adonis Blue.
Reptiles and amphibians
For the moment we don’t do reptile watching tours, but we usually find them as we go birding. Here’s a bit more of information on our common reptiles and amphibians in the Ronda mountains:
Among the snakes, we can find Horse-shoe whip, Ladder and Montpellier Snakes well distributed in south Spain. Just in streams it is also possible to find Viperine Snake. We count with 2 types of turtles in Andalucía: Spanish Pond Terrapin and the more scarce European Pond Terrapin. As for lizards to be found in our area, such as Iberian Wall Lizard, Spiny-footed Lizard, Large Psammodromus and Ocellated Lizard.
Amphibians in the Ronda area: Frog species: Iberian Water, Parsley, Tree and Mediterranean Tree Frogs. 2 toad species: Common and Natterjack Toads. Iberian-ribbed and Marbled Newts and, our favourite one, the Fire Salamander.
Other wildlife
Other interesting wildlife in the Ronda area include the Spanish funnel-web spider -the largest european spider-.
Several species of bats can be seen on a bat tour near Ronda. The traveling naturalist will be surprised with the massive passage of Medieterranean horseshoe and the Common bent-wing bats as they leave their caves at dusk.