Switzerland botany holiday

country:	Switzerland
location:	Swiss Alps
departures:	2008: 15 Jun, 22 Jun
price:	From £1095 (8 days) including flights from the UK, from £975 excluding flights

Switzerland holidays

Botany holidays

the amazing things you'll be doing

An 8-day appreciation of the wonderful alpine flora - and birds and butterflies - of the Bernese Oberland.

The village of Wengen is an idyllic alpine resort, set high on a sheltered alp above the dramatic Lauterbrunnen Valley, right in the heart of the Bernese Oberland. Few places command such a spectacular setting! Lying at an altitude of 1,163 metres, Wengen is backed by one of the finest mountain landscapes in Europe.

Here stand the ice-clad peaks of the Wetterhorn and Schreckhorn, but even more majestic is the famous trio of peaks — the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. These form an awesome backcloth to the lush, botanically rich alpine meadows and spruce forests at their feet.

In late June, all but the highest peaks are free from snow and the newly exposed pastures become awash with a carpet of flowers. Our tour is timed to coincide with the peak of this display.

day-by-day itinerary

Day 1:	Fly Zürich and transfer by train to Wengen.
Day 2-7:	Botanical walks and excursions from Wengen.
Day 8:	Transfer by train to Zürich and fly London.

this holiday is operated by a wildlife specialist

Typically trips are expertly guided by a leading specialist with a good knowledge of the area to be visited. Inevitably, birds, plants and mammals are the main focus of attention however, the aim will be to incorporate all other aspects of the natural world in an attempt to be as broad-minded as possible. A local guide may often accompany trips.

how this holiday makes a difference

This 8-day, single-centre walking holiday offers an appreciation of the wonderful Alpine flora – and birds and butterflies – of the Bernese Oberland. Our small group of 16, escorted throughout by David Tattersfield (a popular and expert British botanist and naturalist), will be based for the week in the idyllic, traffic-free village of Wengen in Switzerland, where we stay in a small, friendly, family-run hotel set on the edge of the village and commanding wonderful views of the snow-clad Jungfrau.

Using only trains and cable cars throughout the holiday, and spending nearly all our time walking on foot through the alpine meadows of this spectacular mountain region, there are few holidays as environmentally friendly as this one. Should you wish, you could even make it more so by travelling to and from Wengen by train – rather than by flying – from London!

As a company we have achieved AITO’s top level, 3-star Responsible Tourism accreditation and we have always tried to operate our holidays in an environmentally responsible manner, striving to contribute to wildlife conservation and habitat preservation at all times.

Our policy includes:

To focus, particularly, on visiting areas which do not benefit from the rewards of mass market tourism.

To minimise environmental damage by exploring in small groups and, as much as possible, on foot.

To use, wherever possible, local guides.

To involve local communities and to ensure that they receive a fair share of the benefits of wildlife tourism.

To use, wherever possible, small, locally owned accommodations & specialist local agents/ground operators.

To purchase, where possible, local produce.

To develop and commit to long-term plans to visit rural areas and support the local communities.

To contribute financially to projects local to the areas that we visit (ie. schools, hospitals, etc.)

To educate the local people on the importance and long-term benefits of wildlife tourism.

To keep our clients well-informed on aspects of wildlife management and conservation.

To work with British and overseas conservation organisations to develop new wildlife tourism destinations.

To run our UK office in as energy-efficient a manner as possible.

We also encourage our clients to offset their carbon dioxide emissions.

Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people.

We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel.

'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left).

We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays.

We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism.

This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards.