For nearly a thousand years, theCamino de Santiago de Compostelaor 'Way of St. James' has been themost travelled pilgrimage route in Europe.However, rather than being a single route,the Camino is in fact a collection of manypilgrimage routes, all of which converge onthe cathedral of Santiago de Compostela inGalicia, north-west Spain, where traditionhas it that the remains of the apostle St.James are buried. Many of these ancientpathways pass through spectacularlandscapes and scenery, and none aremore enticing for the naturalist than theseries of paths which cross the Pyreneesand then descend through Aragón to link upwith the main pilgrimage route in Navarra. While the northern, French valleys of thePyrenees are wet, green and thicklyforested, the Spanish side of this dividingrange is dry, arid and generally moreMediterranean - home to a very differentvariety of plant and bird species. Thesesunny southern slopes are characterised bystunning limestone erosions, cliffs andcanyons, and a rich variety of scrub, maquisand arable farmland as well as extensivebeech and conifer forests. Our comfortablebase for this 8-day holiday is a delightful'casa rural' situated right on the Camino, inthe pretty hilltop village of Berdún whichenjoys fine views of the Pyrenees,surrounding foothills, and valleys of theVeral and Aragón Rivers. We'll makeleisurely daily walks exploring a combinationof the wildlife and historical highlights (formany isolated and ancient waysidechurches and hermitages may be found)along key Aragonese stretches of theCamino. In addition, we'll make detours offthe beaten track, along ancient footpaths,as we search for birds, plants andbutterflies.We begin this holiday with a flight toZaragoza, exploring the spectacularlimestone gorge, Foz de Lumbier, en routefrom the airport to Berdún. The gorge ishome to such bird species as EgyptianVulture and Spectacled Warbler; butterfliesabound, as well as flowers such as Narrow-leaved Valerian and Pyrenean Saxifrage. Onsubsequent days we'll walk differentstretches of the Camino, one of our firstexcursions being to the Pyrenean pass ofSomport, situated on the French-Spanishborder at 1,640m, from where we'll descendto the village of Villanua at 953 metres,following the Camino along the Rio Aragónas it passes through alpine pastures, woodsand fields. This route offers the chance tosee birds such as Griffon Vulture,Lammergeier, Short-toed Eagle, CragMartin, Alpine Chough and Citril Finch, andwe should also see many butterflies and -in June - such orchids such as EarlyPurple, Elder-flowered, Lesser Butterfly andFragrant, as well as other flowers such asPyrenean Snakeshead Fritillary, PyreneanSquill, Pyrenean Violet and PyreneanScabious.On another day, we will walk the short butpicturesque cabañera or 'drovers' road' toJaca, the first large town medieval pilgrimswould have come to when walking intoSpain. A bustling provincial town, Jaca hasa magnificent Romanesque cathedral, andfor the energetic there's an optional walk tothe summit of the sacred mountain PeñaOroel, where Griffon Vultures breed. Thiswalk also offers a wealth of wild flowers,among them Woodcock Orchid, PyreneanHoneysuckle and Beautiful Flax. We will alsospend a day on another branch of theCamino which enters Spain via the Col dePau and drops to the Roman road down theHecho Valley - one of the most beautifulvalleys in the Pyrenees, where bothLammergeier and Wallcreeper may befound.Taking a detour off the Camino, we willexplore a route that would once have beentaken by medieval pilgrims to see the holyrelics (including the Holy Grail!) at themonastery of St. Juan de la Peña. For thenaturalist, this is a quiet and rewarding spot,where Black Woodpeckers breed in theforest around the monastery and vulturesnest on the south-facing cliffs beneath it. Having explored the higher Pyrenean areas,we will enjoy a couple of walks at loweraltitudes where the drier, moreMediterranean habitats support a verydifferent flora and birdlife. First, we'll walkfrom Hecho into the Veral/Anso Valley,descending along a dramatic path to thespectacular Biniés Gorge. Then, on our finalday, we'll walk from the Ermita de La Virgende La Peña, spectacularly perched at thetop of a cliff, to the fascinating abandonedvillage of Escó (close to the Yesa reservoirwhich attracts fishing Black Kites, andmigrant Ospreys and waders in theautumn); two more walks offering thechance to savour pathways followed for athousand years by a multitude of devoutpilgrims - routes greatly enhanced fortoday's naturalist by the wealth of waysidewildlife and spectacular sceneryencountered along them.JACAZARAGOZABERDÚNLOURDES TOULOUSE ANDORRA BILBAO MADRID ORDESSA NATIONAL PARK FRANCE SPAIN 124Call now or visit www.naturetrek.co.uk for your free Trip ItineraryOutline itineraryDay 1Fly Zaragoza andtransfer to Berdún.Day 2/7A programme of daywalks along the Caminode Santiago from ourbase in Berdún.Day 8Fly Stansted.AccommodationA characterful 17th centuryAragonese dwelling, situated in adelightfully unspoilt village. Allrooms have private facilities.Food and wineAll included in the price.GradingGrade B. Day walks only, but somemore challenging terrain covered.FocusBirds, plants and butterflies; alsowalking and history.Leader Richard Cash or Philip Thompson.Single room supplement£140.ExtensionsArranged on request.Web quick search: ESP26Spain'sCaminodeSantiago & its Natural History An 8-day holiday of natural history walks along parts of the ancient Camino de Santiago, Europe's bestknown pilgrimage route, combining birds, plants and butterflies with a touch of history.Sunday 22nd April - Sunday 29th April Cost: £1,295 Sunday 9th September - Sunday 16th September Cost: £1,295 Short-toed EagleScarce CopperWalking along the Camino, Taxeras

Rising to the south of the magnificentMoorish city of Granada are thesnow-clad Sierra Nevada mountains.Their rugged southern foothills - abackwater of beautiful valleys and steephillsides - are known as the Alpujarras. Inspring, these hills are bedecked withblossoming almond and peach orchardsand a wealth of colourful wild flowers,while in summer butterflies, alpine flowersand the scent of wild Mediterranean herbsabound. Once the last stronghold of theMoors, the Alpujarran landscape still bearswitness to Moorish rule. As well as Walnutand Sweet Chestnut groves, Mulberry treesdot the hillsides giving a lingering clue tothe silk trade which flourished here duringmedieval times, and whitewashed Moorish-style villages and ubiquitous ancientirrigation systems and pathways remain,exquisitely engineered in stone. TheAlpujarra is rural Spain at its best:dramatic, peaceful, rustic and charming,its south-facing slopes perennially bathedin sun - a paradise for the walker andnaturalist! As we ascend towards our basein Mairena, the scenery becomesprogressively more dramatic. The roadnarrows and winds ever upwards,punctuated by picturesque white villagesclinging to the mountainsides, craggypeaks still snow-capped in spring, and lay-bys and meadows which by June areladen with myriad wild flowers andbutterflies!The Alpujarra is one of Spain's top walkingdestinations. Numerous short routes traverse the valleys and slopes and arange of more demanding trails lead upinto the Sierra Nevada National Park. InApril temperatures are comfortable andthis is a good time to tackle some of themore interesting walking routes, admiringas we go the mountainsides awash withthe colourful blossoms of broom, peach,almond and emerging spring flowers.Some 2,100 plant species (30% of therepresentative species of the IberianPeninsula) are found here, of which about 150 are endemic to the SierraNevada and surrounding area. Cytisusoromediterraneus(Padded Brushwood),Ulex parviflora(Small-flowered Gorse),Berberis hispanica(Spanish Barberry) andAdenocarpus decorticansall grow in andaround the oak forests, while at altitudesabove about 2,000 metres broom scrubreplaces the forests and covers the wideschist slopes to about 2,900 metres. Theendemic Lavandula lanata(WoollyLavender), Ranunculus acetosellifoliusandViola nevadensis(Sierra Nevada Violet), aswell as a diverse range of orchids, areamong the region's many interestingflowers that we'll be looking for. Also inApril, the first butterflies of the year shouldbe emerging, and such avian migrants asHoopoes, Golden Orioles, Bee-eaters,Nightingales and a variety of warblers willbe arriving for the summer. The scenery of the Alpujarra is superb,though most of the trails that we useinvolve some easy to moderate climbingalong ancient rocky trails as we ascendthe hillsides. We'll walk at a comfortablepace, passing natural springs andstumbling across mountain streams, as wefollow paths where we may well find suchinteresting plants as Paeonia coriacea,Polygala boissieri, Orchis olbiensisand Astragalus sempervirens ssp.nevadensis.By scanning the mountainsides above us,we will also hope to see herds of SpanishIbex, a speciality whose stronghold is herein the Sierra Nevada. Dippers may be seenon the mountain streams, and other birdspecies typical of the region include CragMartin, Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush,Rock Bunting and Serin. In June, our pace will be slower and ourwalks less ambitious as the heat of thesummer sun and the numerous butterflies,flowers and other wildlife slow us down inthe mountains. The Alpujarra is not knownfor its birds, but a passing Golden Eagle,or perhaps Griffon Vulture or Bonelli'sEagle, will merit an occasional glanceskywards, and warm nights will bepunctuated with the relentless 'hooting' ofthe diminutive Scops Owl. The old-fashioned farming methods practised onthese steep slopes ensure a great diversityand profusion of wild flowers which, inturn, attract a wealth of butterfly species.The altitudinal range that we may accesson this tour (from 1,000 to 2,900 metres),either on foot or by minibus, will reward uswith a wide range of butterflies. These mayinclude the alpine Apollo, MoroccanOrange-tip, Swallowtail, Scarce andSouthern Swallowtail; such Blues as Long-tailed, Short-tailed and Mazarine; Heath,Meadow, Queen of Spain and GlanvilleFritillaries, and Grizzled, Mallow, Red-underwing and other Skippers.Our holiday will not be complete, however,without a visit to the historic city ofGranada and the stunning AlhambraPalace, just a 30-minute drive away . aheady cultural experience to complementthe natural delights to be found on theMoorish trails of the Alpujarras.125Outline itineraryDay 1Fly Almeria; transferMairena.Day 2/7A programme of wildlifewalks and excursions inthe Alpujarras, fromMairena (including aday-trip to Granada andthe Alhambra).Day 8Fly UK.AccommodationAn exceptional, family-runAlpujarran guesthouse; all roomswith private facilities.Food and wineAll included in the price.GradingGrade B (April). Our day-walks inthe mountains will tackle somesteeper ground.Grade A (June). Mountain walks, butat a slower pace, with greater use ofminibuses to access key sites.FocusWalking and general natural historyin April; walking, butterflies, flowersand other wildlife in June.LeaderByron Palacios, Jorge Garzón orPaul Harmes.Single room supplement£150.Web quick search: ESP21FRANCE PORTUGAL SEVILLEGRANADACADIZ MADRIDATLANTIC OCEAN MEDITERRANEANSEASPAINSIERRA NEVADAMAIRENAALMERIABook direct on 01962 733051or see page 280 for Booking InformationSpain - The Alpujarras & Alhambra An 8-day holiday of natural history walks in the rugged Alpujarra mountains, the southernfoothills of the Sierra Nevada, including a day exploring Granada and the Alhambra Palace.Saturday 28th April - Saturday 5th May Cost: £1,295Wednesday 6th June - Wednesday 13th June Cost: £1,295Spring flowers, AlpujarrasSpanish MarbledWhiteThe Alhambra Palace, Granada