Wild Orchids Found on Walks in Italy

One of the great joys of taking a countryside walking tour of Italy is finding wild orchids blooming along the trail.  Our walking tour guides in Italy know just when and where to spot these exquisite flowers, enriching the experience of a countryside or coastal walking tour in Italy.

sawfly wild orchid
Ophrys tenthredinifera, sawfly orchid, found on a walking tour in Sicily

You’ll find wild orchids in Italy begin blooming in Sicily in February, and continue through mid-May, and we’ve timed our walking tours in Sicily to coincide with the wildflower season.   In other areas of Italy, such as Tuscany and Umbria, walkers will be rewarded with wild orchids in April and May.

orchis papilionacea
orchis papilionacea – butterfly orchid – found on a walking tour in Eastern Sicily at 600 meters altitude

Talking a walk in the splendid countryside in Italy allows you to notice things that you would never find on a faster mode of travel.

wild orchids in Italy
ophrys lutea & orchis lactea are commonly found in fields in Sicily on a walking tour

In the Dolomites, the wildflower season is mainly in June and July, when you can take a rest from a hike in the Dolomites in a field full of wild orchids.  If you’ve ever thought of hiking in the Italian Alps, this is the best time to go.

wildflowers in the dolomites
We time our walking and hiking tours in the Dolomites to coincide with the wildflower season, when you can find many wild orchids

Hike up to an alpine meadow to admire the various colors of the tiny nigritella orchid, which blooms at 2000 meters high in the Dolomites, and breathe in their vanilla scent.

nigritella orchids

Occasionally in Sicily and while walking along the coast in other areas of Italy, you’ll even find orchids in late fall, blooming beneath bushes of wild thyme.

ophrys orchid
“Insect orchids” are commonly found on our spring walking tours in Sicily

And if you are more of a seafarer than someone who takes walks in Italy, you can always just name your boat after these exquisite flowers.

boat named Orchidea

Read Similar Stories:

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4 thoughts on “Wild Orchids Found on Walks in Italy

  1. Hi Anita,
    I am heading to Italy around last week of May and June. I am an avid Orchid grower here in Australia and I would love to see some of the Italian Orchids in the wild. I will be around Treviso as this is where my fathers family is from. Who should I book these tours through, I am finding it hard to find. I see people blogs and pictures, but there are no names on who they did their tours through.

    This has been a must for me for some time, and I am taking the opportunity this time, if I can find someone to show me around.

    Any help would be appreciated.
    Regards
    Fiorella

    1. Hello Fiorella – You might try heading up to the mountains during that period of time, as I think your time period is a bit late for orchids at a lower altitude. I am sorry but I do not know of anyone doing orchid viewing tours in that area. Best of luck and have a wonderful trip. – Anita

  2. Hi. I love the photo of the couple laying in the flowers. Can you please tell me when this was taken? I live in Australia & am planning a trip for next year 2016 & really want to see flowers in bloom like this. Would August be too late in the season? Thanks 🙂
    Jess

    1. The couple in flowers was taken in the Dolomite mountains in northern Italy. The main wildflower season there is July & August.

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