Courtesy Post: Naturalist Journeys is pleased to support guide Robert Gallardo's Butterfly Festival!
The fascinating world of Neotropical butterflies includes blue morphos, giant owl's-eye, graceful longwings, mesmerizing metalmarks, a kaleidoscope of hairstreaks, transparent glasswings and a plethora of skippers. To celebrate this incredible biodiversity, the Pro Nature Honduras Foundation has already begun an annual butterfly festival; unique in the entire region. The Emerald Valley Butterfly Festival highlights the species-rich region of Lake Yojoa and has an optional extension to the world-famous Mayan site in Copan Ruins.

Each day of the Festival we will explore various sites around the Lake with expert guides. Although we are keen to see a large variety of species, the idea is to enjoy and photograph them in their natural surroundings. The main event consists of two full days at the renown Emerald Valley, home to over 650 species of butterflies. This 50-acre site has several designated butterfly gardens adorned with a wide variety of plants to attract both birds and butterflies. The dates of the Festival are centered around the blooming cycle of the Blue Mistflower, when literally clouds of butterflies descend from the canopy or leave the forest to feed on its aromatic flowers.

Glasswing Butterfly, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys Blue-crowned Cholorphonia, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys Glasswing Butterfly, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys Blue-crowned Motmot, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys
Caligo Uranus, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys Golden-hooded Tanager, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys Blue Morpho Butterfly, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys White Hawk, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys
  • Catastica Nimbice, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys
  • Anastrus Meliboea, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys
  • Emesis, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys
  • Hamadryas Amphinome, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys
  • Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys
  • Robert Gallardo, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys
  • Melete Polyhymnia, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys
  • Phoebis Argante, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys
  • Valle Esmerlda, Lago de Yojoa, Honduras, Lago de Yojoa, Lake Yojoa; Honduras Birding Tour, Honduras Butterfly Tour, Honduras Nature Tour, Naturalist Journeys

Browse below for trip reports and species lists from past versions of this and other tours from this destination.

Honduras

  • Robert Gallardo

    A California native who moved to Honduras in 1993 for the Peace Corps, Robert stayed to make a life there, diving headfirst into the world of tropical birds. He is now considered the country's leading authority on both avifauna and butterflies – a double expert on beautiful flying things. He leads tours for Naturalist Journeys to Panama, Honduras, Texas and Trinidad & Tobago. Robert is the current President of the Pro Nature Honduras Foundation, a small non-profit which promotes nature-based sustainable tourism and environmental education. He is also the co-founder of the Honduran Ornithological Society. He has authored two editions of the "Guide to the Birds of Honduras." He and his partner Olivia hope to publish the "Guide to the Butterflies of Honduras" sometime in 2022. The couple lives in Emerald Valley where they protect 50 acres of rich mid-elevation rainforest and are working to install a nature center with their foundation.

    Other trips with Robert Gallardo

Pace & Protocols +

Pace of the Tour & What to Expect You will receive a Schedule-at-a-Glance and list of Read more

Pace of the Tour & What to Expect

You will receive a Schedule-at-a-Glance and list of hotels (our eContact List) a few weeks before your departure. This will serve as an outline for each day and alert you to any recent changes made in the schedule or to our hotels, if needed.

Our journeys are set up to follow the rhythm of nature. Our focus is on birding and nature; we offer full, well-planned field days and often get up early for that magical time around dawn. We generally follow the published itinerary, but we stay flexible to the weather, wildlife opportunities and the interests of the group. Your guide will keep you apprised of the next day’s schedule at each evening meal, noting what to bring and what to prepare for. Questions and/or concerns are welcome.

The pace of our Naturalist Journeys tours is moderate; to fully participate you should be able to get in and out of vehicles several times a day, and walk 1-3 miles over uneven terrain. It is important to participate with a flexible attitude as adjustments may be made in our schedule to make the most of our time in the field or for other purposes at your guide's discretion. We are not a “listing” bird company that drills down on target species, but at times we do wait for those special species unique to the places we visit. During the day, we take time to stop for photos and for educational opportunities to learn about conservation projects, landscapes, and geology. We appreciate other taxa as well as birds, with mammals often the biggest draw but plants and butterflies are also very popular. Our clients often lend their own expertise to the mix.

We like to make meals a fun and memorable part of the experience, too. Breakfasts are often at hotels, and we carry snacks, fruit, and water in the vans each day. Lunches are a mix of picnics in the field (weather dependent) and a chance to dine with locals at small cafes and restaurants. For dinner, we pride ourselves in our homework to keep up with the best choices for dining, choosing restaurants with atmosphere that specialize in local foods. On occasion we keep dinner simple to go back out in the field for sunset wildlife viewing or night walks. In some remote locations, our choices are limited. If you are tired, room service for dinner may be an option you can choose.

Naturalist Journeys International Trips: Guide Role

Naturalist Journeys supports ecotourism and the development of excellent local guides. Once we know our international partners and guides well, we can send out small groups working directly with these trusted partners, adding a Naturalist Journeys guide to assist the local expert when we have a group of 6-7 or more. This helps us keep your costs down while retaining tour quality. The local guide is your main guide. You can expect your Naturalist Journeys guide to be well-researched and often they are experienced in the destination, but their role is not to be primary, it is to help to organize logistics, help you find birds, mammals, and interesting other species in the field, keep reports, help facilitate group interactions, and to keep the trip within Naturalist Journeys' style. Local guides live in the countries we travel to, know the destinations intimately, and are often the strongest force for conservation in their countries. They open many doors for us to have a rich experience.

Smoking

Smoking is not permitted in any vehicle or in any situation where the group is participating in an activity together, such as a vehicle excursion or a guided walk. Please respect all designated smoking areas at hotels and restaurants.

Transportation

As a courtesy to each other, we ask that all travelers please rotate seating. On international trips we may all be in one small bus, on some trips we are in vans, particularly the roomy Sprinter Vans when available. Some areas require us to be in smaller 4-wheel drive or safari vehicles. Rotation allows you to sit with different drivers and alternate front and back seating.

Photo Release & Sharing

We take many group photos and will share photos with the group. And after your tour, we will organize a chance to share photos via Dropbox or Google Photos. Please note that this is our policy and if you prefer to be excluded, we need to know ahead of your tour.

By registering for this tour, you agree to grant to Naturalist Journeys and its authorized representatives’ permission to record on photography film and/or video, pictures of my participation in the tour. You further agree that any or all of the material photographed may be used, in any form, as part of any future publications, brochure, or other printed materials used to promote Naturalist Journeys, and further that such use shall be without payment of fees, royalties, special credit or other compensation.

Travel Insurance

You are traveling in remote areas. Naturalist Journeys strongly recommends you have full medical and evacuation insurance from a company such as Allianz, for all international travel. If you do not have medical coverage or evacuation coverage on your existing travel insurance policy or for some reason elected not to take that out, we advise getting an evacuation plan with Global Rescue, World Nomads, Medjet, Allianz (they can do evacuation only) or a similar company. These plans are typically $300-$400 for a year for multiple destinations. This coverage may be a part of a larger Travel Insurance policy but can also be purchased on its own.

Questions?

Please contact Naturalist Journeys by email at clientservices@naturalistjourneys.com or telephone our office: (520) 558-1146 or toll free: (866) 900-1146 if you have any questions. Many thanks for traveling with us and we hope you enjoy your journey.

 


Photo credits: Banner: Butterfly Festival, Robert Gallardo; Glasswing Butterfly by Robert Gallardo; Blue-crowned Chlorophonia by Robert Gallardo; Glasswing Butterfly by Robert Gallardo; Blue-crowned Motmot by Robert Gallardo; Caligo Uranus by Robert Gallardo; Golden-hooded Tanager by Robert Gallardo; Peleides Blue Morpho by Robert Gallardo; White Hawk by Robert Gallardo; Catastica Nimbice, Robert Gallardo; Anastrus Meliboea, Robert Gallardo; Emesis, Robert Gallardo; Hamadryas Amphinome, Robert Gallardo; Robert Gallardo; Melete Polyhymnia, Robert Gallardo; Phoebis Argante, Robert Gallardo; Valle Esmerlda, Robert Gallardo.

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