The best flora north of the Alps is found in Slovakia. Just a one-hour drive from the lowland to the Liptov basin surrounded by the highest peaks of the Carpathians suggests the richness of plant life. The Carpathians border Pannonia, another fascinating area where flora of the eastern steppes survived the ice age and now flourishes on sunlit hills along the Slovak-Hungarian border. Endemics, steppe and alpine flowers as well as some rare orchids are all preserved in ten national parks and hundreds of smaller protected areas. We start in the warm south and climb the Tatra mountains to reach our highest point in a saddle with breathtaking scenery, a local breed of Chamois on the slopes and eagles patrolling the air.

Lady’s Slipper, Purple Milk-vetch, White Pasque Flower, Alpine Clematis and Austrian Dragonhead always appear among the 600 – 800 species we see in a week. The pink and red poppies, yellow holly, rapeseed fields, meadows and pastures all create the intimate atmosphere of this small but bounteous country.