Mexico: See monarch butterflies in their wintering grounds

Every year, millions of monarch butterflies journey roughly 2,500 miles from Canada and the northern U.S. to central Mexico highlands, where they spend the winter around local flowers, mating and feeding.

Visiting the butterflies en masse in their wintering grounds is said to be a remarkable experience. You may get a chance to see so many butterflies at once, in fact, that “you can actually hear the beating of millions of tiny wings,” according to a trip announcement by nature-expedition operator Natural Habitat Adventures.

The travel company’s six-day “Kingdom of the Monarchs Adventure,” offered 14 times between January and March 2010, is one way to visit the butterflies in an environmentally sensitive manner while contributing to their conservation. And a recent promotion by the operator offers extra incentive to book for a couple of the tour dates.

Deal: The “2010 Economic Climate Change Stimulus Plan” offers a one-time $500 discount per person, for monarch-butterfly trips departing Jan. 10 or Jan. 18, 2010. The discounted trip is not bookable online, so call it in and request the “conservation credit.”

The price before discount is $2,895 per person (the single supplement is $545) and includes accommodations, most of your meals, soda and beer with meals, bottled water, park entrance fees, optional horseback riding, and taxes and service charges (excluding departure and airport taxes in Mexico).

When: To receive the discount, you must book your trip by Dec. 31, 2009.

Contact: Natural Habitat Adventures, (800) 543-8917

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Photo: A monarch butterfly — the star of a unique Natural Habitat Adventures tour. Credit: © Mike Bruscia / Natural Habitat Adventures

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 9:52 am by Susan Derby and is filed under Africa & Middle East, Cancun, Italy, Midwestern States, New York, Oregon, Theme Parks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.