Just 7 kilometers away from Parikia, Paros hides a secret, from the beginning to the end of August, that those who visited the island together with hordes of tourists have never learned about. You should not make the mistake of going to Paros and not visiting the Butterfly Valley. It is a beautiful and serene place with a vast vegetation, composed of all kinds of trees and plants. Surely, you wouldn’t expect to find a green paradise in the heart of the Cyclades, but that's what it is all about. And the thousands of butterflies that cover the tree trunks can confirm it.
The Butterfly Valley is located in the area of Psichopiana and in order to reach it, you just have to take the peripheral road that starts from Parikia and heads southwest. The road is very good. On your way there, you will come across the monastery “Christ of the Forest” and the imposing, white church of Saint Arsenios, the patron saint of the island. We can hardly prepare you for what you will find when you will arrive at the valley. After leaving your vehicle in the parking lot outside and after passing the gate you will find yourself in a cool and fresh world, filled with plants and trees.
Following the curated paths with their arches, you will walk inside the valley and wish that there were no guiding signs so that you would have all the reason to get lost inside this green paradise. A combination of oleasters, figs, prunus trees, pear trees and dozens of other trees create a unique biotope for the Jersey Tiger Moth butterflies, which you can see in large numbers on the trunks of the trees. The butterflies of Paros, which are distinguished by their beautiful colors (brown-black, yellowish-white edges and red wings when they are open) appear from the end of May to the end of July, they disappear in August only see them again in September. This occurs because females are looking for a place to deposit their eggs and then die. The caterpillars come out of the eggs in October and become butterflies in May. From June to August they stay on the trunks of the trees and in August they mate, continuing the cycle of regeneration.
You can enter the valley area by paying a small fee at the entrance, and the personnel there will advice you to make as least noise as possible so as not to upset the beautiful forest inhabitants and not make them consume energy that they will need later to complete their mission. Clearly, you will follow the instructions that prompt you to avoid sudden movements to avoid scaring the butterflies. But you do not have to worry. Every now and then many of them start floating around you, looking like they just want to move a little after so much idle time. And that’s when you will see an unprecedented spectacle unfolding in front of you: the brown butterflies will appear with all the grandeur of their reddish shades that their folded wings were hiding earlier. Your walk on the stone paths, under the relaxing sound of the water running through fountains, can last as much as you want. If you get tired, you can rest in the nice refreshment room as much as you need in order to start your walk from the beginning.
If you want to make your holiday in Paros truly unforgettable, discover our exclusive villas and all the services available to our guests.
