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Highlights
Bear watching,
Bird watching
Northern Taiga forests
Possibilities for wolves & wolverine
Relaxing saunas
Introduction
Witness the bears of eastern Finland in their natural environment with great opportunities for additional nature watching and photography. Spend two nights in a hide to maximise your bear viewing and during the day experience guided nature walks for opportunities to see flying squirrels, owls and other specialities of the taiga forests.
Outline Itinerary
Day
1. Arrive Kajaani and transfer to lodge
2. Half day guided nature trip followed by time in northern Taiga forests. Afternoon walk to hide for first night bear watching
3. Bird watching and possible visit to the control point on the Russian border. Second night in the bear hide
4. Return to Kajaani and depart Finland.
Cost
Please contact us with your preferences so that we can quote specific prices.
Departure Dates
Any dates to your requirements between April and September.
The brown bear and other rare mammals such as wolf and wolverine, can be viewed from a number of different hides that have been set up by several Finnish companies close to the Russian Border. We work closely with them to offer a terrific short break or an in-depth longer safari.
In Finland, there are about 840 bears, 150 wolves, 900 lynx, 130 wolverines as well as numerous reindeer and elk. There are also a good number of different species of owls: Pygmy, Tengmalm, Great Grey, Ural, Hawk and Marsh. There are also White-tailed Eagles and Golden Eagles present in the extensive Taiga forest. Perhaps the most unusual sighting might be the flying squirrel, a very discrete mammal, most often seen leaving its nest at dusk.
Meeting the wild brown bear in its natural environment is an unforgettable experience and of course for photography enthusiasts an opportunity to take the shot of a lifetime from the safety of specially designed photographer's bear hides.
All tourist hides are equipped with comfortable viewing chairs, sleeping areas, toilets and hearing amplification systems that will also pick up bird song. The larger the hide, the greater the comfort and generally the larger hides offer a panoramic view of a site but still with bears as close as 10m. The photographers hides are much smaller and can be a tight fit for even just a couple of persons.
What are your chances of seeing bears? These bear viewing sites have had great success over a number of years with sightings over 95% during the season and often you will see between 4 and 20 bears. All the bears are wild and to respect them there should as little noise as possible in the hides.
There are between 12 to 22 hours of sunlight dependent on when in the season you travel and it never really gets dark in May or June. Later in the season, such as during September you may be able to return to the base lodge of a night or possibly spend get some sleep within a hide whilst you wait for daybreak.
This suggested itinerary is just an example of possibilities available for trips in this area.
Price is dependent on travel dates and length of stay. Please contact us for more specific pricing or a tailor made itinerary.
