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Bear watching in Finland

See wild brown bear, wolverine and wild deer in their natural environment in Kuhmo

Prices from £909 per person
Period: April – October 2010
Group size: 2 – 32 persons

The package offers the Wild Brown Bear Adventure, and visits to Petola Nature Centre and the Kalevala Spirit Experience in Kuhmo. This is a wonderful trip for all animal lovers.

Meeting the wild brown bear in its natural environment, the wild Taiga, is an unforgettable experience. For photographers it is an opportunity to take the shot of a lifetime from the comfort and safety of a specially designed hide.

Kuhmo’s unique attraction, the Kalevala Village, is situated in scenic eastern Finland, where folk traditions behind Finland’s great epic Kalevala have been kept alive. The attractive Hotel Kalevala is the centre of the village’s accommodation and restaurant services, and conveys an impression of the heroic age. Taking advantage of modern building techniques and decoration, the whole is a mixture of fact and fiction, past and present.

Hotel Kalevala in pictures

Programme

Day 1 – Arriving to the Kalevala village
- Arrival to Kajaani airport, transfer to Kuhmo
- Accommodation
- Welcoming drink and dinner, introduction to the program
- Evening sauna

Day 2 – Bear watching and Kalevala Spirit
- After breakfast visit to Kalevala village, where you can learn about Finnish folk traditions and the national epic. The centre of the village is the stately Pohjola House and its surrounding yard area. Other highlights include a Kalevala exhibition, a forge, pine tar lodge bar and delicatessens where you can find authentic Finnish foods. This adventure takes you to the very heart of the Kalevala Spirit, where the mystical national epic is reborn into the present day.
- Lunch in Hotel Kalevala
- Visit to Petola Nature Centre with the exhibition Predators on the prowl – a permanent exhibition with comprehensive information on Finnish predators bear, wolf, wolverine and lynx.
- Early dinner
- At 16.30pm transfer to the Wild Brown Bear site which is situated close to the Russian border in the wild region of Kuhmo. Information about hides and bears in the main building.
-At 17.30pm start from the main building to the hides with a picnic packet, camera and binoculars.

“Wild Brown Bear Adventure”
All hides are equipped with comfortable viewing chairs, sleeping areas, amplification system to listen the animal noises, and dry toilets. Smallest three-man hide gives you a close encounter with the bears, while larger; six to ten person hides offer a panoramic view of the site at a comfortable viewing distance. The hides are situated in a small open wetland area with backdrop of spruce, pine and birch forest. For photographers the site offers excellent opportunities. There is between 12 to 16 hours of direct sunlight, and two to four hours of twilight in the viewing season. Package includes refreshments and sandwiches in the hides, sleeping bags and a personal tour guide, sound equipment, diploma of Bear Night and insurance.

Day 3 – Hiking and fishing
- 6am-8am, after an interesting observation night, transfer back to the Hotel Kalevala
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Free afternoon for optional activities like canoeing, waterfall swimming, hiking, fishing or bicycling.
- Evening sauna
- Dinner

Day 4 – Leaving the Taiga
- Breakfast
- Transfer to Kajaani airport

Package prices

Prices April-October
From Heathrow, starting from: £909 /per person when two sharing a room, from £959 /single
From Manchester, starting from: £954 /per person when two sharing a room, from £1,004 /single