Join an expert wildlife photographer on a 5-night tour to northern Finland’s remote boreal forest, in search of Europe’s large predators.
The European brown bear has lost much of its former range across the continent, however along the Finnish-Russian border there is a wealth of untouched forest that is home to a healthy population of these charismatic mammals. Over the last 30 years local people have learned to live alongside the bears and a few pioneers have built hides to watch and photograph them.
For an idea on what you may experience on this trip, read photography tour leader Bret Charman's blog 'Finland's Iconic Mammals', where he shares highlights from a previous trip.
As well as observing boreal predators in summer, we also offer photography group tours to this incredible part of Finland in Early Spring and Autumn.
Typical Itinerary
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Day 1:
Fly to Oulu & transfer to lodge
We take a morning flight to Oulu via Helsinki. From here we transfer to our lodge in Kuhmo, by Kuikka Lake. Depending on how early we arrive at the lodge, we may be able to spend our first evening in the hides, although we are more likely to settle down for a full night’s rest at the lodge.
Accommodation: Base Camp Kuikka & photography hides, 5-nights
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Day 2:
Sessions in hides photographing bears & wolves
Today we can spend the day exploring the area around the lodge. After an early dinner we make our way to the hides to spend our first evening photographing brown bears and hopefully wolves. The walk into the hides is typically less than 100 metres and isn’t overly strenuous. It maybe, depending on the hide’s location, that you need to be able to walk on narrow boardwalks without handrails.
There is usually some time to wait before the first bears show themselves, but with the long summer evenings there should be plenty of light for photography. We take it in turns to be on watch throughout the night, allowing others to rest between periods of activity.
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Day 3:
Photographic sessions in hides
Tonight, we try our luck in a different location, doing our best to maximise our chances of seeing and photographing wolverine. These fierce predators are less brazen than bears, so patience is a must, and with a little luck we should encounter some cooperative individuals during the evening who provide a multitude of photographic opportunities.
During the day back at the lodge, we can use a rowing boat to reach a beaver dam, practice landscape photography, or go for a walk on the headland around Kuikka, where there are several nest boxes for birds and a lot of berries and mushrooms, which offer good opportunities for macro photography. During our free time, we can also make the most of an opportunity to relax in the lakeside wood-fired sauna.
The team of naturalists at the lodge will provide talks and workshops on wildlife, photography and conservation issues. Your guide will also make the best of our time at the lodge to go through the photo editing process, and demonstrating various techniques to improve our photography skills.
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Days 4-5
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Photographing bears, wolverines & wolves
Depending on our success on the previous two evenings, we can try to photograph wolves or spend time with wolverines again. Brown bears are likely to show up while we wait for wolves, so there are plenty of opportunities to get more images of them.
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Day 6:
Fly back to the UK
After our last night in the hides we return to the lodge for breakfast and a chance to freshen up. We then transfer back to the airport in Oulu before flying home via Helsinki.
Please note: Wildlife is extremely wary around people, and patience is an absolute must – you can be in the hide for up to 14 hours each night. The exact itinerary may change depending on individuals’ preferences and our success in the hides – if we are lucky with a particular species, individual group members may subsequently choose to spend time in whichever hide they like.
