Day 1: The tour starts in Poprad, the main town in the area. Overnight in the beautiful medieval square of Spisska Sobota, at Pension SV Juraj.
Day 2: Leave for the mountains after a leisurely breakfast, and drive the length of both the key valleys we explore in the Western Tatras accompanied by a Project Bear guide. Lunch at a ranger cottage in the mountains. Afternoon walk looking for bear prints, and tree markings in the forest, and scouring the hill tops for the animals themselves.
Take an evening drive through the valleys to catch animals still out feeding. Dinner in our cottage, and a chance to talk about Project Bear with your member of the team (b,l,d).
Day 3: Take an early morning drive through the valleys in search of bears. If we spot one not too far away, we will walk to get closer and study its behaviour. Breakfast at the cottage.
After breakfast we will take a walk through breathtaking scenery, accompanied by a park ranger, in areas forbidden to tourists. These are the most wildlife sensitive areas and we hope to find the rare Tatra chamois, and Tatra marmot, as well as deer, foxes and, of course, bears. We will almost certainly find tracks of wolves and lucky participants may see them.
At the end of the walk we will once again explore the valleys by car, and take the chance to check our special movement sensitive camera traps to see animals have been traversing the forest in recent days. At the end of a long, fruitful (we hope), but strenuous day of walking, we return to our cottage by car for dinner and overnight (b,pl,d).
Day 4: After breakfast return to Spisska Sobota and Pension SV Juraj, for a leisurely day which may include a visit to the award-winning Aquacity thermal baths (b).
Day 5: Early morning start to a special lake with a beaver colony, and some beautiful bird life. Return to the hotel for breakfast. Set off late morning to the Belianske Tatras, driving to Tatranska Kotlina from where we continue our walks in search of the wildlife of the tatras. We finish at a mountain refuge in the remote Belianske Tatras where we take dinner and spend the night (b,l,d).
Day 6: The following morning, we start early again carrying a packed lunch, and follow more special trails used extensively by bears, wolves and other wildlife. We cover a large section of the Belianske mountains, with some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe, fantastic flora (in Spring), and excellent chances to see Tatra chamois, golden eagles, and bears. A car will pick us up at the end of the walk and take us to Zdiar, a traditional Goral village for dinner and overnight (b,pl).
Day 7: Drive to Poprad with the chance to take optional excursions to explore castles and medieval towns in the area. Overnight at the SV Juraj pension (b).
Day 8: Tour ends in Poprad (b).
Price: € 825 per person. Minimum: 2 people. Includes all accommodation, local transport, expert wildlife guide and meals as shown. Price does not include international flights, drinks, meals not highlighted and gratuities.
Dates: 19th September, 10th October 2010
Cultural Extension
Day 1: Visit the beautiful old Spis capital of Levoca with its delightful architecture and the mighty Spis castle, which dominates the surrounding countryside. Spis castle is also a great place to see the European Souslik, a ground squirrel classified as vulnerable by the IUCN. Both Levoca and Spis castle form part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Overnight at SV Juraj Pension, Spisska Sobota. (b)
Day 2: Visit the historic open-air museum in Pribylina. This is based around a traditional Liptov village with rebuilt houses here ranging from peasant dwellings to manor houses. There is also the Virgin Mary's Early Gothic Church which dates back to the 13th century. There is opportunity to see how people lived and also to see traditional craftwork such as wood carving, metal work and weaving. Overnight at SV Juraj Pension, Spisska Sobota. (b,l)
Day 3: Tour ends in Poprad (b).
Please contact us for prices and availability.
Key:
b = Breakfast (p)l = (packed)Lunch d = Dinner
|
