martinselkonen wilds centre

My British wife had wanted to do this trip for years as this is reputed to be the only "guaranteed" place for brown bear sightings in the world. We were not disappointed: the bears were waiting for us - and the food - when we arrived at this swamp area only 2km from the Russian border. We were quickly tossed in behind the locked doors of the surprisingly comfortable hideouts. That night, if you can call it a night as early July the sun set at 23.45 and went up 2.20 am, there was at most 12 bears at the same time including a female with 3 cubs. Another house reported 18 same night and our English and German speaking guides said the record was 38 bears in same photo. Other sightings included a sea eagle, a few raindeers and a moose (on the highway on our way to the camp).

We had a seminar with 20 General practitioners. Accomodation is basic but tidy and clean. Wood fired sauna in backyard. Food again basic but tasty and loaded with local ingedients. There are different activities such as Huskey-sleding, snowwalking, crosscountry skiing and snowscooter safaries. The friendly staff is very helpfull and aware of the environment. It's not cheap but definively an adventure not to be missed.

We wanted to photograph bears on the Russian border. Martinselkonen offers two types of hides.The main hide is superb, comfortable seats, bunk beds at the back and a toilet. We got someshots of little bears climbing up the trees right in front of the hide. The pro hides are more hit and miss as to the number of sightings but as very keen wildlife amateur photographers we particularly wanted to be at the same level as the bears and in a natural setting. You have to be prepared for an extremely long night with for example one night only one bear for a few minutes.We did not see any moose. There is a narrow mattress and a chair, and a small tub with a lid to act as a toilet. Do take some throw away gloves with you to open the lid, as you will want to eat the rolls supplied, biscuit and coffee. Wear wellies if you go to the Swamp hide. We enjoyed seeing the bears at night but sadly did not get any fantastic photos and we cannot afford to pay for an extremely expensive experience again.

Superb accommodation and really helpful staff. Absolutely nothing to dislike at all. Incredibly well organised operation. 10 out of 10 from me!