Taiga forest, Lentiira, Finland
Taiga forest exists around Finland but a large swathe of it is near Kuhmo, round the tiny village of Lentiira. It's a very special place for wildlife, revealing bears, wolverines, foxes, eagles, squirrels and heaps of birds.
These beautiful forests predominantly contain birch, spruce, aspen and pine trees and different types of berry: blueberry, loganberry, crow berry and cloud berry. They are wonderful to wander round but you can see the wildlife more effectively from a hide.
5 fab reasons why you should go to the Taiga forest
1. To see an array of wildlife from hides
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Finland doesn't really get dark at night except in the dead of winter so you can see wildlife almost 24 hrs a day from hides. We were in the hides from around 3.30 pm until 7 am the next morning.
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There is a lot of wildlife, and as long as you are quiet you should see a fair amount of it. We saw bears, wolverines, a fox, squirrels, arctic hares, black kites, white-tailed eagles and colourful birds.
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Animals and birds stick around for quite some time generally as they cannot sense your presence. You get a chance to observe animals eating, interacting and even having sex.
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The wildlife comes very close to the hides and you can get fantastic photos and video - see our fab video Taiga forest, Lentiira, Part 1: Finland 2 .
2. To wander round the forest
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Walk through the forest with your guide and see the amazing lakes and waterbirds.
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See the trees, flowers, birds and extremely cute red squirrels that are around.
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Taste the berries - we had loganberries. Yum yum yum.
3. To spot elk, forest reindeer and birds from a car
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The best ways of spotting elk and wild forest reindeer are from a car as they are constantly on the move and only stay in one place to forage. We saw both animals from the car.
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Forest birds can also easily be spotted on the side of the road perched high in trees - bring a long lens.
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Arctic hare can also be spotted in the meadows.
4. To barbecue sausages in the national parks
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The forest has national parks that are very pretty and free of roads and traffic. Many of these have barbecues, tongs and boards near lakes that are excellent places to barbecue sausages and vegetarian pies - we had spinach pies. Lace these with Finnish mustard and you have a feast. All through Finland, you can see local people enjoying sausages round lakes.
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Finnish people do not normally eat sausages with bread.
5. To enjoy local delicacies and see lake birdlife in the cosy town of Kuhmo
Who to go to the Taiga forest with
We went with Taiga Spirit who organise your accommodation, food and itinerary, including time spent in the hides, drives and walks round the forest and bird watching. They are fab.
Other companies in Kuhmo also arrange similar experiences. Just surf the net for the experience you want.
Watch our video:
Taiga forest, Lentiira, Part 1: Finland 2
Other videos will be added when they are available
About the hides
Hides contain tripods and camera stands so you can get wobble-free footage and photos of wildlife. Ensure your guide cleans the windows in front of your hide so your view is pristine.
Hides also have bunks if you need to sleep. It's easier than you think to stay up as it doesn't really get dark and there's always something to see.
There's also a toilet and hand sanitiser, and a gas heater as it can get very cold. You need to take a thick jacket and hat.
Our guide provided coffee and delicious food so we didn't go hungry.
We were in the hides from 3.30 pm to 7 am the next day. It sounds like a long time but it passed very quickly as there was nearly always something to see. We would then go home for breakfast and a sleep before we either went back to the hide or went elsewhere.
You are not meant to talk in the hides as it scares the wildlife. We did whisper if we needed to share anything. It's a good idea to take a book to read for downtime.
The hides are clean and quite comfortable.
Getting there and away
From Helsinki, it is a 2-hr flight to Kajaani. You can then take a bus to Kuhmo.
If staying in Lentiira, Taiga Spirit organises a driver to pick you up at Kajaani.
You can rent a car in Helsinki and drive to Lentiira or Kuhmo. The trip takes about 7 hours.
Driving in Finland is very safe. The speed limits are quite low though so you cannot get anywhere super quickly.
The hides are clean and quite comfortable.
About the wildlife
From the hides, you can see bears, wolverines, foxes and if you are really lucky, wolves. We did not see wolves.
See our video Taiga forest, Lentiira, Part 1: Finland 2
There are also birds of prey like black kite and white-tailed eagle, and colourful birds like chaffinches, bullfinches, woodpeckers and great tits.
When driving around in the early morning, you can see arctic hare and beautiful birds. In the evening, elk, owls and forest reindeer are around.
Around gardens and parks there are cute red squirrels, hedgehogs and lots of pretty birds. In late spring and summer there are frogs.
Ten cool facts about wolverines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXX0wR4OBC4 (National Geographic video)
https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Wolverine
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/wolverine
1. Wolverines are the largest members of the weasel family (Mustelidae).
2. They are endangered as they need large areas of forest to survive and much of their habitat has been cleared. They also prey on livestock so are hunted by farmers.
3.They live in Finland and Russia, but also in Alaska in the USA and Canada.
4. In Finland, farmers hunt them despite them being protected by legislation. We saw one poor animal who had escaped from a hunter's noose and was badly injured.
5. Wolverines are mainly scavengers but can also hunt prey larger than themselves when they are hungry, including golden eagles.
6. These animals are mainly solitary. Males will visit the same two to three females every year to mate and will also safeguard the offspring. Males who are not dominant cannot breed.
7. Female wolverines can control their ovulation and will not develop embryos if food is scarce.
8. Wolverines will store food when it is scarce, such as in winter.
9. Females did into deep snow in February to create a den where they will wean their young. Global warming is therefore a concern for these vulnerable animals.
10. Wolverines do not thrive in captivity as they need a large area in which to scavenge, hunt and find mates.
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