Group trip to Poland in winter, discover the wildest fauna of the Carpathian mountains and enjoy the landscapes dyed white by snow.
This is a winter trip to the Polish Carpathians, in search of the most emblematic animals of the old European continent, such as the wolf, the bison, the lynx or the brown bear, in their territory together with our specialist in locating wild mammals from Europe.
This is a photographic hunting and observation trip, which consists of waiting, tracking, use camouflage, temporary hides, stalking and searching to see and photograph animals in their natural habitat.
A unique opportunity to take exclusive photos and live real moments in nature, it is also one of the best methods to capture 100% natural behaviors.
In this place the animals continue to demonstrate their condition, the same that makes them attractive, that they are and will always be wild animals.
We suggest you experience a wildlife documentary first-hand, with a comfortable accommodation and with a guide who helps you at all times and is also in charge of planning the best strategies for you to meet your goals.
If you have never gone photo hunting, but you have an adventurous spirit, wait no more!
Poland is a country with extremely beautiful and well-preserved natural places. Immense forests that are home to a large amount of wildlife, rivers full of life that cross all kinds of landscapes and an ideal climate so that the 4 seasons of the year are pronounced and well differentiated, favoring a healthy ecosystem rich in food for beings. alive.
With winters almost always marked by snow, which transforms the environment into infinite white, offering amazing opportunities for snowy landscape photography as well as being a unique background for wildlife photography.
In the east of the country, in a small region of the Carpathians, known by the locals as “The mountains of the wolf“, maintain their refuge wild animals unique in Europe, such as the European bison, which shares territory with wolves, lynxes and bears among other more common species of wildlife in Europe.
And this is where we are headed, to one of the wildest areas of the entire European continent, where animals and humans coexist in the same way as centuries ago.
Ready to travel back in time?
This is a photographic hunting and observation trip of totally wild animals in their natural habitat. That is why the main method of observation that we will use will be stalking and waiting at the different steps of animals that we will have previously located.
As usual in our trips, the specialist travels before the group to study the latest movements of the animals, his job is to save time and effort for the rest of the participants, locating the maximum number of active steps, current feeding and hunting areas. , as well as counting the moment of the passage cycles of the different species.
But their previous work is only part of the trip, because all the participants upon their arrival must help and collaborate in this search, during the course of the trip we draw up the strategies based on the findings that we make.
Once a hot spot is located, we set up the waiting post and that is when the hardest and at the same time exciting part of the trip begins, we will have to remain silent and very attentive because we will be waiting for the arrival of the animals.
The style of searching and waiting for wild fauna is the method that we use the most and without a doubt the one that allows us to live adventures and real experiences in nature, if you have never tried it, get ready because there is a possibility that you hitch.
During the days of the adventure, there are moments of tracking and location, also moments where strategies are planned to carry out waits, which consist of remaining for hours hidden in one of the steps, camouflaged and even with small hides (photographic hiding places) if necessary. and this is where we will have our best opportunities to photograph animals, but there are also moments of stalking, where we all go with the camera in hand, crossing a forest in silence and attentive to the exit of the animal that we are following and of course, there are days where We will have to do a little trekking to reach some of the most remote areas where the Lynx among others hide, for example.
We have been photographing numerous species in this way for years, some times with more success than others, and that precisely makes this trip a unique experience, since each trip is totally different from the previous one and the same observations or the same routes are never made.
Individual winter camouflage during wildlife observations
During the winter the wolves hunt with a different strategy than the rest of the year, they make the deer break their legs in the rivers and then they go for it. We have been seeing this behavior for years and we have some of the best localized areas, we will explain all the secrets to you during the trip.
The bison, for example, move in cycles of 5 days giving circles between several meadows, always the same, during this time they do not risk much and form large groups.
The Bison and the Wolf are the main animals of the trip, they will be our main objective at all times, although the Lynx will also have its moments of prominence.
The bears at this time are usually hibernating, however we can find some active second season mothers and cubs and some young bears that spend their first winter alone.
Starting in March, depending on the temperatures, there are more bears that begin to leave the bear den and make small journeys in search of food.
In addition, the lynxes begin the mating season, descend from the highlands and emit very characteristic sounds that facilitate their location. Without any doubt the most difficult animal to see and for it we have another exclusive trip, where we dedicate every day to it, but on this trip we will also dedicate one of the days to show its territory and try our luck with one of the hiding places.
The Boreal Lynx is the jewel of the trip, although it is very difficult to see it
The program is an estimate of the activities that we will carry out, but it is totally adaptable to the situations, that is, the schedules can vary based on the needs of the group, the locations can change depending on the weather, etc…
The trip begins with the reception of the group at the airport previously agreed with the participants, it may be Krakow or another airport.
I’ll wait for you at the airport. We got into the vehicles and headed for the mountains of the wolf, in the east of the country.
Approximate travel time depending on the weather and road conditions, from 3 to 5 hours. Sometimes the snow or ice can delay the journeys.
Once we arrive at the accommodation, we settle in, we distribute the rooms and we carry out a briefing to be informed of the most up-to-date situation on the wild fauna in the region. This is the moment that the guide shares all the information he has collected in the previous weeks.
From that moment and depending on the schedule, we will adopt the dynamics of the trip, which consists of choose the most appropriate strategy for each species and carrying it out every day.
We get up early, have breakfast and go out to the meadows of the wolves, to the river to see otters or beavers, to the forest to find lynx or to the valleys to run into bison. The whole plan is decided the day before based on the movements or tracks that we have found and as hunters, we will use some tools or others for each strategy, it can be a camouflage, a mobile hideout or the waiting points that we have already installed.
After each outing to the field, we have free time, we return to the accommodation and rest, eat and plan the afternoon outing.
During the week, all the participants will learn to track, to know the movements of the animals and on the penultimate day it is time to put the skills learned to the test. We separate the group and you will have to choose one of the places that we have used during the week to go alone and experience 100% of what a true wildlife photographer experiences. It’s up to you to control the wind, stay silent and avoid being detected, if you do it right it is possible that this day you will find the best experience of the trip. You dare?
On the last day, by prior agreement, we have breakfast and return to the city with the vehicles to arrive in time to catch the flight back home.
It must be said that in all the trips one of the nights is spent in the city, either upon arrival or at the end, but depending on the flight schedule and previously agreed by all, you can stay every night in the accommodation of the destiny.
In the Wolf Mountains, which is how the region is popularly called, a large number of species coexist that at any time can give us a spontaneous appearance and some unexpected photographs, this is the true magic of the place.
In some occasions we can see animals crossing the roads, and even from the accommodation we can have the great luck of spotting some species.
The number of mammals that cohabit in the territory is striking, and the number of birds that we can observe in winter is also impressive.
Here is a list of the most common or those that we have been able to observe on previous trips:
European bison, European wolf, Boreal lynx, Carpathian wild cat, Brown bear, Deer, Roe deer, Wild boar, Fox, Beaver, Otter, Golden eagle, Eagle eagle, Ural eagle owl, Black and white stork, Kingfisher, Nutcracker, Corvids and a variety list of picids.
Our accommodation is a typical Polish house. With comfortable beds, kitchen, hot shower, TV and everything you need to feel comfortable at the end of the day. It also has heating and also has free Wi-Fi connection. There is not good mobile coverage in all the rooms and Poland has been included in the free roaming plan of the EU.
Lunches and dinners will be made at home or in restaurants in the area where, in addition to typical dishes, they cook traditional recipes.
On this trip we have a nearby supermarket where we can buy all meals and beverages we want. This will be possible daily.
In order to make the trip there must be a minimum of 4 participants and it will be filled in order of reservation. In case of being less or a private group, contact us directly.
Trip 1: from January 21 to 28, 2023 – PLACES AVAILABLE
Trip 2: from January 29 to February 5, 2023 – PLACES AVAILABLE
*To travel to Poland in other season visit Wild Poland
Each photographer will wait hidden in the areas where we have located the footsteps of the Boreal Lynx, waiting in the forests of the Carpathians.
Observation trip to try to see the Pyrenean Brown Bear, we will go through some of the paths that it uses to look for its traces.
A workshop in which you will learn to properly configure the basic parameters of your camera, to photograph the stars and the Milky Way.