SLOVAKIA

Slovakia is Europe’s wildlife gem, known by few outside its immediate neighbours. Put simply, it is the only country in Europe where you can walk with bears.

OUR TOURS IN WILD SLOVAKIA

The Eastern half of Slovakia is predominantly made up of national parks. A host of protected areas act as refuge to the kind of mega fauna existing only as legend in the UK. Wolves, lynx, bison, wild boar, beavers, wild cats, rare endemic chamois and marmots all live in the hills and valleys of the East. They share it with bears; visible bears, living in the alpine zone of the Carparthian Mountains, called the High Tatras. Bears exist in other parts of Slovakia, as they do, in small numbers, across many remote areas in Europe, but always in sub-alpine forests. They follow trails through the trees and rarely break cover. To see them you have to spend the night in a hide with bait outside to attract the great beasts to a clearing outside the window.

In the Tatras, the team who have studied the local bears since 2008 can take you walking where other visitors are not allowed to go. We move above the treeline in stunning alpine scenery, or through the forests to explore avalanche slopes, filled with bear food – fresh grass in spring and berries in autumn.

Our wild walks of Slovakia are unique, using expert rangers and guides, with the knowledge to find not only bears, but bison, beavers and even wolves.

OUR UNIQUE TOURS

You can see some examples of the tours and safaris in Slovakia we offer below. However, these are designed to give you just a taste of what we can offer.

Where Wolves Hunt Bison

Walking With Bears

WE ARE REINVENTING TRAVEL IN SLOVAKIA

Slovakia has always attracted skiers and walkers from neighbouring Poland and Hungary. The Czechs, too, still consider it home in many respects, but few people from further West are aware of the true beauty of the area. From a wildlife perspective, there has been almost no focus on Slovakia from any country. Even the Slovaks, in most part, are unaware of the value of their wild fauna.

At Footloose, we have our own team on the ground led by our own David Guthrie who has been studying the bears of the High Tatras since 2008 when he set up a bear-collaring programme through his Stunning Slovakia operation. The team consists of a combination of rangers, researchers and wildlife enthusiasts which have played a significant part in improving the relationship between bears and the people of the area.

With this team, we can take our guests into stunning, remote spots where bears can be seen regularly, behaving naturally. Not only do we have a unique relationship with skilled and experienced Slovak rangers, but we also have exclusive use of their ranger cottages, which, whilst basic, allow us access to the best areas at the best times of day.

OUR UNIQUE ACCOMMODATIONS

Ranger Cottages, Slovakia

Alžbetka, Slovakia

WHEN TO GO

The start of the bear watching season is tied to the severity of the winter. Sometimes the trails may be accessible from late April, but usually it is mid-May. The highlight for those up in the mountains in May is the possibility of seeing mothers with first year cubs, out of the den for the first time and unable to travel far, hence, predictable in their movements.

June is the main mating period with hungry bears still enjoying fresh grasses. August marks the start of the berry season, when bears get serious about putting on the pounds for winter. This peaks in September, which is also when the forests is alive with bellowing red deer stags, preparing for the rut.

October is when many bears begin searching for good sites to den, and by the end of the month, the first snows are likely to have fallen and the bears begin to hunker down, away from the bitter winds.

TEMPERATURES

	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEPT	OCT	NOV	DEC
High (°C)	2	4	10	16	21	24	27	26	22	16	7	3

Low (°C)	-4	-3	2	5	10	13	15	14	11	6	1	-1

RAINFALL

	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEPT	OCT	NOV	DEC
mm	40	50	40	30	60	70	40	60	50	30	60	50

Days	13	11	15	14	14	15	15	12	14	15	16	14

MEET THE EXPERTS

DAVID GUTHRIE

David started the Slovak Bear Project in 2008, when seeing the human-bear conflict issues which arose in ski towns around the High Tatras. He persuaded the national park that studying the bears and their interaction with the local people would lead to solutions, and much of the required funding for the project could be raised by taking interested visitors to see bears in the areas of special environmental interest, until then only available for scientific use. David has led more the fifty groups into the mountains in search of bears and has only failed to see them on two occasions.

LEARN MORE
info@footloose.co.uk

PETER LAPSANSKY

Peter was with David at the start of the bear project and was instrumental in collaring the animals and gathering data from the project office in Poprad Airport. After a break to build a guest house business for his family, the lure of the bears became too much, and he returned to the fold to take tours to find the bears and to help with the on-going information campaign run by the national park.