Days 2-8

Durminskoye Reserve

For the next 7 full days you will walk and drive around exploring this incredible reserve. You will have the help of the local expert guides including Alexander Balatov as you search for tigers. This is a very well hidden reserve and probably the best place in the world to see Siberian tigers in the wild. Durminskoye Reserve is prime Ussuri taiga habitat adjacent to foothills of the Sikhote-Alin mountain range. Regarding the tigers in the reserve there have been good numbers of cubs born in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. There is enough food and space for them all that we expect this to form a very good and large population that will spread to other areas of the forest in the future. There are more than 5 adult tigers now on 20,000 hectares of land inside the reserve and we sleep inside the reserve in our accommodation, level – wooden cabins. As opposed to staying outside of the reserves as is the case in most other Russian reserves. Sightings here are mostly of the resident male (and father to all the cubs) as he patrols his territory every 10 days pr so and can be predicted with more accuracy (although we must stress he is a wild tiger and is not completely predicable). Photos with trail cams and video are 100% guaranteed and helping the work that Alexander and his team are doing here is very rewarding. We will arrive with specialist equipment, from camera traps and spotlights to increase our chances of seeing tigers when they are most active (after dark) and we also gain the help of the resident anti-poaching patrols that help to keep these tigers safe. Protected by WWF as part of their commitment to conservation Siberian tigers these ant-poaching and research rangers know the park and its wildlife better than anyone. We will accompany them as they work the park, tracking tigers along their preferred routes through the forest and also using camera traps to understand their movements, population size and behaviours. The reserve encourages people to visit and join up with the patrols; by helping here you will be directly contributing to the ongoing conservation of the tigers here. Because this park is so remote we will come equipped with a small team to help us on this expedition-style tour; we have a local translator to help us communicate with the rangers as well as a small team of camp cooks and assistants that will prepare our food whilst we are out searching for tigers. Whilst we cannot guarantee a sighting of a wild Siberian tiger we can assure you of seeing their tracks, scratch marks on trees as well as being a significant part of tiger conservation here. We will be arriving and tracking during the late summer which is a good time to visit, the bears in the reserve (both Asiatic black bears and brown bears) are foraging as they fatten up in preparation for hibernation and the mud from summer rains is good for tracking tigers. The format of each day whilst we are staying in the park will be early starts where we help the patrols and also scout out potentially good areas for tigers, followed by a lunch break and some rest time during the middle of day, we will then head out in the afternoon until nightfall where we will retire to the base camp, level – log cabins; and maybe even a traditional Russian sauna before dinner. Of course this is one of the rarest and least encountered species in the entire world but by being here and tracking through the snow with expert guides you stand as good a chance as any of seeing the stunning and huge Siberian tiger. In addition to tracking their prints and staking out carcasses that tigers may return to, you will have help in this mission. You will have an expert local guide, nature reserve rangers (who know and understand the tigers habits here) as well as our own big cat expert zoologist escort who has experience in tracking big cats on 4 continents (zoologist available on request). As well as tigers and bears there are many species of other mammals and a good number of birds which inhabit the forest. We spend more time in the park and on the search of tigers than anyone else and whilst we cannot guarantee seeing a tiger we certainly give ourselves every possible chance during this unique Siberian tiger tour.

Day 9

Khabarovsk

This morning you will have a last chance to spot a tiger before heading the short distance back to Khabarovsk. Then after checking into the accommodation, level – 3* hotel (Central Hotel), you will have lunch and then the rest of the day for some rest and relaxation.

Day 10

Home

After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport in time to catch your return flight home.

Please note that the itinerary stated above is correct as our planned intentions for the tour. However adverse weather conditions and other local considerations can necessitate some modifications of the itinerary during the course of the tour; any changes will be made to make the best of the time and weather conditions available to us.

This tour is available on different date (subject to availability) please contact us for more details about running this tour on a date which suits you more.