Days 2-8

Durminskoye Reserve

For the next 7 full days you will walk, ski and explore 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 is a baby boom at the moment (2013) – recently one more female produced 2 cubs. So there are 6 tiger cubs now, all 3 females in the reserve have reproduced! 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 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 park encourages people to visit the park 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 winter and despite the freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall winter is the best time to try and track down and observe Siberian tigers; the snowfall makes tracking them easier as well as concentrating their prey in certain areas where they can still access the vegetation and find unfrozen water. Plus late winter is their breeding season so the tigers are more active as they pursue partners, they mate at this time of year so that they can time the birth of their cubs for the onset of spring and the birthing time for their prey species. 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. To help us achieve this ambitious aim we will head out in winter, this vastly helps in tracking tigers as their prints and scat are highly visible as well as being the season where they move around the most. This is the breeding season and also when they search far and wide for food as well as mates. 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. This reserve in winter can seem quite bleak and imposing but there is a wealth of life here. Whilst the brown and Asiatic black bears hibernate there are many species of deer which endure the harsh winter and as well as the threat from tigers the prey species here also have lynx and wolves to face. 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.