Bear & wolf tracking: Asturias, northern Spain
Wild camping and brown bear trailing
Destination: Pola de Somiedo, Asturias, Northern Spain
Dates: 9th - 16th March 2024
Duration: 7 days
Group Size: 6 people; places still available
Age: 16+
Cost: 1450 euros
This trip is set in the heart of the Somiedo national park in Northern Spain. It is timed to coincide with the period of awakening from the winter torpor (semi hibernation) of the European brown bear. Snow is still present on the mountain tops so tracking wolf and bear populations is A fantastic way to spend early spring.
Somiedo is a truly wild landscape, one of the rawest I have found in Europe. Semi wild horses have become the favoured prey for the local Iberian wolf packs, 100's of griffon vultures scavenge the carcasses from wolf kills in what is fast becoming an ecosystem built by naturalised apex predators. The area houses the highest concentration of European brown bears in Europe. The sub species that survived in this area is the Cantabrian brown bear. Slightly smaller than the Central European brown bear but nevertheless just as magnificent to see in the wild.
During all our trips we try to enter the state of 2 eyed seeing or as the native Americans call it Etuaptmumk. This means learning about the deep ecology of the species we focus on from a researched scientific stance but it also means learning to engage in a deep understanding of the land itself. I believe these 2 ways of seeing offer a holistic way not to just engage with wildlife but also to connect yourself to the natural world in a truly meaningful way.
On this trip we will wild camp on mountain ridgelines and seek out the wild corners of a a truly diverse and unique landscape in order to maximise our learning and to engage the art of Etuaptmumk. We will become the bear ha!
This trip is based on hiking within remote wilderness areas so a good level of fitness is required. Wild camping is also scheduled on the itinerary however this is not a bushcraft experience rather an engagement with natures intricate networks and your own relationship to it
TERMS & CONDITIONS AT BOTTOM OF CONTACT PAGE
Please contact europeanwalkingsafari@gmail.com for more details and bookings