Eastern Europe and the Ae gean - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 107

kicksledding along frozen rivers. Whatever the
activity, Alvir ensures that visitors leave with a
deeper understanding of this sodden ecosystem.

136 bog walking in Estonia

Estonia is said by its locals to have a fifth
season - the flood season. Nowhere is this truer
than in Soomaa National Park, situated in the
southwest of the country between Viljandi and
P ¨ rnu. Soomaa, whose name means “land of
bogs”, is a vast complex of swampy marshes
and wet alluvial forests that provides a home to
bears, wolves and elk as well as nests for spotted
eagles and black storks. Tour operator Karuskose
offers two of the best means to explore the bogs:
either by canoe or by wearing bog-shoes, which
allow walkers to wade through the water without
getting stuck.

Need to know For details of all activities and tours
offered by Karuskose, as well as accommodation,
dining options, location and booking see W www.
soomaa.com; T [phone].

137 sEa kayaking thE baltic

Over fifty million migratory birds visit Estonia
each year, with many rare species - like the velvet
scoter and red-breasted merganser - settling on
the country's northern islands to breed. These
wildlife havens were the chance consequence of
Soviet deportations in the 1950s to allow military
tests to take place: when the locals were forced
out, the birds began to move in.
You can explore this twitcher's paradise on
guided kayak tours with Reimann Retked, an
adventure-holiday specialist certified by the
Estonian Ecotourism Association. You can paddle
from island to island, approaching the birds
without disturbing them, or leave the canoes
onshore and hike over the flat scrubland. The

(From top) Walkers negotiating
the bogs of the Soomaa
National Park; Männikjärve Bog
Endla Nature Reserve

Towards the end of the
Communist era almost no-
one came to this park; now
visitor numbers are finally
growing. Karuskose - run
by local environmentalist
Alvir Ruukel - has played
a large part in this boom,
as it offers a host of
unusual experiences, from
nocturnal canoe safaris to