NameAivar
Area CoveredSoomaa Region, Estonia
InterestsLocal food & drink, Language teaching, Photography, Adventure sports, Volunteering, Local history, Cultural traditions, Environmental work, Ecology, Walking, trekking & hiking, Wildlife watching

Introducing Aivar - your Friend at the other End!

About Me

I am married with four kids and since 1995 have been organizing canoeing trips on the rivers of Soomaa national park and bog-walking on peat-bogs.

I am a founding member of the Estonian Ecotourism Association - networking, advising and lecturing. Since 2009 I have been teaching nature tourism at Estonian University of Life Sciences in Tartu.

I do love my area - Soomaa national park, and my country - Estonia. I have been serving visitors to Soomaa since 1995, guiding them around, renting canoes and other equipment.

Soomaa - a wilderness area, contains five large peat-bogs , thick forests and extensive flood plains dividing them. The waters here are extraordinary - the numerous rivers meet in a rather small area between fens and swamp forests.

There are in fact five seasons in Soomaa - spring, summer, autumn, winter and high-water season. Canoeing on the flooded area is an adventurous experience, floods are common in the end of March or at the beginning of April, and can occur also in October - November.

In the year 2009 Soomaa National Park was awarded by European Commission as a supreme nature holiday destination - EDEN award. Also in 2009, Soomaa, the largest intact peat bog system in Europe preserved as wilderness, joined the PAN Parks network of wilderness areas as it proved excellence in combining wilderness protection and sustainable tourism development.

Some unique local experiences I can help you plan are:

- A guided trip on a traditional dugout canoe
- A bog walk or even bog-shoeing
- A chance to see the special flora and fauna of the wilderness
- Go snow-shoeing or take a sledge tour
- Cross-country skiing trips

Ask me about these experiences and anything else in my area - I'd love to help you plan your perfect trip!

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