Iberian Wolf- Picos De Europa, Spain
Join us for a chance to photograph and experience the Iberian wolf in the Cantabrian Mountains in northwestern Spain. This area is a spectacular area with dramatic mountains and deep valleys. We focus primarily on the opportunity to photograph the Iberian wolf which due to its isolation is considered to be a separate subspecies from the rest of the European wolf population. The area we visit is an area which is amongst the most wolf-dense areas in Europe, even though the Iberian wolf as a subspecies is an endangered and rare subspecies. Through responsible nature tourism, it has also become a place that offers very good opportunities to see and photograph the Iberian wolf, perhaps one of the best in Europe. The unique thing is that we do not sit in hides but position ourselves in strategic places where wolves regularly appear.
Wolves are generally not the easiest animals to photograph due to their natural shyness, but with a little luck and patience, there is a good chance of success. One can not expect to get to photograph them at close range but within at least a fair range with a tele lens of at least 500 mm. Just to get to view them in their natural enviroment is a thrue privilage. We will mainly stay within the Picos de Europa National Park, a place that is surralistic beautiful. Within the park there is also a great diversity of wildlife, in addition to wolves there is also Iberian brown bears, European wildcats, Iberian ibex and the Cantabrian chamois. The birdlife is also rich with vultures such as the griffon vulture, bearded vultures sometimes golden eagles can also be seen. In addition to wildlife, there are also beautiful mountain villages with a rich cultural history that we will also get to experience as we will stop by in some of these villages. People have been living in these areas and farmed the land and had domesticated animals in the valleys for thousands of years, many still live here just as they have done for many generations. We travel with small groups with a maximum of 6 participants per group, this is to minimize disturbance and also make us as a group more flexible to be able to quickly move to different spots and positions to get good photo opportunities.
Travel information
Date: 2026
Preliminary dates:
21-27 February
25-31 October
Cost: 2 300$
Single room 2 600$
Special requirements: You should be in average condition, since we will do some hiking, although at an easy level.
What is included in the trip:
Accommodation. Breakfast included, all other meals on restaurants and so on are paid by participant. Transport to and from Santander.
Not included: International flights to and from Santander are not included.
General information You should be prepared for a bit of rain in October and having winter conditions in February since we are high up in the mountains. When booking the tour you will receive detailed information about which personal equipment that are required.
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Day 1. We start our journey and meet up in the Spanish town Santander, a charming little coastal town near the Picos de Europa. Flights to Santander run daily and it is easy to get there. If you wish, you can arrive a day earlier to discover this beautiful city on your own. We travel from Santander towards the Picos de Europa to meet up with our local guides. The journey takes about 2.5 hours by car. We will hopefully have time already the first day to do an afternoon/evening trip to scout for wolves. The following days we will travel partly by car and on foot to get to various strategic locations within the park and it´s surroundings for the best chance of photographing wolves. Our local guides have tracked the wolves for a long time in this area and know how the wolves moves and where you have the best chance of seeing them. Our main focus will first and foremost be to photograph wolves, but there will certainly be a chance to photograph other wildlife in the area. During the summer months there is also a chance to photograph Iberian brown bears and wild cats.
Day 2-6. During these days we are basically out in the field all the time to look for opportunities to photograph wolves. We travel by car with our local guides to places where wolves are usually seen. We often stop and sit still at strategic places to scout and wait for the wolves. To get to slightly more remote places within the park where the wolves can be found, we will also do some hiking into the park. We will also sit in a hide at two occasions to photograph mainly bearded vulture and griffon vuture and hopefully also golden eagle. We will stay at local B&Bs near the areas where there is the most wolf activity. We will possibly move between different accommodations depending on where the activity is the greatest at the moment. In the small mountain villages we will have the chance to get acquainted with the local culture and the local people. We will also have a lecture one evening by one of the wolf researchers in the area to learn more about the Iberian wolf in the area.
Day 7. We now leave the Picos de Europa to head back to Santander to end the trip. If you want, you can of course extend the trip individually or travel home yourself from another place. The itinerary is a guideline for the trip, it is of course also adjusted according to the present conditions. We set up the trip for the best photo opportunities. Wolf activity can of course vary from year to year so there are of course no guarantees as generally with wildlife.
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