SURVIVAL course, workshop and tours
in the wilderness of Emajõe-Suursoo

The wilderness of Emajõe-Suursoo in East Estonia is one of the country’s wildest and least inhabited areas, making it a prime location for immersive survival training and nature expeditions. Located about 45 km from Tartu, Nature Tours Estonia is the primary provider for specialized survival experiences in this region. Our focus is on “off-the-beaten-path” adventures away from boardwalks and crowded campsites.

Do you need a survival course, workshop or a tour?

Survival course and workshop gives you a lot of knowledge and practical skills if you are interested to be prepared for any situation. Nature Tours Estonia provides you a course, workshoü and tours in the wilderness, so you can learn a life-saving skills, develope mental toughness and get reconnection with the natural world in ways the mordern life doesn’t offer.

Your guide to the secrets of survival is a nature man Heinrich Lukk who is living close to the wilderness of Emajõe- Suursoo. This area is his backyard and he have a whole life (more than 50 years) experience how to live close to nature, how to use nature resources and how to teach that knowleadge.

Your are welcome! Make your choice below…

INTRODUCTION course to survival

It’s a good choice if you have many people with different backround and age in your group and your time is very limited.

A survival course is suitable for anyone with even the slightest interest in this topic. The primary reason for survival courses is not just an enjoyment of a niche of adventure. Our survival course helps to replace an idealistic view of nature with a realistic understanding of its logic, power and rhythms, fostering true respect and environmental awareness.

Many people perish in the wilderness simply because they lack basic knowledge, such as how to build a shelter or start a fire. But Survival training is as much about the mind as it is about the hands. So we will focus for overall basic understanding, mental resilience and confidence as well. That will help you to get ability to handle unexpected emergencies even if you are not experienced survivor (yet).

BASIC survival workshop

It’s a workshop with theoretical discuss and practical activity. So you have to take time to dive deeper into the topics and try out the survival tasks given in practice.

Workshop topics:
Wilderness – friend or enemy?
How to stay warm and dry?
Where to find drinking water?
What kind of food can be found in nature?
How to orient yourself in the wilderness?

Wilderness – friend or enemy?

We, Estonians are considered a forest people. The forest has provided protection and shade, warmth and food for our people during the centures. However, due to the benefits of modern civilization, people’s connection with the forest is disappearing. Do we really need the forest and wilderness? When we go to the wilderness, do we go to visit a friend or do we panic like an enemy? Let’s discuss this wilderness and forest stuff together and see what conclusions we reach…

How to stay warm and dry?

Depending on the time of year and the weather, staying warm and dry in our climate can be quite difficult. Why is it so important? How can the forest help us with this? Let’s think through the main options together and try to put them into practice.

Where to find drinking water?

The human body can function for a relatively short time without water. Therefore, finding/obtaining drinkable water must definitely be one of the priorities. What kind of water can we use for drinking and when does it need to be purified? What are the simplest methods of purifying water with handy tools? We will discuss different options and try to actually handle some of the methods ourselves.

What kind of food can you find in nature?

There is so much to eat in our nature, but the knowledge and skills of where and when to look for or catch something are often lacking. There also tends to be a lack of skills in processing the food you find/catch into something edible. We will talk about different options depending on the time of year and also try to put some of this knowledge into practice.

How to orient yourself in a natural landscape?

The prerequisites for orientation and navigation are an understanding of the landscape, a basic sense of space and knowledge of where you come from and where you want to go. Let’s “break it down” this complicated task and let’s think together about how the natural landscape could help us orient ourselves.

INTERMEDIATE survival tour

You can test your knowledge and skills on the INTERMEDIATE survival tours. It’s based on the theoretical and practical part of our INTRODUCTION course to survival and BASIC survival workshop, but we will add a hiking in total up to 12 km. We will stay outdoor up to 24 hours (1 overnighting).

To participate on the tour you need your personal mandatory equipment:
– weather proof hiking clothing and boots
– sleeping bag
– a bottle (min. 1 liter) of drinking water

It’s not mandatory, but if you have possibility, you can take with you:
– knife
– sleeping mat
– ferro rod

About other equipment or details we can discuss and agree after the booking.

ADVANCED survival tour

You are welcome to ADVANCED  survival tour if you are experienced hiker and it’s not a first time for you to stay overnight in the wilderness. During the tour we will focus on the mental state, strategy of survival, using available resources and improve the skills. Our main goal will be to stay “invisible”.

During the tour, you may have to cross different terrains and cross rivers. We will stay outdoor up to 48 hours (2 overnightings). About mandatory equipment and other equipment or details we can discuss and agree.