Deriving from the Finnish for ‘barren land’, the vast, airless tundras that cover the most remote regions of our planet might at first seem inhospitable - but for adventurers who want to experience an icy world that is entirely different to our own, the opportunities to see wildlife in the starkly beautiful environments of the Arctic and Alpine are very real.
With the average winter temperature a bitingly cold -34 degrees, tundra ecosystems cover 10% of the Earth’s surface. These tough, icy environments are found close to the North and South Poles, as well as in mountainous regions from the Nepalese Himalayas to South America’s Andes.
Weather in the tundra is harsh, with temperatures remaining below freezing for 10 months of the year. The animals that live here have adapted to survive in these tough conditions, and are joined in the tundra’s brief summers by a flurry of insects and migratory birds.
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