Shocked tourists came face-to-face with a wild grizzly bear while they were walking around a lake in Canada.

Saowapha Thamadee and pal Phattana Pinkrajai were visiting Lake Louise in Alberta when the bear emerged from woodland and came towards them on July 2.

The Thai tourists froze in fear during the unexpected wildlife encounter and let the bear walk past them to avoid startling the wild animal.

Footage shows the bear walking casually across the hotel garden's pavement while sniffing the ground before it disappeared back to the woods in the Rocky Mountains.

Saowapha said: 'I knew the bear was dangerous but I just tried to stay calm. I was so relieved when it walked away.'

Onlooker Kwan Lalita, who recorded the bear encounter from her hotel window, said: ‘My two other friends had woken up at 5 am and went out together to take selfies because they were excited but during their photoshoot, we saw the bear walking towards them.

‘I could only watch while hoping the bear did not hurt them. It was like the animal only said 'hi' and greeted us because we just arrived at the hotel.'

The wild bear eventually left the two women and wandered back to the forest.

Fortunately, when the bear reached the holidaymakers, it did not harm them. It only smelt the women's clothes and then returned to nature.