Lapland

After our day in Helsinki (Finland) and our day in Tallinn (Estonia), we hopped on a Finnair flight to the northern tip of Finland – specifically, to the tiny town of Saariselkä, where one can downhill ski at the northern-most lift-skiing resort in the world, cross-country ski on an extensive trail network, explore reindeer farms, experience dogsledding, and more. We stayed four nights at the “Northern Lights Village,” a delightful resort in the middle of all these delightful opportunities. Read on, and check out the photo gallery for more!

First of all – just where is this place? As you can see at the red oval in the map below, which zooms in on the northern coast of Scandinavia, this town is close to the northern edge of Finland, where it meets Sweden, Norway, and Russia.

Indeed, we were sleeping a mere 44km from the Russian border! That border crossing is closed (as are all border Russia-Finland crossings), due to the Ukrainian war. I understand that, before the war, it was common for Finns and Russians to go back and forth for trade and recreation. Not now.

Of course, this area is far above the Arctic Circle; specifically, our hotel was at 68°25′ N, and the Arctic Circle is at 66º 34′ N. So, although we enjoyed the Spring Equinox while in Helsinki, up in in Saariselkä it was still very much winter: the snowpack was deep and the temperatures dipped as low as 5ºF (minus 15ºC). Indeed, it snowed lightly on our first two days in the village.

Here are some highlights of our visit.

Northern Lights Village. We stayed at a resort on the west side of Saariselkä. In addition to a main building (with the dining area), it had an activity center (which provided us warm coats and boots and arranged outdoor activities), a ski center (which loaned skis and snowshoes), a sauna, and other facilities. The guests were housed in individual “aurora cabins”; half of each cabin’s roof was glass [see inside]. The front desk would ring a gentle alarm when the northern lights were sighted, so you could look up (or run outside!) to see them, even in the middle of the night.

Reindeer Farm. We drove to the home of Petri Mattus, an indigenous (Sámi) reindeer farmer, for a tour of his operation. He and his son bundled us into sleds and their snowmachines were soon whizzing us 10km into the forest and across lakes to locate a group of their reindeer. There, surrounded by a couple hundred reindeer, he lit a campfire, served us tea and coffee, and described the work of a reindeer farmer.

According to Petri, there are about ten reindeer-farming families in this area. The area comprises about 17,000 square kilometers and includes about 40,000 reindeer… and only 7,000 people. The reindeer range freely, but each has one ear marked with with a shape unique to the farmer, allowing them to be sorted at harvest time. (Indeed, he had just finished his seasonal slaughter the day before.) The farm makes its living selling reindeer meat and pelts, continuing an ancient Sámi tradition; now, of course, he supplements his income with visits from tourists like us! Because the reindeer range freely – much like wild animals – there are three or four thousand killed on the road every year, and many lost to predators. But he over-winters about 5,500 head (a number that is capped by the government, for sustainability), and has about 8,000 head in summer.

Petri distributed some “reindeer pellets” and the reindeer eagerly gathered to munch on that food [video]. While he and the group chatted, I enjoyed mingling with the reindeer. Most were gathered in a small area where the snow was compacted and hard; but some were resting among the trees in deeper surrounding snow. I tried to get closer, but quickly sank above my knees in the soft snow and decided to stick with the group!

Sámi museum. We spent an afternoon exploring an excellent museum in the nearby town of Inari, learning more about the Sámi culture and language. The Sámi are the only indigenous group recognized by the European Union; they span the northern reaches of Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia, predating all of those countries. Their language is one of the official languages of Finland; our tour guide is a Sámi speaker and gave us a brief sense of the language. Overall, the museum was fascinating, with high-quality indoor exhibits as well as an outdoor area that preserved traditional log homes of several Sámi families.

Dogsledding. The next day we were treated to a dogsledding experience. After a 10-minute lesson on how to drive a dogsled, we paired up, mounted our sleds, and off we went! The dogs ran remarkably fast – indeed, our team was so fast we often had to lean on the brake to prevent them from overtaking the sled in front of us. We enjoyed exploring the local scenery – in forests and on open terrain along the hilltops. The dogs were so excited, and so friendly!

Skiing. We had a day of free time, so I borrowed snowshoes and stomped around in the deep snow of the woods surrounding the Northern Lights Village. The forest was crisscrossed by trails – some for skiers, some for dogsleds, some for “reindeer only”, and some for snow machines. It was a beautiful day for snowshoeing, but I soon traded my equipment for nordic skis and headed into and through the village of Saariselkä to find the ski mountain. The nordic ski trail, beautifully groomed, wound its way uphill through the village and past condominiums (like so many US ski areas!) to the summit of the ski mountain.

There, I took advantage of the hilltop restaurant for lunch (reindeer meat!) and paused to climb the observation tower. While not tall (437m, 1433′), this ‘mountain’ hosts the northern-most ski area in the world. From the observation tower I could see across the rolling hills to the edge of Russia.

There’s more to see in the photo/video gallery – don’t miss it! And tune in, next post, for the northern lights – yes, we did see the aurora borealis. Twice!