Bookings for 2023-2024 now Available
Silence & Nature Tour
Escape to a Winter Wonderland in Lapland.
The Experience
- Explore the wonders of the National Park on snowshoes for three days.
- Drive your own team of Alaskan huskies.
- Drive through the forest in a reindeer sled and learn about the life of a reindeer herder.
- Eat and learn to prepare traditional dishes with local ingredients.
- Best chances to see the Northern Lights: every night spent away from the village lights.
- Spend two nights in a wilderness cabin within the peace and quiet of the National Park.
- Enjoy the full comfort of an authentic log chalet for three nights.
Please note that the Silence & Nature tour is not a private tour. You can book it as private if you have 6 participants in your group.
- Accommodation for 6 nights
- 6 dinners, 5 lunches, 6 breakfasts
- Arctic winter clothing (pants, jackets or an overall, gloves, boots) for the week
- English speaking guide
- Activities as described in the program
- Airport transfers and all transportation related to the activities.
Program
Day 1 - Arrival
We will pick you up from Kittilä airport or elsewhere in Muonio or Levi, if you chose to use public transportation.
We will get warm outdoor equipment for each of you for the five coming days. You will then have time to settle in at your chalet by a lake in the forests of Muonio before we have a delicious dinner together.
Before going to bed you can relax by taking a sauna in your chalet.
Day 2 - Into the Wild
After breakfast we will be transferred north of the Raattama village. We will trek for about 2 hours (2-3 km) on snowshoes to reach the wilderness cabin close to the border of Pallas-Ylläs National Park. Our food and gear is pulled in pulkas by ourselves.
Lunch by an open fire. After lunch, we’ll explore the surroundings, still on snowshoes.
We will heat up a wooden sauna and after bathing you will be served a dinner consisting of delicious Lappish specialities. We will spend the night in the cabin and there will be a possibility to sleep under the bare Northern sky for the bravest ones!
Day 3 - Gliding through the landscape
After breakfast we will put on our forest skis and dive deep into the landscape, slowly gliding through the woods and over the swamps. We’ll have lunch in a kota along the way and do a proper day trip. Don’t worry, you don’t need to have any experience on skis from before.
As we return to the cabin, we’ll heat up the sauna and enjoy some Lappish delicacies for dinner.
Day 4 - Fish and Smoke
After breakfast we will pack up our gear and head to where we got dropped off a couple of days ago.
We will be transported to lake Jeris, on which it’s time to try our luck with ice fishing! We will be packing lunch too, so no need to starve in case we’re not lucky.
You will then go to a lodge where you get to bathe ao. in a traditional smoke sauna and take a dip in the very same icy lake you were just fishing on.
After relaxing sauna you will return to the fully equipped chalet from the first night. The dinner will be waiting for you there.
Day 5 - Your day as a dog musher
After a self-served breakfast you will be picked up by Raine, a dog musher! He will take you to his husky farm, introduce the place and teach you how to safely drive a dog team.
In the evening you will return back to your chalet, where the dinner awaits and of course – the sauna.
You will all get your own dog teams and head out into the surrounding nature, enjoying the silent speed of the huskies.
Day 6 - Echoes in the fells
After breakfast we will take our snowshoes and head to the fells. Hiking up one is worth for the amazing views! We’ll have lunch along the way. In the evening you will have a guest: a Sámi yoik artist who performs you some songs of his nation and his family. He’ll tell you about his culture as well.
Day 7 - Goodbye Reindeer
You will be served breakfast at your chalet after which we’ll go to a reindeer herder’s farm. Sit down in a sled and enjoy the quiet ride through the snowy forest – just like they did hundreds of years ago.
After the ride as we enjoy some hot drinks in a kota it is time to sum up the week, say our thank yous and goodbyes. We will transfer you to either Kittilä airport, Muonio or Levi Ski Resort
Northern Lights
Our region was listed as one of the best places on Earth to spot the Northern Lights by CNN:
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/20/travel/best-northern-lights/
The intensity of the Northern Lights depend on the activity on the Sun and vary in a 10-12 year cycle. There is time to go and hunt for the Northern Lights every evening and during night time as well of course. We have taken following measures to increase the chances for seeing the Northern Lights:
1) You will spend every night at the very least 4 km away from the closest village to avoid any light pollution.
2) Your guide checks the Northern Lights forecast provided by the University of Alaska daily.
3) Your guide will be alerted if any of her/his friends spot the Northern Lights in the area.
However, Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon and thus you can not be guaranteed to see them. We are happy to give you tips on how to best capture the Northern Lights on your camera.
Accommodation
Days 1, and 4-6: You will stay in our cozy log cabin (double rooms). Fully equipped, a shared bathroom, sauna and a toilet. Located by lake Särkijärvi or lake Jerisjärvi in Muonio.
Days 2 and 3: A wilderness cabin close to the border of the Pallas-Ylläs National Park. Very basic, but neat. A common sleeping space, no electricity nor running water. The cabin is heated by a wooden stove.
How to get here?
Our base is located 60 km from Kittilä Airport and 210 km from Rovaniemi Airport. Basically you have four options:
1) You can fly to Kittilä (direct or via Helsinki) as follows. Your pick-up from the Kittilä Airport on Sunday is included in the price of your tour.
Helsinki – Kittilä: www.finnair.com or www.norwegian.com
Direct flights to Kittilä from e.g. Zürich, Münich, Düsseldorf and London with Lufthansa, Finnair or Flygermania
2) Instead of Kittilä you can fly to Rovaniemi and take a local bus to Levi or Muonio: www.matkahuolto.fi
3) Fly to Helsinki and take a night train to Rovaniemi or Kolari (www.vr.fi). Continue to Levi or to Muonio by bus. (www.matkahuolto.fi)
4) Take a train through Denmark and Sweden, all the way to Haparanda. Switch to a train to Kolari and finally buy a 20€ ticket for a taxi transportation (1 hr) to Muonio.
Price
Price per person in a 6-person group. Flights are not included.
Includes: accommodation for 6 nights, 6 dinners, 5 lunches, 6 breakfasts.
Arctic winter clothing (pants and jackets or an overall, gloves, boots) for the week, an English speaking guide, activities as described before, airport transfers and all transportation related to the activities.
Not included: Traveller’s insurance (you must get your own)
