Finnish Lapland

Finnish Lapland

Cold, dark, Northern Lights. Those are probably the keywords for Finnish Lapland. Our reason was the Northern Lights, and we were even lucky enough to see them on multiple occasions. To see them, you want to come in winter. So that means that it’s going to be cold and dark. We managed to hit -30,5 *C (-22.9 F). Next to the extreme colds there will only be light for a couple hours a day, so be sure to use those. Locals assured us wintertime is still the best time to visit because in summer the mosquito’s are killing.

After a one day visit to Helsinki we flew to Rovaniemi. Here we picked up the car and started off our route. We figured that for the Northern Lights we wanted to be as far up north as possible. Inari is the most northern we got, we picked it because we figured the lakes there would offer us a good view of the Northern Lights. Inari also has the Sami Parliament.

But before leaving Rovaniemi we visisted the “official” home town of Santa Claus. The place is not that big, a bit touristic. But it’s fun to visit if you’re with kids and it’s nice to send a postcard from Santa’s home.

We decided on a route which took us north, so we’d see a bit of the country and hopefully the Northern Lights. Also you want to be a bit off route, so don’t stay at big hotels but try to find a small cabin in the middle of nowhere. When you see a trace of the Northern Lights, you won’t have to drive but only turn off your own lights in the cabin to enjoy the Northern Lights.

We were there around New Year’s. The days before New Year’s we stayed at a remote cabin. During those days, unfortunately, we didn’t see the phenomenon, even though we were eagerly looking outside every day. There are various apps which predict the chance of seeing it so make sure to grab one with you.

For New Year’s Eve we’d stay in Sirkka, close to Kittilä. There’s a ski resort there and there was supposed to be a fireworks show, so we could have a celebration. However the apps were indicating that the Northern Lights were going to show that very evening! Two hours to midnight we saw a flare and we decided to drive out of town towards some lakes close by to get a better view. We were glad we did do so, the views were amazing, what better to celebrate New Year’s than with nature’s fireworks!

Even if you do not manage to see the Northern Lights, be sure to step outside during the night, away from the lights of course. Because the starry sky without any light pollution is an amazing sight to see as well.

While you may think that after a while you’d get sick of pines and snow, I couldn’t get enough of it. The views, the snow on the trees, the sunsets, driving through the landscape, beautiful.

Those circumstances can be harsh living conditions for animals. Cold, snow, no leafy trees, the dark. But still you can see a few reindeers here and there. A lot of them are marked with some kind of paint, but they still roam around freely. Perhaps if you’re lucky you can even find bears up here, but not in the winter I suppose.

Two other fun activities are doing a dog sledding tour or grabbing a snow scooter. The dog sledding is a lot of fun, you’ll get to see that the dogs are very enthousiastic to get running but there’s a but. On most places where these tours are offered, the dogs run the same lap every time, they exactly know the route to go. This means you’re not really in control, but it’s more of a ride where you’re a passenger. For a less touristic experience for dog sledding, you should try Svalbard.

For snow scooter I would recommend you rent your own scooter and not take part in a tour, for the same reason as above. The designated area’s are quite large, you will encounter other people occasionally, but if you go by yourself and you turn off the engine, it’s absolute silence. If you’re with a group you always have people in front of you or in the way of your pictures.

It’s not dangerous or hard, once again, just be careful and it will be okay! Be sure to stay on the paths because if you try to drive on virgin snow you might get stuck. We passed some people who were stuck, they had a rope, so we could help them pull out of the snow back on the track.

Sauna is in the blood of the Finnish people and you must certainly take one. There probably are large public ones or a complex of private sauna’s. But most Finnish people have their own sauna. We booked the property of Mikko on AirBnb (referral link). There was a private sauna there and it was just amazing. Together with Mikko’s son we started to prepare the sauna. We got wood to burn and water to heat and water to cool. So where do you get water? From the nearby stream of course!

And after sauna you can take a dip in the snow to cool off again.

So all in all there should be enough to do to keep you occupied for a while, while in Finnish Lapland. And with a bit of luck you might even see the Northern Lights.

This trip was made in 2016/2017. Northern Lights photo’s are courtesy of my friend Sven van Roij, professional aviation photojournalist, who went on this trip with me.

If you have any thoughts or questions feel free to leave a comment!

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