Things I loved about our Lapland trip

Lapland, an area that covers the northern regions of Scandinavia. Staying about 200 miles north of the arctic circle. We decided to go to during the winter as we were looking forward to the snow. But we were not really ready for the extreme cold. The days were really short and it went from dawn to dusk with no daylight in between.

The temperature ranged from -20°C to -30°C!!
Lots of layers were needed to go outside, including the padded overalls they gave you.
The Scenery was completely stunning and magical.

Muotka Wilderness Lodge

We stayed at Muotka Wilderness Lodge. Our accommodation was located next to the main building. The rooms were so warm and cosy with open fires. The windows had little mesh vents to the side to let some air in if needed. One day we left a bottle of water next to the mesh inside to chill it a bit, when we came back it had frozen completely solid!

It was an all inclusive stay with activities included. Read more on activities here

Breakfast and dinner was a buffet selection of traditional Finnish food, so lots of fresh berries, Salmon and Reindeer. I especially enjoyed the hot berry drink that they served when you were out in the cold to warm up.

We got the opportunity to visit the Sami people and learn about their culture, it was very interesting. Its a completely different world up there.

Husky Ride

The Husky ride was incredible, I had plenty of opportunities to take photos. One of you sits in the sleigh and the other stands up on the back and controls the brake. It was so still and quiet speeding through the winter wilderness with only the sound of the dogs excitedly barking. The dogs enjoy doing this so much and they love any attention you give them.

Evenings were spent sitting in the bar by the open log fire, people just chatting about their experiences for the day.
The owners post on a board each day who’s doing which activity, so only a handful go on the trips at once so its more of a personal experience. All the guides were lovely and very informative of the local area.

Trying to see the Northern Lights

The night trip to try to see the Northern Lights, was a snowmobile pulling a sleigh with about 6 of us all huddled under blankets up to the top of a hill. We arrived at a little cabin where a fire was lit and some of that wonderful hot berry drink and biscuits were served.

We stayed inside with only popping out every now and then to see if the lights had showed. unfortunately we didn’t see the lights that night, but the whole evening was enjoyable anyway.
The following evening on the way to dinner we saw some strange grey swirls in the sky, didn’t think much of it but we were told that that was the Northern lights! Really not what we were expecting, they soon disappeared, so we carried on to dinner.

3am wake up call

About 3am the next morning we got a knock on the door from a very excited member of staff, telling us to go outside quickly. (you can request to not get woken up, who knows why!) So scrambling to get all our layers on we rushed outside. As Muotka Lodge is in the middle of nowhere there’s no light pollution, so the Northern lights can be seen above. They turned all the lights off so we were in complete darkness.

They they were, very vivid green, (which doesn’t happen all the time) they swirled and danced around our heads. You looked one way then suddenly they were brighter behind us. Unless you have a tripod and a very good camera the pictures are a bit fuzzy. What we found out after, is that the lights look better through a camera in real life. We were lucky as this time they were visible with the naked eye.

The following night we had prepaid to stay in the Aurora Cabin, A glass bubble covers the bed so you can look out to the night sky. There’s also a small bathroom.

The Northern Lights showed up again this night but nowhere near as bright and concentrated as the night before.

Are you brave enough?

The Finnish people use saunas all the time, and there are a few at the lodge to use. One tradition is to jump into the freezing lake then go straight into the sauna after. There’s a lake near to the lodge with a sauna next to it. So each day they cut a whole in the ice to get to the water, ready if anyone wishes to do this. And yes it’s that cold the hole freezes over each night and the ice was 2ft deep!! We decided to give this pastime a miss.

Snowshoe trip

The snowshoe trip was very hard work as the snow was so deep, but still very enjoyable. We walked through the forest on fresh pure snow 2/3 ft deep. It was easier to follow the guides footsteps as the snow was already flattened. We stopped halfway to a tepee that was already set up, and the guide lit a fire inside while we took in the incredible landscape around us. That day the sun had just appeared on the horizon for the first time in a few months which made the guides very happy.