Lapland is a charming and beautiful place. Beautiful Winter Landscapes adorn every corner of this beautiful area, and the large shape offers plenty of opportunities for a variety of activities.
Meet real reindeer herders in Wild Lapland
This was an absolute highlight of our time in Lapland and definitely recommended! We spent the heart of the Finnish Sámi Cultural Center north of Inari, spent a wonderful morning in the wooded desert around Inari with two local reindeer herders, where we learned their lives and met their many talking animals.
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The mere mention of the word Lapland evokes mysterious and enchanting thoughts. It will take you back to your childhood, to a time of innocence and excitement in your life as the world became a little more exciting once a year.
Lapland is, of course, Santa’s official home and a dream destination for families and children who are desperate to find their idols and pass on their Christmas list.
But as we found while we were there, there is so much more in winter in Finland, especially around the great northern part of Lapland! Lapland is a charming and beautiful place. Beautiful Winter Landscapes adorn every corner of this beautiful area, and the large shape offers plenty of opportunities for a variety of activities.
We spent the heart of the Finnish Sámi Cultural Center north of Inari, spent a wonderful morning in the wooded desert around Inari with two local reindeer herders, where we learned their lives and met their many talking animals.
Something we always strive for on our travels are genuine experiences, and it was definitely one of them. This was not Pet Nesting at the Zoo or Fence, this was a 20 minute trip to the Inari Forest followed by a 30 minute snowmobile trip through the snowy forests of Lapland!
The sled behind the snowmobile we drove over the frozen lakes and through the narrow wooden edges to the local Rendamenhof. It was an absolutely beautiful winter experience in Finland!
Experience a traditional Finnish smoke sauna
If something is basically Finnish, it is definitely a sauna. The sauna has been everywhere we have been in Finland, from private saunas in hotel rooms to larger public saunas. There is no shortage of satisfying locals with a daily visit. In fact, most Finns even have one at home now that we are used to it!
So it goes without saying that when we got the chance to take the experience to a new level in spite of everything involved, it grabbed us! We just didn’t know it would be so extreme …
“Smoke sauna” was a good part we learned later. Consisting of a giant wood-filled stove, this is a special type of sauna that does not have a chimney (known as a Smoke Sauna). When the wood is burned, the smoke fills the room when the fire goes out, while the smoke is removed when it is hot enough. What is the result of this type? The air is smooth and even though it is still very hot, it is less intense on the skin due to the wood burning method and therefore very comfortable for over 10 minutes!
So what is the extreme part you might ask? Well, the tradition followed by the sauna literally shocked us! After a good sauna heat, it is traditional in Finland to take a dip in the nearest lake or swimming pool (even if it is winter or summer!). So at Kiilopää, in the heart of Lapland below zero, it was a pretty refreshing bath in Kiilopuro-esque, a small but deep pond with ice-cold water next to the sauna! The winter temperature of about -1oC was a bit of a shock when we first tried the well-known Finnish sauna routine … it’s an understatement!
The first part was light enough, we sat in the sauna and sweated and sweated a little more … it was scorching hot, which the Finns like. Fifteen minutes later, we both looked at each other, it was time for our iceberg. So it went from sauna to frost
