What can be a better way to spend your winter holiday than chasing the magnificent Northern lights in Finnish Lapland! And as a cherry on the cake, add to it a dozen other winter activities to make this the most unique and memorable trip! Read this post to know interesting facts about how you can make the most out of this dream destination.
Destination 1: Finnish Lapland (Saariselkä)
Visiting the Finnish Lapland is indeed a magical experience! At the onset, this sounds too good to be true! But the moment you set foot on this snowy wonderland, you are in a different world altogether. It is no less than a beautiful fairytale setting that we have all dreamt about in our childhood days.
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| View from our flight |
Scratch the map:
Saariselkä, the northernmost region in Finnish Lapland is situated about 250 km north of the Arctic Circle. With only 300-350 inhabitants, this place is very popular among tourists who wish to experience authentic Lapland.
Nearest airport: Saariselkä is 30 km away from Ivalo airport and daily flights (duration- 1.5 hours) are available between Helsinki and Ivalo. You can reach Saariselkä from Ivalo airport via bus or car in 20-25 minutes.
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| Ivalo Airport |
Our Tour Highlights:
The main highlight of this trip was to witness the unique marvel of nature - a spectacular display of Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) dancing across the polar sky. As most of you would know, the name 'Aurora Borealis' was given by astronomer Galileo Galilei after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora and the Greek god of the north wind, Boreas.
- Chasing Aurora in a heated sleigh: Out of the many activities arranged by the resort for aurora hunting, we opted for the cosy heated sleigh where one can enjoy a comfortable ride as the guide tows the sleigh with a snowmobile through the pristine landscape to the top of the fell, far away from residential areas. After arriving at the spot, the guide set up a tent for us and lit some fire while we eagerly waited with our cameras to capture the glittering lights. While shivering in the cold, we sipped some warm berry juice served by the guide and listened to his amazing experiences on such tours. We waited for almost an hour under the starlit sky before we could spot the first glimpse of the magical green lights. At first, they seemed very faint and vanished too quickly but gradually became more vibrant and real!! It was a 'dream come true' moment for us as the dark sky started glittering with shades of green all around- honestly no words can do full justice to what we witnessed there. With this amazing show of colours above and the thick blanket of snow beneath, we were left speechless by the mesmerising beauty of that night. But more spectacles were awaiting us the next night! Although we took plenty of photos on our own, the guide was also carrying his camera to click the perfect picture for us with the northern lights dancing in the background. The tour started around 8 PM or 9 PM with 3-4 people travelling together in one sleigh and lasted for 3 hours (which was enough to completely freeze us by the time we went back to the resort!). The cost of the tour was approximately 120 euro per person.
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| First glimpse of Northern Lights |
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Dancing green lights in the polar sky
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Our Sleigh Ride
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Our perfect WOW moment
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Aurora over Lake Inari: Inspired by our successful aurora hunting on the first day, we booked the tour for aurora viewing by Lake Inari next night. This tour included a bus ride of one hour from the resort to Lake Inari which is the largest lake in Northern Finland close to the Russian border. The bus halted about 0.5 km away from a viewing platform (near Lake Inari) and we walked the remaining distance all the way to the top of the platform overlooking the beautiful frozen lake. Although our guide had set up a camp close to the viewing platform for people to keep them warm, all of us chose to stay on the observatory deck hoping not to miss the first lights. After waiting in the dark for a long time, we finally got lucky as the green streaks slowly started glowing in the sky. While we were busy admiring the green lights, it was the turn of the rare purple streaks to amaze us!! Watching these bright lights swaying in the night sky was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
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| Green streaks over frozen Lake Inari |
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| The rare purple streaks |
Personal Recommendations!
- Aurora cabin stay: We stayed in the aurora cabins of the Northern Lights Village resort in Saariselkä. It goes without saying that it was a splendid experience watching the starlit sky every night from the glass roof of our cabin and of course viewing the magical lights (got lucky one day!). Although one cannot guarantee that you will be able to spot the lights from your cabin, it is still an unforgettable experience altogether and is worth the extra pennies! The aurora cabins cost approx 450-500 euro per night during November to March. Remember to book well in advance (we booked our cabin almost 4-5 months in advance) since these pricey cabins are in high demand during the winter months!
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| Northern Lights Village |
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| Our Cabin |
Useful Tips:
- Best time to visit: The best time to visit Lapland for viewing the Northern lights is between November to March. We visited Lapland during February and were able to view the lights during all 3 days of our stay.
- Thermal wear: Winter in Lapland is extremely chilly. Be prepared for extreme negative temperatures and always dress in layers to ensure that you stay warm. All the aurora hunting tours begin around 8 or 9 PM at night and you should carry appropriate thermal wear to conquer the cold! The aurora hunting tours also include thermal wear provided by the tour organisers. You can consider using them incase your thermals are not adequate.
- Aurora tours: I would suggest booking the aurora tours designed by different tour operators since they know the remote places where you have more chances of viewing the lights.
- Aurora forecasts: Remember to check the aurora forecasts before planning for the day. They give a fair idea of the chances of sighting the lights each day.
- Stay outside: Although it's extremely cold, try to stay outside as long as possible to maximise your chances of witnessing this spectacle.
- Plan other activities: Remember to plan other winter activities as well since aurora hunting is not always successful but that does not stop your trip from being interesting!
Goodbye notes:
I can continue talking about Northern lights forever but to sum up the experience in a few words, it is simply surreal!! I am sure its on your bucket list already but if you have not yet planned for the trip, then start doing it now. You will definitely not want to miss witnessing this natural miracle at least once in your lifetime.
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| Magic Forever! |
Destination 2: Helsinki
Helsinki, the capital of Finland is a vibrant seaside city where one can experience the true Nordic culture. There are over 300 islands around Helsinki which makes this city so unique and amazing. So you are never far from the sea and always close to nature.
Scratch the map:
Helsinki is located in the southern part of Finland with the city's core situated on a peninsula in the north coast of Gulf of Finland facing the Baltic Sea.
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| Helsinki Senate Square |
Our Tour Highlights:
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