Here you’ll find colourful, immersive stories about Lapland – practical tips on travel, food, unique places, hotels and resorts, as well as attractions like husky sleds, reindeer, amethysts and, of course, the Northern Lights.
I hope you already feel as if you’ve stepped into a snowy, magical land beyond the Arctic Circle.
Rovaniemi
Santa Claus Village is highly commercial – more of a tourist town than a lonely cabin in the woods. Fun fact: this is where the Arctic Circle line runs.
Nearby you’ll also find Ounasvaara Park, which in winter looks like something straight out of a fairy tale.
Sleeping in an igloo – Lucky Ranch Snow Igloos, Pyhä-Luosto
Spending the night in a snow igloo is hard to describe. With –20°C outside and –10°C inside, you breathe like an Arctic dragon – everything turns into mist.
Reindeer – Jaakkola Reindeer Farm, Luosto
One of the most family-run and ethical reindeer farms.
- sleigh safaris through the forest,
- close encounters with semi-wild animals,
- feeding baby reindeer in a wooden cabin by the fireplace.
My reindeer, Borgo, had lost a horn the day before and looked like a unicorn.
Cabins with sauna – Lapland Hotels Luostotunturi & Amethyst Spa
Wooden cabins with a fireplace and a private sauna are the essence of Lapland.
Northern Lights – sky magic
Once I stepped out of the sauna in just a towel at –27°C… and then the Aurora Borealis appeared. Green and purple lights dancing above, people running out with tripods – we almost froze outside because the reception was a kilometre away.
Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort
One of the oldest resorts in the region – glass igloos with Northern Lights alarms, sleds instead of pavements and a truly Arctic atmosphere.
Amethyst Mine – Lampivaara, Pyhä-Luosto
A real Arctic amethyst mine that you can enter and dig out your own stone.
Aurora Village Ivalo
A resort with glass-roof cabins that let you watch the sky straight from your bed.
Panorama saunas, jacuzzis in the snow, snowshoes, fat bikes – Arctic adventure at its finest.
Husky sleds – Arctica Lapland
An ethical place where the dogs are well cared for and loved. Thirty-four excited huskies in one team – indescribable energy.
Appuka Resort
A resort near Rovaniemi – beautiful cabins, lakeside saunas, reindeer and horses, although more expensive than the northern regions.
Lake Inari
The northern edge of Finland – silence, snow and the feeling of being at the end of the world.
Snowmobiles & road trips
- dedicated snowmobile trails,
- roads with studded tyres,
- cars plugged into electricity so they can start at –30°C.
Food
The land of blueberries, mushrooms and vegan soups. Lingonberries – sweet-and-sour red berries – are everywhere. Hot chocolate with mint liqueur Minttu is delicious.
Clothing
- layers, layers and more layers,
- natural wool,
- waterproof boots (Sorel, Ecco),
- winter trousers are often huge – I bought kids’ size 164 cm 🙂
Finnish saunas
They are literally everywhere. After a day in –30°C, nothing saves you like a hot sauna followed by an ice hole in the lake.
Lapland is magic, silence, Arctic light and Northern Lights – a place that stays in your heart forever.
Let’s meet @malvinadunder
Malvina Dunder 
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