Winter in Saariselka, Finland Holidaysfeatured
You have probably heard of Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort and have seen images of the amazing glass Igloos with Northern Lights on the background. If you are lucky enough to spend some winter days in Finish Lapland and the resort itself, you will inevitably end up in Saariselka, a small but beautiful ski resort town. Some people simply fall in love with it and come to stay in Saariselka itself on their next trip. It is 260 km from Rovameni in Northern Lapland beyond the Arctic Circle. Only a short bus ride from Kakslauttanen you should come by for a day even if it is just to buy local souvenirs.
If you have time to spare there are plenty of organized activities in a town with a great choice of snowmobiling trips, husky safaris, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing tours. You can even visit a reindeer farm on a sled while hunting for Northern Lights in Urho Kekkonen National Park. When not on a tour you can also do these fun things in Saariselka in winter:
1.Ski in the Northernmost Ski Resort in Europe as one of the places to be for Winter in Saariselka
Saariselka is the northernmost Ski Resort in Europe and just for that reason, it should be on your bucket list. Although elevation is only 180 m, they have 15 slopes and 6 lifts. Its a good fun day skiing with magnificent views. You can rent all your gear right there and then, ski for a few hours and switch to a toboggan. If you lucky, you can do all that under the Northern Lights, absolutely spectacular!
2. Ride the longest Toboggan Run in Finland
You can collect a toboggan on the bottom of the hill pretty much just off the main road and do a few small runs. Then slide on the toboggan directly to the ski resort on the other side of the mountain. You then have an option of taking a chair lift all the way up and sliding 1.8km down the slope. That will be a hit with kids! Just remember that in winter it is dark by about 3 pm so try to make it a midday event.
3. Visit Cafe Porotura to eat pancakes and salmon soup
This place is tiny, there are 2 tables inside and a couple of tables outside but it is just so cute and cozy! Ladies working there make two things: salmon soup and pancakes. We stopped by a couple of times for a quick snack and to warm up by the fireplace. Pancakes with lots of Nutella and hot chocolate make wonders on a cold winter day.
4. Go shopping for local souvenirs
Saariselka is part of the Inari municipality that has one of the biggest Sámi communities in Finland, with about 2000 Sámi people living there. Saariselka is very authentic. Sami culture is still very much present in town with hunting, fishing and reindeer husbandry being the livelihood of the place. A great souvenir present to bring home would be a Finnish knife, reindeer skin or Sami drum. Also, kids would love soft toy Huskies!