- Duration: 7 days from the UK
- Sledding on: 5 days
Flight inclusive from £2720, Land only from £2170
An epic five-day husky sledding adventure, staying in remote wilderness huts, travelling through pristine forests and across frozen lakes on the edge of the Pallas-Ylläs National Park.
Highlights
- Explore the spectacular untouched scenery of Lapland
- Drive your own dog-sled team, look after the huskies and let them steal your heart
- Six possible chances to experience the Northern Lights, weather and activity permitting
- Stay in cosy wilderness huts, lit only by candlelight and heated by woodburning stoves
This adventure takes you through the breath taking scenery of North West Finland, across vast frozen lakes and through beautiful forests, and along the edge of the Pallas Yllas National Park. The remoteness and tranquillity is inspiring.
Whilst you are on the Husky safari there will be an English-speaking guide who will give you a safety briefing, show you how to harness your dogs and control your sled. The guide cooks all your meals in the wilderness at lunchtimes and at the huts in the evening. There is plenty of variety and the food is of an excellent standard. You will be expected to help look after and feed the dogs, and help around the hut by fetching water, bringing firewood from the store, lighting the sauna and washing up.
The huts are generally log cabins with timber outbuildings, a separate sauna, and wilderness toilets, they are very cosy and atmospheric and helping out certainly does not feel like a chore. There is no electricity at the huts, lighting is by candlelight and heating by wood burning stoves or log fire. The sauna is a fantastic way to unwind at the end of the day and you might like to try rolling in the snow as well, after or during the sauna. The arrangements for the sauna are flexible and can be adjusted according to the group dynamics.
The daily distances vary between 25 and 40 kilometres per day depending on participants’ physical condition, and the weather. This is a sporty safari but is accessible for everyone with a good fitness level.
There is much debate over how to optimise your chances of seeing a display of the Northern Lights. By heading to the far north there is very little light pollution. However the aurora is notoriously unpredictable, and is most often seen between 9pm and 4am, so be prepared for some late nights and above all, do be patient. Your guide may be sent notification when the aurora activity is predicted to be high.
At a glance
Duration: 7 days from the UK
Sledding on: 5 days
Guaranteed to run for a minimum of 4 clients
Maximum group size: 7
Accommodation types: Lodge & Wilderness Huts
Meal arrangements: 6 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 6 dinners
Itinerary overview
| Day | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fly London to Kittilä. Meet on arrival at Kittilä Airport, then transfer to Harriniva Resort Lodge, near Muonio. |
| 2 | Collect your equipment, meet your guide for an introduction and briefing, start your safari. |
| 3-5 | Husky sledding through forests and across frozen lakes between wilderness huts |
| 6 | Return to Muonio, farewell dinner. |
| 7 | Transfer to Kittilä Airport. Fly to UK. |
Leader: Local Leader, Finland
You will have a fully qualified English-speaking 'Wilderness Guide' who will teach you how to handle the dogs, harness them, and how to drive your sled. Your guide will be happy to take you on a 5 day husky adventure through the wilderness of west Lapland and brief you each day. During the husky sledding you will be responsible for feeding and caring for your hard-working dogs and will no doubt build up quite a bond with them by the end of the trip.
Holiday Itinerary
Day 1 - Fly London to Kittilä. Group transfer to lodge.
On arrival in Kittilä you will be met at the airport and transferred by taxi/bus to Harriniva Resort Lodge, Muonio. There will be a fixed transfer for the group at a set time.
Join your safari group for a welcome dinner.
Overnight: Harriniva Resort or Similar
Day 2 - Introduction and husky sledding.
After breakfast you will go to the equipment store to be fitted and issued with your warm overalls, boots, sleeping bags etc. You will meet with your guide who will give a short introduction to the programme. You then meet your own dog team, the sleds will be packed and you will be taught how to handle the sled.
Mid to late morning you will set off on your husky safari. Lunch will be prepared en-route by your guide. On arrival at the wilderness hut in the late afternoon you will be shown how to de-harness, and tend to your dog team, light the fire and sauna and fetch water from the lake. You will then have time for a relaxing sauna before dinner. Dinner is prepared by your guide although you will be expected to muck in with the washing up or any other necessary chores.
Overnight: Wilderness Hut
Day 3 - Husky sledding.
After another delicious breakfast you will attend to the dogs, pack up the sleds, tidy the hut and set off for another days sledding.
The route will take you through the beautiful forest scenery, over frozen lakes and along rivers on the edge of the Pallas Yllas National Park. Your trusted dogs will do most of the work although you will occasionally have to help them up hill.
You will stop for about an hour for lunch prepared in the wilderness by your guide. Then you set off once again for a couple more hours until you reach the next wilderness hut later in the afternoon. Again you will be expected to tend to your dogs and help with chores, although by now you will know your dogs individually and may spend as much time petting them as feeding them.
Overnight: Wilderness Hut
Day 4 - Husky sledding.
Sledding through forest and over frozen lakes. Lunch prepared by open fire.
Overnight: Wilderness Hut
Day 5 - Husky sledding.
Sledding through forest and over frozen lakes. Lunch prepared by open fire.
Overnight: Wilderness Hut
Day 6 - Husky sledding and return to Harriniva Resort, Muonio. Farewell dinner.
After one final day of sledding, you return in the afternoon to Harriniva. You and your dogs can have a well-earned rest or you may wish to use the free time to explore along the Muonio river, cross the bridge to Sweden or walk into Muonio town (approximately 30 minutes walk each way) for last minute souvenir shopping.
In the evening you will re-join your group and guide for a farewell dinner of traditional Finnish cuisine.
Overnight: Harriniva Resort or Similar
Day 7 - Group transfer to Kittilä Airport. Fly to London.
After breakfast you will be transferred to Kittilä Airport for your flight back to the UK.
Map
Map Key
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Airport
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Point of interest
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Mountain Peak
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Day walk in this area
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Flights
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Internal Transfers
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Trek
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No Surcharge Guarantee
No surcharges will be applied to your holiday after you book. Prices on this website are updated regularly. The Flight Inclusive holiday price, or Land Only holiday price, will be confirmed to you at the time you make your booking. There will be no surcharges after your booking has been confirmed.
Flight inclusive holidays
The 'flight inclusive' holiday prices shown on this website are based upon our preferred airlines and the best priced economy class fares we are able to secure at the time of publication.
We will be able to advise on fares with alternative airlines, upgrades to Business Class, and the options for flights from regional UK airports, please contact us for more details.
Booking your holiday
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Deposit
From £400.00
For the majority of our holidays, a deposit payment of £400.00 per person is required to secure your place(s), however a small number of holidays require a higher deposit - please refer to the holiday itinerary for more details. If the holiday departs within 60 days, a deposit of £1,000.00 per person is required.
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- Book your small group holiday securely online – click the ‘Book’ button next to your chosen departure or visit our How to Book page
- Complete and return a Booking Form available to download here.
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What’s included
- The services of a qualified local guide on safari
- Economy class return air fares from the UK (flight inclusive option). If you are travelling land only, check with our office for joining time at the airport
- Single, timed group airport transfers on arrival and departure
- Accommodation as detailed
- Meals as shown
- Sleeping bag
- Warm overalls, boots, socks, gloves, hat and balaclava
- A Mountain Kingdoms kit bag
- Carbon offsetting with the Ecoan Tree Planting Project (for clients taking our flight inclusive option)
- The option of joining one of our pre-trip meets in the Cotswolds
What’s not included
- Travel insurance
- Optional activities
- Tips
Read holiday reviews by Mountain Kingdoms travellers.
Overall score: 4.8333333333333 (Based on 6 reviews)
Of course the landscape and the experience with the Huskies were most fascinating. What I enjoyed most was the remoteness and different daily routine. To feed the Dogs, to fetch the water, chop the wood and light the fire in the cabins to cook and keep warm were so different from the usual life at home where to have a shower and breakfast is a matter of 30 minutes, on this trip it was more like 2 hours. To bring down the pace was for me a great and very enjoyable experience.
As returning customers to Mountain Kingdoms we were delighted with this holiday. Our guide, Katrin was amazing and nothing was too much trouble for her, she worked really hard. We had very cold but clear weather and were pleased at the equipment provided. Cooked lunches in the snow and excellent dinners. The cabins soon became very toasty with the wood stoves and saunas provided a true Finnish experience.The dogs were amazing and looking after them was a great part of the holiday.
Pre-trip information was good e.g. kit list, first aid kit supplies. Also the day-by-day itinerary was how it was, without giving you any false expectations. We did find the mountain Kingdoms kit bag excellent as it fitted nicely into the sled and was very strong. Our leader greatly admired it, wishing she had one!!
Fabulous adventure. Excellent trip itinerary away from the main tourist routes. Guide Pirjo was outstanding, her cooking for 3 full meals a day was second to none, she was patient and always upbeat.
Pirjo, the leader, was excellent, so well organised and efficient. Her cooking was amazing.