What to do in Pyhätunturi Lapland
When the plane lands in Rovaniemi and you are surrounded by all that snow and frisky air. It doesn’t matter that the chills run through your spine and all you want to do is get your puffy clothes out to keep you warm. You are finally here, you are at the doorstep of the most magical winter experience in your books. The excitement kicks in and your suddenly feeling hot in the -15 degrees Celsius. This is the beginning to an unforgettable time in the Finnish Lapland.
Finnish Lapland is big and spreads over several hundreds of kilometers. Whether you have access to a car or not, it’s always best to plan your activities of the stay local to where you live and accommodate whilst in Lapland. Needless to say, you will have a much better time not having to worry about winter driving as this truly presents with its own challenges even on clear days if you aren’t used to drive in snow and slippery streest.
The bright side is that you don’t need to have a car in Lapland during winter to have a wonderful and unforgettable time. Most of the activities are local to hotels and group events are often organised with shuttles by the organiser’s.
I visited Rovaniemi and Pyhätunturi and can only recommend this combination to anyone who want’s to have a dream stay in Lapland. Here is what I got up to over my week in Lapland.
Activity list
Winter Hike in Pyhä-Luosto National Park
Due to very short days, but surprisingly light ones, I suggest you plan your hike short and in the first half of the day. The sun starts to set in the early afternoon and it will be pitch black once the light is out, meaning not the safest hiking environment to be in.
Pyhä-Luosto National Park has a lot of different routs so I am sure you will find your favourite one. I enjoyed the path to Isokuru Hut.
Imagine the snow crackling under your shoes, the light snow flakes drizzling down and otherwise a completely silent path. I never experienced that silence. It was refreshing and so calming, to really hear nothing. In that moment you realize just how busy our days truly normally are. This was about 5km but enough for the day to stumble around in the snow and enjoy the woods before it got dark.
If you aren’t staying in one of the Pyhätunturi accommodations you can park your car at the mall at the very start of the hike.
When in Lapland you want to be outside regardless of the weather. That way you get the full experience of what they call Lapland magic. On the first days in Pyhä I went Ice wall climbing. For someone who’s not a climber in any shape or form this was quite exciting! This is the tour I went on and took the extended option with lunch break and longer climbing duration.
The experience was incredible, we set out to the ice wall. In Pyhä the walls are partly natural and partly accommodated in collaboration of the businesses around the area. You would never believe me, but seeing the wall for the first time was a jaw dropping moment. It’s incredible that nature around us can build something so majestic and beautiful.
We got geared up and up the wall I went. After a bit of coaching on how to work the special shoes and the axes it started to flow. When you are up there, you really don’t think of anything else but the next space where you put the axe in and where to make your next kick to. In that moment when you are working the wall, it is just you and the wall. The rest of the world disappears which makes this an incredible activity to get out of everyday stress and drill.
Northern lights and Snowmobile
Northern lights is one of the experiences that we all dream to have when heading up to Lapland. It was definitely on mine too, in big capitals and bolded text. My dream was to see the northern lights on my birthday and I had booked a snowmobile safari event for the night to be out and make the chances of seeing the auroras. The whole week was snowy and the sky was not clear at all, it truly didn’t look good when following the predictions. This is the site I used to follow the predictions.
Somehow miraculously, on the day of my birthday the sky cleared up and it was the first clear day and night through all my stay. Heading out at the back of one of the snowmobile I was nervous but very hopeful. This was the one and only chance to see the auroras if at all whilst in Lapland. That night was freezing, and then the snowmobile stopped. We were in the middle of the forest in a slight opening, the kind where you imagine seeing moose’s at. And then, out of nowhere the sky lit up and it was like some witch craft had taken place. The Auroras made their appearance clearer and brighter than in the past 2-weeks apparently. It is magical, and jaw dropping, and every bit so worth it to be out there regardless of the chills outside.
As for the snowmobile, well I think I need to get a little more time with these bad boys to actually like them. They are heavy to drive and very easy to get off path, not that it happened but could as well. I suppose I will stick with cars for now and see when I visit Lapland again wheter or not we can make a go to be friendly with the snowmobiles.
Other Activities that I vouch for and have on my list for my next trip to Lapland.
These experiences are in the area of Rovaniemi but of course as you probably know there are plenty of other destinations in Lapland as well such as Levi and Äkäslompo and the list goes on. I liked Rovaniemi because it has everything to make your stay magical but it’s not too far up north to be ridiculously cold.
If you do end up heading to Lapland, I would love to hear about your experience and what you get up to. Feel free to connect with me always.
Big hugs, Natty
