Menesjarvi
Wilderness Auroras
4 nights

The details...

Menesjarvi population: tiny (so small no one has ever really counted)
Latitude: 68°N
Activity Rating: Very active
What we like: The spectacular and wild location – prime Aurora territory
Group Size: Approximately 2 - 16 people
Aurora Watch: 3 nocturnal excursions including 2 Aurora snowshoe treks, a Northern Lights snowmobile safari and dinner in a kota. A Northern Lights workshop with your guide and the Aurora DVD at the Siida Museum.

Included in the price...

Duration: 4 nights
Flights from London Heathrow to Ivalo (via Helsinki)
Return airport transfers
4 nights hotel accommodation
4 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 4 dinners
Activities: Snowmobile safari and winter fishing, Aurora workshop, Northern Lights snowshoe trek, morning with a reindeer herder, Aurora snowmobile safari, husky safari, Sami Siida Museum and Northern Lights DVD, Aurora dinner, Aurora snowshoe (the order of activities is subject to change)
Cold weather clothing for the duration of your stay
Fully qualified wilderness guides and instructors

If you are looking to escape over the festive season take a look at our Menesjarvi Christmas Wilderness Auroras or Menesjarvi New Year Wilderness Auroras.

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As you turn off the main road through the small town of Inari you enter a seemingly endless wilderness on a stunning road into the untamed Arctic. The only hints of civilisation are the small signs and side roads that seem to indicate that somewhere out here there may be a few houses.

A further 30 minutes down the road you’ll take one of those side roads to find a pristine frozen lake and the cosy lights of the Hotel Korpikartano in front of you. You are at your new home in Menesjarvi.

In terms of location Menesjarvi is one of the wildest and most remote places we offer making this prime Aurora territory. With no light pollution and unobstructed views of the night sky from the Lake, Menesjarvi allows visitors to witness the Northern Lights at their spectacular best.

This area of Finland is virtually untouched by tourism and so the local cultures and traditions are preserved as is the spectacular wilderness. During this short break we try and show you the best of the landscape, the culture, the Arctic activities and, if conditions are right, the Aurora Borealis.

A truly warm welcome from your hosts and a real Aurora adventure in the wilderness await you in this very special part of Lapland.

Suitable for

Anybody aged 18 years and over.

Our sister company Activities Abroad provide a Northern Lights Holiday at Menesjarvi, specially designed for families.

All Days Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Day 1: Arrival and introduction

You will be greeted at the airport and transferred to Menesjarvi and the Hotel Korpikartano; it’s a beautiful drive. Dinner will be served on arrival and you’ll be briefed on what will happen over the coming days. It’s worth stepping outside before you head to bed as you never know when the Aurora may welcome you to Menesjarvi.

Day 2: Snowmobile safari, Winter Fishing and Aurora Workshops and Northern Lights Snowshoe Hike

If you arrived at the hotel during darkness then today may be your first opportunity to really see the scale of the landscape around you – it is rather breathtaking!

After breakfast there is no hanging around as there is a wonderful wilderness just waiting to be explored and there is no better way to do this than on a snowmobile.

After full instruction and tuition you will head out with your guide on an exhilarating snowmobile safari to the village of Lemmonjoki, a traditional Sami community. From there, you will drive to a frozen lake where you will try your hand at the Lappish art of ice fishing. You will travel two people per sled.

Upon your return to the hotel the day continues with dinner and then a two part Aurora workshop. Timo, one of your hosts is an accomplished Aurora photographer and is absolutely obsessed with photographing the Lights. His photographs will be presented to you alongside information on the Aurora and some of the science that creates this natural phenomenon. Your guide will either be Timo or one of the guides with an equal passion for the Northern Lights.

The second part of your workshop involves tuition outdoors and photography practice. You will then head out with your guide who will lead you on a snowshoe hike. The silence of the forest at night is something you really must experience. Your guide will use his or her local knowledge to take you to a viewpoint where, should conditions be favourable, you will get an uninterrupted view of any Aurora and get to put your photography skills to good use.

Day 3: Morning with a Reindeer Herder and Aurora Snowmobiling

Today you will experience the daily life of a reindeer herder. This is not a tourist trail experience but a genuine reindeer herder who will go about his business in almost exactly the same way, regardless of whether he has any guests with him. This is the real Lapland.

You will be transferred to the herder’s farm and from there will travel by snowmobile–pulled sleigh out into the magical winter wilderness. The scenery here is as good as any in Lapland, totally unspoiled, pristine and wonderful. The herder will then call his herd in and you will help him to feed the animals - a very Lappish experience. You will gather around a fire and will hear tales about Arctic life and how the reindeer form such an intrinsic part of it all before heading back to the hotel.

This afternoon you will have access to the snowshoe, cross country skiing and toboggan equipment at the hotel. You can also choose to participate in an additional cross country skiing tour (payable locally) so you can get to grips with this most Scandinavian of activities. Of course reading a good book is also a popular option with guests.

After a hearty meal this evening you will be back on snowmobiles for a safari deep into the darkness. The mobility provided by a little horse power should enable your guide to hopefully lead you away from any cloud cover that may obstruct any potential Auroras. Hopefully, your headlights won’t be the only thing that shines brightly tonight.

Day 4: Husky Safari, Aurora Dinner and Snowshoe

Along with the Aurora Borealis, one of the main highlights for most visitors to Lapland is the chance to take the reins on a husky safari. You’ll meet with the dogs’ trainers and they’ll tell you about the lives of the dogs up in the Arctic. After full tuition you will head out with your husky teams (two people per sled) for a safari lasting around three hours.

After your husky adventure you will head to the village of Inari. Here you will have lunch and then have the chance to visit the famous Siida Sami museum. Here you will explore the history of the region and Sami culture in general through the wonderful exhibits, displays and presentations. You will also be able to watch a DVD presentation on the Aurora.

To allow you to bid farewell to Menesjarvi in style, tonight’s dinner will be cooked on an open fire in one of the hotel’s lakeside kotas. After a meal to remember, your guide will be present to lead you to an Aurora viewpoint on snowshoes.

Day 5: Departure

Hotel Korpikatano

Menesjarvi is a traditional reindeer herding community located in what can only be described as the middle of nowhere. It retains a strong Sami identity and the few inhabitants keep the traditions of the past alive and thriving.

The Hotel Korpikartano is situated on the shores of Lake Menesjarvi. Until 2005 the hotel was a boarding school for children from the surrounding area and so it has some real quirks and character rather than being a conventional or standardised accommodation. We feel that this simply adds to the charm of being somewhere so remote and homely.

Your hosts, Anne and Timo own the hotel and are seriously passionate about the area in which they live, it’s people and culture. They provide guests with a wonderfully warm welcome and between them ensure that guests get to experience as much of the real Lapland as possible. The hotel has 28 rooms in total. All rooms are slightly different but have an en suite shower room and hairdryers, radios and televisions.

The rooms are split between the main hotel building, which houses the dining area and reception, and a separate annex where the majority of rooms are situated.

Nearly all meals are served in the hotel dining room. The food is traditional home cooking and the menus are generally hearty dishes designed to fuel you for your outdoor activities and Aurora hunting. It’s not very fancy but in our experience it is delicious and exactly what you want after a day outdoors.

There are two saunas in the main building and a sauna in the annex building.

If you feel the need (and we strongly recommend avoiding this) then there is a PC available for guests to use in the reception area. There is also a small selection of books and games that you can borrow.

There are many reasons to come here but the real draw lies in its location and the people who will be looking after you. The Korpikartano is about being able to hire some snowshoes or cross country skis and experience the perfect silence, it’s about spending the evenings around a fire in one of the hotel’s wooden kotas waiting for an Aurora and then gathering with fellow guests out on the lake to gaze at the sky in wonder. It’s about meeting the real people who live in this region, getting to know them and getting to experience their culture and the landscape in which they live, in full.

Available

Limited places

On request

Price per person based on 2 adults

Depart	Adult	Availability
10/12/2013	£1625
16/12/2013	£1645
26/12/2013	£1645
07/01/2014	£1575
21/01/2014	£1575
04/02/2014	£1595
11/02/2014	£1595
22/02/2014	£1595
10/03/2014	£1595
17/03/2014	£1595
24/03/2014	£1595

Supplements :

Name	Adult
Single supplement per person	£100

N.B. Prices in brackets denote a price deduction.

Getting there

Flights from the UK
Prices are based on scheduled flights from London Heathrow to Ivalo or Kirkenes (via Helsinki/Oslo). Manchester departures maybe available on request (supplements may apply).

Flights from Europe
The prices above include flights from major European airports.

Finnair fly from most major European cities including Rome, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, Madrid and many more. Please contact us if you would like to fly from a European airport. We will be delighted to suggest the best route.

Flights from outside the UK and Europe
We can also arrange flights to Finland from the rest of the world but a supplement may apply. Please contact us for a flight inclusive quotation. Alternatively, if you would like to make your own flight arrangements, we will deduct the flight cost from the price of your Northern Lights holiday.

Tourism in Finnish Lapland has become the main source of employment and income, replacing traditional industries such as forestry. Working within this growth industry in rural and remote areas means that we must take a great deal of responsibility; socially, environmentally and economically. We fully appreciate the impact of tourist visits on local communities and their residents and strive to ensure that we are having a positive effect.

The wilderness hotel in Menesjärvi is owned and run by the Lappalainen family, whose Sámi routes have been in this area for centuries. They have a strong sense of tradition and we encourage all of our clients to respect and embrace the lives and culture of all Menesjärvi’s local inhabitants by learning a few important words: hello, goodbye, please, thank you etc. We have also included activities with a cultural base. In addition, we always encourage our clients to get involved in local events and activities which help to sustain traditional values and customs.

In all of our destinations we ensure that we use local accommodation, transport and activity providers, enabling locally owned businesses and the economies in which they work to benefit directly. The hotel in Menesjärvi also serves as much local produce as possible and stocks locally made souvenirs. Through the tourism multiplier effect, this all helps to generate incomes and employment where the drift might otherwise be towards larger employment areas such as towns and cities. In a small and remote village such as Menesjärvi the effects of such a drift could be devastating.

The use of small family run hotels and businesses means that the tourism income, generated by our presence stays where it should, in the local economy. We firmly believe in paying a fair price for all the services provided by our suppliers regardless of where they are in the world.

Our holidays rely on visiting beautiful and un-spoilt areas, and they don’t come more un-spoilt than Menesjarvi. Naturally we wish to maintain the natural settings in which we work, not just for the future of our company, but also for future generations. We will always insist that our local providers are equally conscious of this need.

We do appreciate that some may feel that snowmobiles should not be included in such itineraries however in areas such as Menesjärvi they are a way of life. They are the only means of keeping in contact with remote reindeer herders and communities as the road infrastructure is not extensive. All trails are well managed. The alternatives to snowmobiles would in most cases be large, gas-guzzling off road vehicles. All snowmobiles are regularly serviced and kept as fuel efficient as possible. The snowmobile service industry is also another vital source of employment in these remote areas.

We always ensure that all litter is removed from any of our activity sites, we strongly encourage group transfers to reduce traffic volumes and we make our clients aware of their obligation to the environment. We always offset our air travel emissions and would encourage you to do the same.

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"I know it sounds corny but if you really want to hear the silence then Menesjarvi is the place to be. It’s remote, it’s serene, there is almost no light pollution whatsoever and the lake in front of the hotel has completely unadulterated views of the night sky. It’s everything a wilderness should be." Jo Doran

MenesjarviWilderness Auroras4 nights

Hotel Korpikatano

our customer's feedback...

customer's photos...

our opinion...

Menesjarvi
Wilderness Auroras
4 nights