This active winter holiday in Finland is designed for those who wish not to only challenge their selves in the northern winter and experience all the must do –activities during their stay, but also learn about the way of life and connect with the local people. This 7-day all-inclusive (3 meals a day, all transfers, equipment rentals, guided activities, accommodation) guided tour in remote Hossa national park area consists of three separate 5-6 h snowshoe hiking days in different locations, doing a 5h day trip with the huskies and visiting our private reindeer farm the final day. Building an igloo from snow, spending one night in a rustic wilderness cabin, enjoying the sauna on a daily basis and dipping in the lake will be other highlights of the trip. Spending a whole week also provides a great chance to see the Northern Lights. This active winter holiday in Finland is tailored for small groups with the maximum of only 8 people, in order to provide a truly unique and authentic travel experience.
During the three separate snowshoe hiking days, your local guide will be taking you to his favorite trails and spots of this vast wilderness area, making sure you will get to see different types of forests and changing habitats during these days. The walks will take place in and around the beautiful and pristine Taiga forests of the Hossa National Park and on another protected old growth forest and marsh reserve located right next to the EU / Russian border. Observing nature and wildlife during the days is a solid part of the trip, as well as tasting some local wild foods cooked by your guide. You´ll do fine with moderate physical condition, but a certain level of fitness is required for the walks nevertheless; the conditions can change fast and walking in deep snow can get demanding.
Accommodation in the winter tour is 5 nights in a cozy holiday apartment with all the modern comforts, and 1 adventurous night in between is spent in a very simple and authentic wood-heated wilderness cabin, providing a true back to basics –experience where the blissful stillness and silence of the northern winter can be experienced to the fullest. Winter quality sleeping bag is provided for this one night, making sure you´ll sleep warm and cozy.
The tour is suitable for families, couples, groups of friends and individual passengers and both beginners and experienced outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers will find this a nice combination of activities and authentic experiences. The program can also be tailored to meet special needs and requests, so don´t hesitate to contact us and request for a tailored proposal.
All questions and bookings:
hossatravel@gmail.com
Arrival to Kuusamo, Kajaani or Oulu airport and transfer to Hossa. We´ll enjoy a welcoming dinner at the holiday apartment where we´ll spent the first three nights, settle in and depending on the schedule, enjoy the Finnish sauna for the first time before it´s time for bed after a day of travelling.
After 8.00am breakfast served by your guide at the dining room, we do a 20 minute transfer to the starting point of our first walk in Hossa National Park. Along this approximately 8,5 km circular snowshoe walk across the snowy wilderness we will visit the must-see wonder of the Hossa National Park, the 4000 years old rock painting made by the Stone Age hunter-gathering people who used to live in the area thousands of years ago. The forests here are a mosaic of tall pine trees alternating with open mire areas and dense old-growth bushes dominated by huge old spruces. Along the way there´s a couple of frozen lakes too and depending on the ice conditions, we will walk across them or have to go around. Different types of owls and grouses can be seen here if lucky. Picnic-lunch is served around open fire at a nice camping site halfway of the walk and after having returned to the car in the afternoon around 3-4 pm, your guide will drive you back to the apartment where the warm embrace of the sauna awaits. Dinner is served around 7.30pm.
Today after 8.00 breakfast and a short transfer by car you will be headed to the National Park again, doing another circular walk, but on another corner of this vast area this time. Today´s views and agenda will be more dominated by climbing and descending several steep pine-covered ridges, following rivers and crossing many more lakes. Lunch will be served by the fire on a scenic place by the river during the day and after returning back to our base in the afternoon around 4pm, it´s time to enjoy the sauna again and dinner will be served later in the evening.
This morning after breakfast there´s a 20 min transfer to the starting point of our final walk. The car will drop us off and we´ll start our hike on this protected old growth forest and marsh reserve, final destination being a very remote wilderness hut where we´ll sleep for one night, fully immersing ourselves to the surrounding wilderness in this authentic setting where everything is heated with wood and water is carried from a natural spring. Lunch is served around the fire during the day once more and the sceneries here are dominated by vast open swamps, several lakes and mixed old forests with permanent inhabitants being pine-martens, Siberian jays and Capercaillies for example. Not many people but plenty of wildlife here so tracks of moose and wolverine can often be seen, this is also a well-known brown bear territory. After we have reached the cabin (your luggage awaits) we get familiar with the surroundings and how everything works in such a rustic place, settle in our rooms and get the fires going. After having enjoyed the traditional wood-heated sauna where we wash ourselves just like the old days, we have dinner and then it´s time to crawl inside your warm sleeping bag for the night.
This morning after 8.00 am breakfast at the cabin we do a 20 minute transfer and head on a dog-sledding trip; a husky safari through the snowy forests and over vast open swamps and frozen lakes is an unforgettable experience. First you will be taught the basics of dog-sledding and then it´s time for a 30 km/5h day trip with the dogs, mushing your own team in pairs and stopping en route to swap drivers and have lunch around the fire along the way. After finishing the safari around 4 pm, your guide will pick you up and drive you to your holiday apartment and back to modern comforts again after a night spent in the wilderness. Sauna and dinner later in the evening.
This morning after having breakfast you are taken to our family reindeer farm, where you get to feed the big herd of these charming animals and learn about this special way of life firsthand. After the reindeer are fed and satisfied we will try our luck with the fish, drilling holes in the ice of a nearby lake and learning the tricks of ice-fishing. Lunch is served back at the holiday apartment and later in the afternoon we will practice our wilderness skills and finish digging the igloos/snow-caves that we have prepared earlier the week. If you feel like you got what it takes, sleeping inside the igloo is made possible with camping mattresses/sleeping bag. Last dinner will be served later in the evening, after having enjoyed the Finnish sauna / dipping in the lake for one last time.
Breakfast, transfer to the airport and time to say goodbye. Schedule for this day is confirmed when booking the trip.
*** Other departure dates and tailored itineraries for private trips on request!
What’s included in my trip price?
We have wanted to make it easy for our guests and have included everything in the price. This means 5 nights in a cozy holiday apartment, 1 night in a rustic wilderness cabin, three meals a day (excluding arrival and departure), guided activities, all transfers and airport pick up / drop off, luggage transfers, equipment rentals (sleeping bag, snowshoes/walking poles), admissions and the expertise of your local, fluent English speaking guide from the welcome till the farewell.
NOT INCLUDED : Flights, personal travel insurance.
Other info:
Couples have a private room and individual passengers stay privately or share a room with the same sex, depending on the group size and wishes of the participants. Details/pics regarding the rooms/cabins and the accommodation in general are given when making the booking.
Requests concerning special diets/allergies are fulfilled when given before the trip. The food that is served is strongly relayed on local ingredients and many times the dinners consist of potatoes cooked in different ways and served with seasonal local fish, vegetables or meat. Pasta and rice is commonly on the menu too and salad is always served on the side. Coffee/tea is available on all meals.
Breakfast includes fruit, yogurt, muesli, berries, jam, eggs, bread with cold-cuts, cheese and vegetables + coffee and tea of course. Lunches are served mostly outside by the fire and they include soups, sausages, pastries and sandwiches with varying options.
You will have the chance to buy soft and alcoholic drinks during your stay.
It´s made possible to rent winter clothing or just thermal boots during the arrival, please ask in advance! With skiing clothing and other good quality outdoor clothes, accompanied by hiking shoes that can fit extra socks, one will do fine as wearing several layers and staying active when outside is the key to staying warm. More detailed clothing instructions are given when making the booking.
We reserve the right to make changes to the itinerary due to major occurence and weather and snow conditions.
How do I book?
Send us en e-mail to hossatravel@gmail.com with info on how many people you want to book and for which dates. Before confirming your place on the tour, we agree on your exact travel plan and airport pick up/drop off. After this we are ready to send you an invoice of 100€/person deposit payment and when it´s paid, your holiday is confirmed. Along with the invoice we will send you further instructions, inform you on the terms and conditions and provide a list of things you should have with you on this trip.
When booking several people all at once, we can give some discount so groups of friends and families etc please do request a personalized offer.
How do I pay?
After we have agreed on airport pick up/drop off, we send you an invoice for the deposit payment and the rest of the price will be charged later as agreed.
Bookings and Questions:
E-mail: hossatravel@gmail.com