The land at the North Pole is the magical home of Santa Claus and his reindeers, but it is also a real place that offers families the chance to enjoy a ski holiday to remember staying in luxury igloo pods midnight sun and polar night sit on the cusp of the arctic circle. Carve some powder on the slopes beneath the wonderous aurora borealis, the eerie green lights that dance in the sky. For an unforgettable skiing holiday in a place that has one of the longest ski seasons in the world. This is Finnish Lapland.
Lapland spans Finland, Sweden and Norway on the artic circle. Its unique location gives it eight seasons ranging from the darkness of late autumn and winter – the best time see the northern lights – to summer’s endless white nights. Spring’s alpine activities come to as the region’s ski resorts blossom and the skies are streaked pastel pink and blue. Bright clear days of sunshine feature heavily in summer’s 24-hour days known as the midnight sun while autumn illuminates the national parks in ‘ruska’ colours bringing stunning sunsets and heralding the start of aurora season.
As fluffy white blankets cover the ski slopes and tundra the colours of the skies reflect of every hue of the rainbow reflecting in the sparkling snow. When darkness envelopes night and day the dazzling northern lights put on a spectacle, casting down green, red and purple rays as the stars above twinkle like diamonds. Kaamos, or ‘polar night’, is when the sun barely rises above the horizon during the day. This plunges the land into a state of perpetual dawn and dusk, tinging the sky with a blue hue, known as ‘polar light’. Each season displays the sparkle and wonder of this ethereal land, but the most enchanting time of the year is December when thousands of tourists’ flock to Finnish Lapland’s Rovaniemi to visit Santa Claus’ hometown. This is a time that magic is in the air and the ground is all frosty and white and the glittering village depicts a Christmas card scene made even more magical as the northern lights streak the sky.

It is believed skiing originated from Lapland. Prehistoric skis have been found in remote ski resort Salla dating back to 3,245 BCE, along with 10,000-year-old wall paintings depicting what looks like an ancient form of skiing. Indeed, the very word ‘ski’ originates from the Old Norse word ‘skíð’ which means ‘split length of wood’.  Finnish Lapland has 200,000 residents, mainly the Sámi people who have lived here for thousands of years but are still outnumbered by reindeer. These native people go back millennia to way before the legend of Santa Claus began, but their belief in magic also sets the stage for the most enchanting fictional man in the world to appear in their history. Modern legend places Santa Claus or ‘Father Christmas’ as living in Finnish Lapland as head of a workshop of elves and team of reindeer. Here on the edge of the North Pole, this snowy winter wonderland makes the perfect home for Santa Claus.

The home of Santa Claus

Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi has been the official home of this legend since 2010 and is set within a fairy-tale world of spires and Christmas trees that rise out of the snowy landscape illuminated by bright lights. Snow-topped roofs glow multicolours as they point towards a polar night full of stars and the streaks of the northern lights. All this makes Finnish Lapland even more magical as the northern lights almost seem to signpost that the ‘most imagined magical man on the planet lives here’. Dreams are ignited in this wonderful land.  Children can visit the post office where all the letters from around the world arrive throughout the year. They can also visit the elves workshop, meet reindeers at santa’s park and earn a certificate for crossing the Arctic circle, which runs through Santa Claus Village.  While here, eager children can visit Mrs. Santa Claus’ Christmas Cottage  to meet the famous lady and learn all about the legends of Lapland. And of course, they can meet Father Christmas himself when he is in residence.

Skiing in Finnish Lapland

The most extensive skiing track networks in Finland are in the large ski resorts of Lapland. Ounasvaara ski resort is ideal for beginners and professionals alike and it’s just outside Rovaniemi, making it possible to visit Santa and ski at the same time. With 10 runs and 200km of ski terrain it is a great place to hit the slopes from October to May.

Finnish Lapland’s spiritual home of skiing Salla, where they found the ancient ski, is a quiet, expansive wilderness with snow-capped forests and slopes. Skiers can climb to the top of the fells to marvel at the wonderful, coloured plumes of light splashed across in the sky. Over 90 per cent of Salla is uninhabited, yet it is also home to 15 slopes including a good mixture of greens and blues for beginners, red and black runs for advanced riders and family activities too.

Levi, in Kittila is 170km north of the Arctic circle and thus boasts the longest skiing season in the world at over 200 days a year. From late October until in early May skiers can gaze up at the aurora borealis light show. Levi is considered the best ski resort in Finland and has won an international World Ski Award and hosts an FIS Skiing World Cup race each November. It has 43 slopes, 27 lifts and over 200km of cross-country trails offering variety for beginners to experienced skiers and opportunities to search for Santa’s cottage.

But the northernmost resort in the whole of Finnish Lapland is Saariselkä, known as gold country. This is a place packed with legends and its ski area is snow-sure with slopes over two fells called Kaunispää and Iisakkipää. These slopes are suitable for all skill levels and cover an area of great beauty and wilderness. Indeed for a country so small, Finnish Lapland has a wealth of resorts including Ylläs, Ruka, Iso-Syöte, Vuokatti and Pyhä.

Year-round activities

In addition to skiing, there are many activities to keep visitors entertained, from reindeer safaris to dogsledding. Lakes, when frozen, are perfect to try the sport of ice fishing, where adventurers drill a hole in the ice to catch a fish and then roast it on an open fire. Thrill seekers can take a spin on a snowmobile or an exhilarating husky sleigh ride through Finnish Lapland’s astonishing alpine forests. Guests can also try arctic rally driving, ice-karting, kick sledging, paragliding flights, windsurfing, and snow kiting sports as well as skiing. Then there are enchanting ice-hotels to visit, helicopter flights and hot-air balloon rides over the arctic tundra to get even closer to the northern lights.

Where to stay in Finnish Lapland

The Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniem

In Rovaniemi, the luxurious Arctic Treehouse Hotel can be found on the very edge of Santapark. This award-winning hotel is family run and provides 32 treehouse suites and five bigger arctic glass houses. Its exclusive executive suites are chic cubes with panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows inviting in views of the arctic skies’ impressive spectacles. Either the midnight sun or starry polar night can be admired while lying in bed. Designed in modern Scandinavian style, other choices of accommodation include interconnecting suites.

The stunning Arctic GlassHouses have a lounge with real log burner, plus two bedrooms with double beds and a kitchenette. With a private sauna plus a spacious decking area for star gazing and aurora spotting it offers the perfect place to unwind in elegant surroundings. The sofa in the lounge opens out to a sofa bed for two people making it perfect for families. Guests rarely get bored with the stunning views of nature’s greatest light show. Regular shuttles take guests to Santa Claus Village, bringing more magic to a stay at this exclusive resort and of course it is on the doorstep of the Ounasvaara,ski resort to enable guests to hit the slopes

Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort Saariselkä

Further north in the mountainous region of Saariselkä, home to another ski resort, is a cluster of thermal glass igloos that lie in the landscape like freshly landed alien spacecraft, surrounded by an alpine forest of beautiful Christmas trees. This is Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, one of the most exclusive experiences in Scandinavia. These glass igloos have open skylights so you can gaze up at the aurora borealis streaking across the sky.

Inside they are lavishly furnished. None more so than the Kelo Glass Igloo. Within 70sqm haven of luxury, rich alpine wood, and the colours of Christmas convey an expensive atmosphere in the living area. Guests can cosy up by the crackling fireplace or lie on the bed looking out of the swag tailed curtained window watching the snow fall while wonderfully warm inside. Each of these pods have their own in-built sauna. Meanwhile, larger families gathering for the holidays will love rustic log chalets hat are also filled with fine furniture and have a beautiful bedroom and four poster bed, with a living area, kitchen, bathtub and sauna. The outdoor jacuzzi on the terrace is also a great place to rejuvenate.  Each evening before dinner, guests can unwind at the world’s largest smoke sauna and restaurant. In Finland there is a sauna for every three people and traditional smoke saunas are the best. Walk through the woods over a wooden bridge to find Santa’s celebration house. As the largest log chalet in Finland this striking vision in red holds delights for children and adults alike from Santa Claus himself to concerts and classic car launches.

Levi Spirit ski lodge

The opulent Levi Spirit villas are ideally located for access to Levi’s slopes and subtly blend in with the unique landscape. Tucked away in the heart of the forest, each of the Spirit Villas is unique and offers a captivating atmosphere in which to unwind. Inside is a modern and spacious chalet with five bedrooms sleeping up to 10. Decorated in natural materials it has an expensive finish and the large windows bring the serene surroundings indoors, while luxurious furnishing adds comfort within dignified surroundings. An atmospheric non-heated Kammi room, invites guests to enjoy themselves around an open flame and a sauna. Each of the nine nine Levi Spirit villas are located on the quiet side of the fell by the Ounasjoki river, surrounded by the Taalovaara, remote enough for snowmobiling but close enough to the main town and Kittilä airport.

Levin Iglut Golden Crown in Sirkka

Skiers also flock to the Levin Iglut Golden Crown, in Sirkka offering luxury next to wilderness. The main ski area in Sirkka is the ski resort Levi less than a kilometre from the centre of the village. The resort itself comprises of a set of intimate high glass-ceilinged igloos perched on the fell slope, providing a perfect vantage point for gazing at the dancing lights of the aurora borealis. Each spacious suite has space for a family with two children and a private terrace with outdoor jacuzzi. Champagne is served upon arrival within these exclusive pods ideal for honeymooners to curl up and enjoy the intimate surroundings. Families will love the Northern Lights House, partly built underground to meet the needs of a small entourage, and lavishly furnished with wide windows to invite the forest views in. And at the very centre of all this luxury is the conical Restaurant Utsu, which offers romantic evenings under the northern skies.

Gourmet Dining

Each of these opulent hotels have exquisite restaurants. One of the most exclusive is at Arctic Treehouse Hotel, known as Rakas, headed by English chef Jonathan Guppy. He offers delicate dishes of lake-caught perch, mushrooms in herbs and reindeer with lingonberries garnished with juniper and edible flowers. Meanwhile, Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort has two à la carte restaurants, the Kelo restaurant serving Laplandic specialities such as reindeer and char-grilled salmon within its glass igloo bar. There is also fine dining at Santa Claus Celebration Houseat Korsu ‘underground restaurant or a unique restaurant called the Smokehouse. This is based in the hotel’s Savusauna featuring six saunas and relaxation rooms where guests can eat to their hearts content.

Levin Iglut Golden Crown’s has an a ‘la carte option called Restaurant Utsu, formerly known as Aurora Sky. Here decadent diners sit within a conical glass tower with a skylight that opens out for views of the aurora borealis. Couples can enjoy a glass of wine underneath the stars and as for the food, chef Levin Iglut serves up refined arctic cuisine with responsible local ingredients, all within the cosy ambiance and the surrounding Levitunturi Utsuvaara fell landscape.

Finnish Lapland’s very remoteness lends itself to pure luxury and the skiing holiday of a lifetime. Travel by private jet or charter plane from the UK for an exclusive daytrip or extend the stay at one of the many five-star ski chalets to enjoy the wonderful opportunities to get on the slopes. Finnish Lapland makes for an extravagant holiday to remember where childhood dreams come to life. It is the ultimate festive short break that offers a unique place to ski within the arctic circle.