Arctic Circle dogsled expedition
| country: | Arctic Circle, Sweden |
| location: | Swedish Lapland |
| trip type: | A small group adventure |
| departures: | New departure dates available 1 Aug 08 |
| price: | From £1799 (7 days) including flights from UK, from £1489 excluding flights. Optional single supplement |
the amazing things you'll be doing
An adventurous journey by dogsled, travelling from cabin to cabin through the Arctic wilderness of Swedish Lapland.
Our dogsled expedition starts from our base in Kaupinnen, close to the Icehotel, and takes a long loop into the remote lands to the north. After a morning's instruction we head straight into our extended tour, with five days of challenging 'mushing' ahead of us. Crossing varied Arctic terrain of frozen lakes, forest and tundra, we travel from cabin to cabin, carrying our gear in our sleds. This region is the heartland of the Sami (or Lappish) people and their herds of roaming reindeer. The trip includes a night under canvas, which allows us to travel a more remote and challenging circular route.
Accommodation: We spend two nights in the 'Mushers Lodge' in Kaupinnen in 4-5 person rooms, with shared facilities and a sauna. Three nights of the expedition will be in basic wilderness cabins: these generally consist of just one room which serves as a kitchen, dining and sleeping area. The cabins are heated by wood-burning stoves, and have basic outside toilets. Night three is spent under canvas in a large communal tent, which is heated for part of the night (or all night in extreme conditions).
Our dogsled expedition starts from our base in Kaupinnen, close to the Icehotel, and takes a long loop into the remote lands to the north. After a morning's instruction we head straight into our extended tour, with five days of challenging 'mushing' ahead of us. Crossing varied Arctic terrain of frozen lakes, forest and tundra, we travel from cabin to cabin, carrying our gear in our sleds. This region is the heartland of the Sami (or Lappish) people and their herds of roaming reindeer. The trip includes a night under canvas, which allows us to travel a more remote and challenging circular route.
Accommodation: We spend two nights in the 'Mushers Lodge' in Kaupinnen in 4-5 person rooms, with shared facilities and a sauna. Three nights of the expedition will be in basic wilderness cabins: these generally consist of just one room which serves as a kitchen, dining and sleeping area. The cabins are heated by wood-burning stoves, and have basic outside toilets. Night three is spent under canvas in a large communal tent, which is heated for part of the night (or all night in extreme conditions).
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Start Mushers Lodge in Kaupinnen. |
| Day 2: | Dogsled instruction; short trip to make sure dog teams are well balanced. Overnight in wilderness lodge. (10-15 km) |
| Day 3: | Head northwest following Torne River to Tornetrask Lake. Pitch tent and collect firewood for night in under canvas. (35-55 km). |
| Day 4: | Mush north and east across remote mountain tundra towards a small Sami settlement called Jarama. Simple reindeer herders cabin. (55-65 km). |
| Day 5: | Travel east towards Ovre Soppero, a Sami village on the Lainio River. (50 km). Cabin accommodation. |
| Day 6: | The longest day, following the 'Tobacco Trail' south and west to Jukkasjarvi. Short visit to the Icehotel if time allows, before we return to the Mushers Lodge. (70 km). |
| Day 7: | End Mushers Lodge, Kaupinnen. |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.award winner
This tourism business won an award in our 2004 Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical, Magazine of the Royal Geographical Societyhow this holiday makes a difference
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Our whole ethos of an 'snow' holiday is about promoting alternative versions of winter tourism that use nature in its unspoilt condition, rather than seeking to alter it. We use small villages and family run hotels, chosen for their access to unspoilt mountain terrain, rather than number of lifts and resort facilities. Many peoples experience of dogsledding is a 15 minute excursion from Santa Park in Rovaniemi, the highly commercial pre-Christmas Lapland destination. For a real dogsledding experience, 'mush' your own team on an extended journey through the Arctic wilderness, with nights in log cabins.
We will ensure that our operations do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people so we ensure that our type and scale of tourism is appropriate to local conditions and operate within the limits set by local appropriate infrastructure and carrying capacity. We have teamed up with Friends of Conservation to support projects at Ranthambore, India, Nava Kiran Orphanage, Nepal and on the edge of the Masai Mara, Kenya. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |