Skip to content
PIXELS & TRAVELS
DE

Day trips · 6 February 2024 · 3 min read

Reindeer farm & Riisitunturi National Park

At 9 am we help with the reindeer feeding, the animals eat the lichen dessert straight from our hands, at -25 °C. In the afternoon we hike through Riisitunturi National Park, whose completely snow-encased trees make us feel like we're on another planet.

Annina feeding a reindeer from her hand, the herd in the snow behind

We get up early, because today we have a 9 am appointment at a reindeer farm, where we’ll be helping with the morning feeding. Before we can get into the car we first have to scrape off a centimetre-thick layer of ice, it was -25 °C overnight. Thankfully the car starts, and thanks to the spike tyres it grips the icy surface too. At the reindeer farm our friendly guide is waiting, and he introduces us to the history of the farm, the reindeer and their way of life. Then we head to the pasture of the female reindeer and their young. The main feeding is done from a snowmobile, and afterwards we get to serve the reindeer their “dessert”, so-called lichen moss. They happily eat it right out of our hands.

Nicolas standing in the snow as two reindeer come closer A reindeer feeding by the fence as the sun goes down behind A reindeer pawing through the snow for food The herd grazing backlit between the trees The whole herd spread across the snowy slope A reindeer eating the lichen straight from our hand Annina holding out the lichen dessert to a reindeer

After the feeding we’re thoroughly frozen and are glad to take a seat in the warm café. We have a tea and a hot chocolate before setting off in the car towards our accommodation. On the way we fill up the tank and Annina has her first go at driving on snow. Back at the accommodation we make ourselves lunch. Fortified, we set off again, this time towards Riisitunturi National Park. A narrow, single-lane, snow-covered road takes us to a large car park. Several routes start from there. We head in the direction of Riisitunturi. Along the way we feel like we’re on another planet. The landscape is completely blanketed in the finest powder snow we have ever seen, and at just under -25 °C the air is truly bitingly cold, something our faces, hands and feet notice very quickly.

A wooden hut in the forest, sun breaking through the branches A person walking the path between deeply snow-covered trees Snow-covered trees standing like figures on the plain The snowy plain reaching all the way to the horizon Long shadows of the snow figures across the plateau

We can’t get enough of the beautiful snow-laden trees and the setting sun. We shoot wildly in every direction and soak in the view. At some point, though, we realise we should turn back, as we’re properly frozen through. So we turn around shortly before sunset and drive home in the most beautiful light. We head straight into the sauna to warm up. Afterwards we cook spinach tagliatelle with fried cauliflower. After a quick look through the photos, an episode of a series and a futile watch for northern lights, we go to sleep.

A bent tree in front of the low sun The sun as a bright ball above the white plain The low sun above the snow-covered plateau of Riisitunturi A single figure backlit, snow drifting around its base A tall column of snow towering over the smaller trees A group of snow figures under a blue-grey sky Rows of snow figures with haze over the forest behind A tall cone of snow against the pink evening sky Two snow figures against the coloured evening sky Two heavily iced trees side by side

Topics

Comments

You might also like