A trip to Lapland is not complete without a ride on a reindeer sleigh. During our recent visit to Finland, Gareth and I had yet another chance to explore the extraordinary landscape of the Arctic Circle through this traditional means of transportation.
Our friendly Ylläs Adventures guides dropped us off at the Sami homestead of a reindeer herder and after a brief demonstration of how to safely sit inside the sleigh, we were off.
Dressed in traditional Sami attire, the reindeer-herder demonstrates how to get into the sleigh.The reindeer drawing the sleighs have their antlers removed for the safety of the passengers.Gareth tentatively greets the reindeer that would be drawing our sleigh.We were lucky to be assigned the front sleigh.The reindeer were extremely friendly, and this one kept trying to push past our sleigh to say hello.Although sitting underneath a reindeer hide, this is probably the coldest I have ever been in my life!Our sleigh set the pace for all the others, and we had a perfect view of the landscape.Afterwards, we were welcomed into the reindeer-herder’s hut for warm drinks and snacks, and interesting reindeer facts.And then it was time to feed the reindeer, who came in droves for a taste of lichen.Reindeer have cloven hooves for easier snow walking.Saying goodbye to the reindeer was the hardest part.
For more posts in the Winter Escape 2012 series, click here.
