The Land Of The Midnight Sun
Lapland Expeditions
Really wild camping: the team keep warm until weather permits the next crossing.
Sami-style Kota in Vätsäri Wilderness Area
Navigating swamps north of Lake Inari
Rest stop on Inarijärvi (Lake Inari)
The Canoe Gods light our way to camp
Waiting for a storm to pass on Lake Inari
A boding start to cross Lake Inari, Sea of the Sami
Lunch stop on one of Inarijärvi's 3,000 islands
"..and so to bed": logging the day in the heart of the swamps.
A heat-reflective tarp mitigates a rapid drop in temperature
Time spent looking at a map is never wasted
Navigating the myriad of islands on Inarijärvi.
Inarijärvi - Sea of the Sami
Inari
8
6
Difficult
Open water
June and August
Pristine forested islands set under a big, ever-changing sky are the features on this epic voyage as we island-hop our way across Inarijärvi (Lake Inari), Lapland's largest lake and where the Sami believed they could connect with the spirts of their ancestors. Participants have found it hard to describe the feeling you get on the lake, but "magical" comes up a lot.
It's easy to see why. The shorter, open tree-line reveals a sky where the weather gods do battle in every direction. Passing storms can be followed by dead calm in blazing heat. The midnight sun means it never really gets dark and mist can be seen coming out of the trees onto the lake at night.
It's also challenging and demands respect: 100km of contiguous open water can be paddled; conditions can swing rapidly with temperatures between 0-30 Celsius; participants with bushcraft skills can expect to use them for real on any number of the 3,000 islands here.
This is the open water equivalent of climbing a mountain, but your soul will be touched by this place forever.
Crazy Group Discounts - save over 30%
Book as a group of 3 or 6 and you could save yourself up to £1,000!