Northern Lights have always been a passion for me since I learned about it. So when we, friends for the last 45 years–Ramani, Maruti, and Dilip—were discussing our next tour together, we immediately zeroed in on Finland to see the Northern Lights. As if to validate the caption of my recent book “In Search of Tranquillity” (It’s now available on Amazon), my quest for tranquillity continued. And now that my business and family responsibilities and commitments are ebbing, it is time for me to pursue and enjoy my passions. Why regret it later when you can’t travel because of health issues? If asked about my life, I would say that I am enjoying it fully with no regrets whatsoever. It is said that it is because of God’s grace that we are born as human, then why not enjoy it by, among a host of others, knowing the secrets of Mother Nature so abundant around us? Every creation of nature leaves us spellbound and in awe of its enormous power.
We read in our scriptures that it requires ‘Divya Drishti’ to see God and His incarnations. But it is our fortune that our normal eyes are enough to see the Northern Lights, a small embodiment of his power. But we have to travel to high-latitude areas such as Finland. As March is the best period to see Northern Lights, we did not wish to miss this chance despite our year-end business commitments. We booked our air tickets with Finnair from Delhi to Helsinki for March 21st. The previous day was my birthday, and luckily one of our common friends, G V Prasad, was also in Delhi. So, all my friends joined together to celebrate my birthday in a hotel near the airport before flying to Helsinki.
Day 1, March 21: Arriving at Helsinki:
As we approached the Helsinki airport, we saw huge pockets of snow from the plane. Finland is full of lakes which freeze in winter. None of us has ever stayed at a place with snowfall, so it thrilled us to see mounds of ice all around us. After arrival, we boarded our connecting one-hour flight to Kittila.
Kittila airport was also thick with ice. With excitement on cloud nine, we drove down to Levi, where we would stay for three days. En route, we stopped at the Safari centre to buy full-body winter clothes, gloves and shoes to protect us from the extreme cold in the region. The whole set looked quite bulky and looked like an astronaut suit!
Farzana of The Wanderers—our travel agency—had prepared an eight-day customised itinerary for us. Living in a tropical climate, we set on to acclimatise ourselves to the chilling climate with temperatures ranging from minus 10 to 20 degrees centigrade.
Day 2, March 22:
We joined a snowshoeing activity in the wilderness. This is a great way to experience Lapland’s winter landscapes. You can enjoy the fresh, clean air, and experience peace and tranquillity while doing some light and fun-filled exercises. The Arctic people have used snow shoes for centuries to reach the deep snowy, inaccessible landscapes.
Snowshoes are easy: you need a reasonable balance and suitable clothing. This activity requires basic physical fitness, and of course, it is not suitable for children under seven years. Hot drinks and snacks added to our joy amid the icy surroundings. We clicked photos of ourselves enjoying a frozen lake which we treaded for two hours. At some point, the soft snow beneath us made us fall and trip.
Next, we visited the snow village before arriving at Lapland Hotel–the largest snow hotel in the area—which presents a fantastic spectacle of snow and ice. Our guide led us to our amazingly decorated rooms. We also visited the ice chapel and the ice bar and admired its beautiful corridors, which had amazing snow and ice creations. Kids would love the ice slides, which, like the rest of the snow village and our hotel, change in design every year. We had coffee and buns in the indoor cafeteria.
We wondered if the icy place would be suitable for holding a destination wedding. But the hotel can accommodate only 50 people, so suitable only for close family groups.
It was evening now—the time for us to witness the main attraction, the Northern Lights. We headed to a remote and dark location with the Astronaut suit on. We made a campfire for grilling some snacks. The sound of raging flames gave us a powerful but relaxing experience. Our guide narrated stories of the magical nights, which were never all dark, with the snow, stars and, of course, the Northern Lights lightening the sky. He ushered us into a frozen lake with our head torch on. For almost 45 minutes, we waited for the Northern Lights, but it gave us a miss. We returned to our hotel room, hoping to be successful the next day.
Day 3, March 23: It was a free day. We went to a skiing centre just opposite our hotel to see people skiing on a small slope. At night, we again put on our Astronaut suits and went to a big veranda, to a place to try riding a snowmobile. Suddenly, the much-awaited and incredible green lights illuminated the sky. We were overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the Northern Lights and cried in ecstasy. This was the moment for which we had come to Finland.
The Northern Lights came very beautifully in the photos and videos we captured. We rode to dark jungles on our bikes, and it was our luck that we could see the lights again very clearly. Our guide took pictures of us with the Northern Lights in the backdrop as proof that we saw the Northern Lights with our own eyes. In the photo, we may not be recognised because of the astronaut suits, but the tall person is me, and the short one is Dilip.
We returned to the hotel after our encounter with the Northern Lights. Ramani and Maruti had returned earlier as they could not bear the chill.
The Northern Lights are more likely to be visible in the clear, star-studded sky. It is a natural occurrence; hence its appearance cannot be guaranteed. In that sense, we were quite fortunate to see it.
Personally, I could feel the omnipresent God in the way the Northern Lights descended in the sky while I was standing at minus 20 degrees, far away from my city and near the North Pole.
Day 4, March 24: We travelled to Rovaniemi and stayed at Santas Igloo Arctic Circle. Here rooms were in the shape of igloos with glass rooftops so we could see the Northern Lights from the room itself.
Around midnight, the reception messaged us about the sighting of the Northern Lights. We rushed out and had one more lucky encounter with Northern Lights.
Day 5-7, March 25-27: For our next three days’ activities, we shifted to a normal hotel Scandic. On the first day evening, we visited the reindeer safari. While huskies have not been used as a means of transportation, travelling in a reindeer-pulled sleigh is a very traditional way of transportation in Lapland. Facts about the reindeer are fascinating. It does not go on the ice. They are bred on farms. Their lifetime is around 15 years; the male reindeer (bull) is only to raise children, and in the mating season, it succeeds in reproducing around 200 calves. The female reindeer (cow) does all the work. When the mating season is over, the male is considered unworthy and is most likely used for its meat. Its antlers are so huge that they are removed by the farm owner or automatically fall down. The antlers grow very fast and may rise up to 3 feet.
Our next activity was skiing. Trying it for the first time in a deep jungle was exhilarating. It was funny to fall and repeatedly rise before we could do some real skiing.
Next, we visited Santa Claus village. We met Santa in his same fairy tale looks and his wife. Ramani casually asked him if he had ever come to India! He laughed, saying he travels all over the world! Mrs Santa told us that she only works to send gifts and care for Santa!
On the last day of our trip, we experienced quite a voluminous snowfall. Small flakes of snow were falling all around us. For us who had never seen snowfall, it was an unforgettable spectacle.
It was time for us to bid goodbye to Finland, and we learned why this country ranks as the world’s happiest. The government takes full care of the health and education of its people. Ironically, it also has the maximum suicide deaths! Some locals explained this apparent paradox by saying that because of extreme cold, people are mostly confined to their homes, causing them to drink heavily to kill the loneliness, which often leads to suicides.
In the end, Finland is a must-see destination for travel lovers. Yes, for us Indians, it would be an icy sojourn. Good luck to all!
