Lapland Northern Lights & the Sami Easter Festival

LAPLAND NORTHERN LIGHTS & THE SAMI EASTER FESTIVAL

March 24 – April 5, 2021 | 13 Days | Overland Adventure

MAP NOT TO SCALE Kongsfjord Expedition Highlights Vardo

•Travel by boat, snowmobile, reindeer Alta sleigh, snowshoe, and Hillagurra Kirkenes even mush your own dog sled to discover NORWAY sheltered fjords, peaceful valleys, and Svanhovd FINLAND sleepy fishing hamlets.

Karasjok •Meet a Sami family and learn about their traditional lifestyle—dominated

Kautokeino by reindeer herding, hunting, fishing, and trading. Ivalo

To Oslo •Photograph serene, snow-shrouded From Helsinki landscapes, colorful scenes of traditional Sami life and culture, and with luck, the ethereal Aurora Borealis, or KONGSFJORD Northern Lights.

•Spend the night at the Snowhotel, made entirely of snow and filled with skillfully carved ice furniture and sculptures.

•Itinerary...... page 2 > •Flight Information ...... page 3 > •Meet Your Leader ...... page 4 > •Rates...... page 4 >

Monday, March 29 Itinerary IVALO / KIRKENES, NORWAY Depart overland for the scenic drive to Kirkenes and check in to Based on the expeditionary nature of our trips, there may be ongoing enhance- the Snowhotel. Made entirely of snow, a new structure is built ments to this itinerary. every year, complete with ice-carved bed platforms, furniture, and decorations. After lunch at a local restaurant, take short tour of the city, including the Borderland Museum and the Andersgrotta, a Wednesday & Thursday, March 24 & 25, 2021 bomb shelter where town residents sought refuge from Russian air DEPART USA / HELSINKI, FINLAND raids during World War II. The rest of the afternoon at leisure to Board your independent flight to Finland. Arrive in Helsinki and relax or explore on your own. transfer to the Hilton Helsinki Airport Hotel. Gather this evening for a welcome dinner and briefing.

Tuesday, March 30 Friday, March 26 KIRKENES / SVANHOVD HELSINKI / IVALO Those who are up to the challenge may join a local crabber to After breakfast, board our short flight to Ivalo. Enjoy lunch before hunt for the region’s giant king crabs. Time permitting, spend the transferring to the Wilderness Hotel Nangu set on the shores of Lake afternoon on nature walks through pristine forests to search for Inari. Explore the grounds or enjoy a drink in the cozy lounge before resident wildlife in Svanhovd National Park Center. dinner in the on-site restaurant and overnight.

Wednesday, March 31 Saturday & Sunday, March 27 & 28 SVANHOVD / VARDO / KONGSFJORD IVALO After breakfast, take a ride aboard the legendary Hurtigruten ferry. Activities during two full days of exploration include a snowmobile Cruise past photogenic coastal scenery as you enjoy lunch on safari, snow shoeing along the forest trails near the lodge, and a dog board. Arrive in Vardo and depart overland for Kongsfjord, a tiny mushing lesson. The dogs’ excitement is infectious as you head out fishing village whose waters were fished out in the late 20th century, for a ride, the huskies pulling your sled through the beautiful winter causing many people to move away. Now the fish are coming back, scenery. On clear nights, walk to a viewpoint to watch for the Northern and so are the people, many for the quaint, slow-paced lifestyle. Lights over the frozen expanse of Lake Inari. Dinner and overnight at Kongsfjord Gjestehus.

SNOWHOTEL

ZEGRAHM EXPEDITIONS | LAPLAND: HOME OF THE SAMI PEOPLE < 2 > KAUTOKEINO © H. Stark

Thursday, April 1 Sunday, April 4 KONGSFJORD / HILLAGURRA / KARASJOK KAUTOKEINO / ALTA / OSLO After breakfast, take a stroll along the harbor, keeping an eye out for Drive to Alta for your flight to Oslo, with dinner and overnight at the king and Steller’s eiders, among other species. Then board coaches SAS Radisson Hotel. for the drive to Hillagurra. Here you will meet a Sami family who live in a modern house (for part of the year), but continue to make traditional clothes by hand, follow the summer reindeer migration, and Monday, April 5 celebrate Sami festivals. Meet the herd and take an exhilarating ride OSLO / USA in your own reindeer-drawn sleigh, or you may choose to ride behind Depart on your independent homeward flight, arriving in the USA the a reindeer on skis. Continue to Karasjok and check in to the Engholm same day. Husky Design Lodge for dinner and overnight.

Friday, April 2 Flight Information KARASJOK / KAUTOKEINO In addition to its beautiful surroundings, Karasjok is the social and You will need to purchase airfare from your home city/Helsinki/Ivalo and Alta/Oslo/home city. Please contact our in-house Air Department for fare cultural center of the Norwegian Sami. Important Sami institutions have quotes, reservations, or other air related questions. been established here, including the Sámediggi (the Sami Parliament) and a Sami language radio station. Enjoy a special private tour of the Sami Parliament Building and at the Sami National Museum you will see excellent displays of traditional garments, tools, and crafts. Afterward this, visit a Sami knifesmith who crafts reindeer-herder knives. These knives have a distinctive look and are an integral part of Sami culture; they range from workaday to decorative, and make a memorable souvenir. Then, take a short drive to Kautokeino, the “secret capital” of the Sami. Check in to Thon Hotel Kautokeino for dinner and overnight.

Saturday, April 3 KAUTOKEINO Attend the Sami Easter Festival, where you may witness a variety of unique events including reindeer races, snowmobile races, ice fishing competitions, and theater productions. Visit the beautiful Kautokeino church where, with luck, you may have the unique opportunity to attend a service. The afternoon is free to take a stroll around town and make a stop at Juhl’s Silver Gallery and workshop where you will find beautiful jewelry and decorative items using traditional Sami designs and motifs. This evening attend a celebratory farewell dinner that includes a special yoiking (Sami folk songs) concert.

ZEGRAHM EXPEDITIONS | LAPLAND: HOME OF THE SAMI PEOPLE < 3 > Meet Your Expedition Leader

Mike spends most of his time working as a professional mariner. He is the second mate and navigator on the new polar icebreaker, Sikuliaq, and also sails as captain on the Kittiwake. These vessels bring field scientists into the sub-Arctic and Arctic waters of Alaska. Mike worked much of his 20’s and early 30’s as a Zodiac driver and naturalist with the expedition ship Europa, a square-rigged sailing vessel which spends half its year in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic. On land, Mike works as a field technician for the Cold Region Research and Engineering Laboratory, supporting climate change science in the high Arctic. He has traversed over 3,000 miles of the Greenland ice sheet by snow mobile with the SAGE project, sampling snow, measuring ice crystals, and helping gather data to better understand the continents’ rapid ice melt. Mike and his wife Micheley run an art gallery and coffeehouse inside a 100-year-old church in Seward, Alaska.

Rates

$18,990 per person, double occupancy $21,990 per person, single occupancy Limited to 14 expedition members.

INCLUDED: NOT INCLUDED: •Transportation within Finland and Norway •Airfare from your home city/Helsinki/Ivalo and Alta/Oslo/home city •All excursions in the company of a world-class expedition leader and local guides •Excess baggage charges •All gratuities •Airport arrival and departure taxes •All accommodations •Transfers for independent arrivals and departures •All group meals, including selected beverages with •Passport and/or visa fees lunch and dinner •Travel insurance •All entrance fees •Items of a personal nature such as laundry, alcoholic beverages •Arrival and departure transfers on group dates (other than listed at left), and other incidentals •Gift certificates for recommended expedition gear •Email/Internet/fax/telephone charges •Medical expense coverage and emergency evacuation insurance

A 25% per person deposit will secure your space on this expedition. All rates are per person, quoted in US dollars, and must be paid in US dollars. Rates and itineraries are subject to change. Please review our Terms & Conditions online at www.zegrahm.com/terms, or call our office for a printed copy. Know Before You Go

This trip is for experienced travelers only. You must be physically fit and in good health. Some days will be long and involve strenuous physical activity, such as riding snowmobiles, mushing dog sleds, and snowshoeing. Several of our accommodations can only be reached by these modes of transportation and alternate arrangements will not be possible. Please note the weather will be cold and snowy, with tempera- tures ranging from the teens to mid-20ºF, with the possibility of winter storms. You can expect to be outside for several hours each day. Our accommodations will range from four-star hotels to rustic cabins to a hotel constructed entirely of packed snow and ice. At some of our accommodations, en suite facilities will not be available. Many meals will be served family-style and while food is given in generous quantities, please be aware that menus are set. It is very difficult, if not impossible, in some of the remote places we will be visiting for our hosts to cater to individual food preferences. If you have any specific dietary requirements, it is essential that we be notified at the time of your initial booking. At the end of the day, sleeping in tents and mushing your own dog sled are all part of the Sami experience and will be great fun if you are an adventurous person looking for a truly unique cultural experience.

To reserve, visit www.zegrahm.com/lapland or contact your travel consultant. < 4