(Salla)
It is possibly a sign of the ongoing recovery in the UK ski travel market, or possibly just a trend, but interest in winter sports holidays to northern Finland continues to grow again, with leading operator Crystal announcing a new destination option, and a new flight route from Manchester so that fewer people in the north will need to travel south to London in order to fly north to Lapland next winter.
The new choice of Salla in eastern Lapland, close to the Arctic Circle is not new in the sense that this was one of 10 Finnish destinations offered by the UK’s leading tour operators during a growth in interest throughout the first decade of the century up to the crash of 2008 – after which Finland was pretty much removed from the brochures. Since then most of the old Finnish destinations have been returning to the brochures with Salla the latest.
Crystal now offer Ruka, Salla and Iso-Syöte while Inghams have Ylläs, Pyhä, Levi and Saariselkä giving seven choices between the UK’s two biggest ski operators.
Ski holidays to Finland, where it is dark for much of the day in midwinter, although the slopes are floodlit and if you’re lucky the northern lights may shine overhead, are much more multi-activity than for ski areas in the Alps.
Besides downhill skiing you can try snowmobile safaris, husky dog sledding, ice fishing and cross country skiing. In addition to this, the original people of Lapland, the Sami, bring a timeless touch to the place. Santa is of course also based there.
They have carved out simple lives in the Arctic wilderness for centuries. Step into an age-old world of reindeer herding, husky farms and ‘kotas’ – tepee-shaped huts – that welcome you with blazing log fires and hot berry juice.
Salla is home to over 10,000 reindeer and situated in the middle of an unspoilt wilderness with frozen rivers, lakes and fells. Activities include a Northern Lights reindeer safari and a snowmobile excursion to the Russian border, only 20 km away.
Accommodation is predominantly in cosy wooden cabins dotted around in forests surrounding the ski slopes. Prices are from £429 per person for seven nights (based on four sharing) at the Sallainen Cabins with flights from Manchester and transfer.
The season starts on Sunday 21 December 2014 and last departure from Manchester to Kuusamo is on 15 February 2015.
