Winter Activities in Alta

Hunting the Northern Lights

Alta is a wonderful place to experience the Northern Lights. After pick up, you will be served a warm soup before heading out to hunt the Northern Lights, to areas with little or no light pollution. The driver and guide will choose the best possible location, even if it means a drive of up to 200 km, either along the coast, fjords or in the inland of Finnmark. We make regular stops to check the conditions and, if conditions permit, take photos. The guides are photographers and also well acquainted with a variety of cameras and can often help you to adjust the settings on your own camera. We will serve snacks and hot chocolate during the tour. This is a small group tour with max. 8 guests per guide.

Availability: 15th September – 10th April
Departure: 19:00
Duration: 4.5-6 hours
Includes: Transfer from hotel, soup of the evening, warm thermal suits, hot chocolocate and snacks, free photos from the tour.

Dogsledding

Dogsledding is popular and important in the Alta area, as the city is the host, starting and ending point for Finnmarksløpet, the world’s northern most sled dog race and the second-longest in the world. Dog sledding is a wonderful way to experience the nature in the Alta valley. This supplier prioritises intimacy and authenticity with small groups of maximum 8 guests. You will be sharing a dog sled and can switch between being a passenger and driver. Personalised attention and ample opportunities to engage with the experienced guides is given. The guides aren’t just knowledgeable; they are seasoned experts in dog handling and mushing, eager to share their wealth of experience and insights with you. On this dog sledding tour, you will experience the Arctic nature with a team of Alaskan Huskies. You will be taken into the tracks where race dogs are trained into athletes, along the Alta River and the path where Europe’s best mushers race towards the finish line for the famous Finnmarksløpet. Upon arrival back to the husky farm you will have the possibility to help with the dogs, and give them lots of cuddles and belly scratches.
The guide will prepare a fire and snacks in the Lavvo and tell you all about life with huskies.

Availability: 1st November – 30th April
Departure: 09:30, 11:00, 16:00
Duration: 2.5 hour (approx. 1 hour dog sledding)
Included: Transfer to/from Alta Centre, winter clothing, storytelling in Traditional Sami Lavvo with hot drinks and snacks.
Note: Min. age is 5 years.

Snowmobile Safari

Experience the Arctic Adventure on Finnmarksvidda by Snowmobile. Travel outside of Alta to a historical, 150 year old mountain lodge in Gargia valley where you will learn about our history and the lifestyle of the arctic. After preparing you for the adventurous ride ahead we take you along the old postal road up to the very edge of Finnmarksvidda to a mountain range called Beskades. Through snow covered forests we make our way up to the expansive mountain plains. Here you can embrace the true arctic wilderness, surrounded by only snow and the sky in all directions. You will ride in pairs, a driver and a passenger on each snowmobile, with the opportunity to switch places.

Availability: 1st December to 30th April
Departure: 10:00
Duration: 4 hours (approx. 2 hours snowmobile driving)
Includes: Guide, thermal suit, winter boots, gloves, helmet, warm beverages and snacks.
Note: Only the holders of a valid B class drivers license are allowed to drive a snowmobile in Norway. You are required to present your license for verification before taking part on the ride. Guests without a valid driving license are only allowed to be passengers.

Snowshoeing, Husky and Ice-Fishing with Lunch

The trek to the wilderness camp takes us through beautiful and peaceful pine forests surrounded by high mountains. The wilderness camp has an idyllic location beside a small lake, which has always had excellent fish stocks. We will light the open fire inside our lavvu (Sami herdsmen’s tent). This is the ideal place to warm up and enjoy a delicious lunch. The predominant fish species is Arctic char, but catching these big, nice fish is not always an easy task! If we are lucky, we will eat fresh, self-caught Arctic char for lunch. If the fish are not biting, we will grill the delicacies we have bought on the fire. The area has a rich animal life, such are hares, foxes and moose, as well as bird such as eagles and the rough-legged buzzard. This trek is not very demanding and most people manage to reach the wilderness camp in under 30 minutes. We need some equipment and are accompanied by one of our huskies – Javri, Phelps, Atlas or Bruneo – to pull it by sled. Huskies are social creatures and love to work and help their best friends!

Availability: 1st November – 15th April
Departure: 10:00
Duration: 4.5 hours
Includes: Warm thermo suit and over shoes (if necessary), Lunch prepared on open fire, Transport (pick up at your hotel)