Porovaara Hill: Stop to listen to the silence while camping, surrounded by reindeer

Porovaara Hill is a place where a couple’s dream of reindeer husbandry has grown into a family business offering reindeer excursions and Northern lights safaris just south of the Arctic circle. Guests must dress warm, according to the weather, but everything else is taken care of.

Ari and Irja Körkkö bought a 70 hectare piece of land almost 40 years ago and the area has operated as a location to herd reindeer but also to provide a place for their family to explore, pick berries and hunt. Now travellers from all around the world have the same opportunity to experience the wilderness of Lapland by partaking in outdoor adventures, including snowmobile safaris.

A night under the stars in a traditional Finnish laavu. Photo: Pete Karttunen

The couple wants to offer a genuine Lapland experience for visitors, in the most authentic and sustainable way. “People come here to experience the stillness and the silence,” Ari says. “For this reason, our snowmobiles are electric so provide minimum disturbance for us and the majestic nature around us.”

All of Porovaara Hill’s snowmobiles are electric. Photo: Miika Hämäläinen

At Porovaara Hill, you are not limited to snowmobiles, however. The resort is open all year round and can offer everything from berry picking to fishing and even greeting baby reindeer in summer. Visitors also have the opportunity to sleep in a laavu, an old Finnish lean-to just next to the animals, under the midnight sun. But according to Körkkö, the experience is especially worthwhile in the heart of winter: “It’s incredible how staying in a laavu, with the bonfire going and the reindeer in their pen just metres away, makes you feel as one with nature.”

Santa Claus lives in Rovaniemi and will visit his reindeers and anyone else at Porovaara Hill. Photo: Miika Hämäläinen

Web: porovaara.fi
Instagram: @porovaarahill
Mobile: +358 44 2484 116
Email: info@porovaara.fi