I was super fortunate to be gifted my experience with the reindeer in collaboration with Tromso Arctic Reindeer. As always, all experiences, photos, thoughts and opinions are all my own!
How do you make a trip to the Arctic a memorable experience? REINDEER! As a part of my adventures in Tromso, I embarked on a tour with Tromso Arctic Reindeer for one of the most memorable days in all of my travels.
Here’s an Epic Experience with Tromsø Arctic Reindeer:
Getting to Tromso Arctic Reindeer
Tromsø Arctic Reindeer is located about 10 miles northeast of Tromso at a camp on the edge of the fjords. Transport from the city to the camp is included as part of your experience. Comfortable charter buses depart from the Radisson Blu in the city center for the 20 minute ride to the camp.
Click here to learn more about each of the 5 tours offered at Tromsø Arctic Reindeer
About Tromso Arctic Reindeer
The reindeer herders up here in Tromso are from a group of indigenous peoples named the Sami. They have called arctic wilderness home for nearly 5000 years. People belonging to the Sami culture didn’t originate just in Norway alone. Sami’s sretch out over other regions in Sweden, Finland and the Russian Kola Peninsula.
Petroglyphs and other archaeological objects have been throughout these traditional Sami lands. Some suggest that stone-age people from 10,000 B.C. and the Sami are related. Many similarities in decoration patterns of ancient bone objects look identical to the Sami’s. New findings from Finland suggest that the same people moved from the Arctic coast in Norway to Finland at the end of the last ice age (11,000 – 8000 B.C.).
Johan Isak, the lead herder here at Tromso Arctic Reindeer, tells us about how his family has lived amongst the reindeer for hundreds, if not thousands of years. There are nearly 350 reindeer here at the camp but other Sami families in the area take care of their own herds. Altogether, thousands of reindeer dominate the landscape in and around Tromso.
Arriving to the Tromso Arctic Reindeer Camp
As soon as you step off the bus, the entire staff, fully dressed in their traditional Sami outfits, are waiting around to shake your hand and welcome you into the camp. The true delight is seeing the reindeer in the distance!
As we get ushered into the Lavvu (a traditional Sami temporary dwelling) and all snuggled in around the cozy fire, Johan gives an introduction to the camp. Benches surrounding the fire are handmade from wood and reindeer pelts cover them like tapestry to warm our bottoms up. Blankets are also piled in corners for guests to use while welcomed into the Sami’s home.
Reindeer Feeding
After the short introduction from the Sami people, it was time for the best part! As the blistery snow blows all around, buckets of feed are handed out and we’re escorted into the fenced area. Almost instantly we’re bombarded with reindeer of every shape, size and color!
The reindeer here at the camp are creatures of beyond gentleness. While they may use their antlers (if they have them) to push away other reindeer, they follow each other and the people around like dogs!
When feeding the reindeer, be sure to keep the bucket extended out from your body. If the reindeer nudge each other away with their antlers, this helps that you won’t get caught in the middle of it.
For the best pictures, let the reindeer have a taste of the feed then slightly pull it away for the cutest face close-ups.
I spend so much time sitting in the snow, coaxing these beautiful creatures up to me. I’m a huge animal lover (hence why I’m a vegetarian) so relaxing amongst a crowd of these beautiful reindeer, I’m in absolute heaven.
Reindeer Sledding
After about a half hour of feeding the reindeer, the staff instructs us to board the sleds. The hand-made wooden pallet-like sleds are covered with reindeer pelts and blankets to cover up for warmth.
I really wasn’t sure what to expect with the sledding. Are these reindeer just going to take off running while pulling us behind them?! That’s definitely not what happened though! These strong beauties pulled us behind them at a mild pace, as if it was second nature to them.
Lunch & Storytelling
Those blizzard-like conditions definitely get to me while I’m out here! I’ve never been in snow like this, which is hard to believe hailing from northern USA. That really has nothing on the Arctic though. Warming up by the fire sounds magical at this moment, needless to say.
After the sledding is complete, I’m more than excited to get inside to warm up. We’re brought back to a wooden building with two separate fires burning and served bowls of soup, cookies and hot cocoa. The stew on the menu is actually reindeer stew but, since I’m a vegetarian, they make a special batch of veggie soup for me.
Since there’s more time between eating and storytelling by the Sami people, I head over to the Lavvu to take some photos and talk with Johan. He displays for us a parka made completely from reindeer pelt. As he describes the different uses of those pelts, he shows us how to use grass as insulation. His mother standing nearby says this has been a tradition of the Sami for nearly 11,000 years.
Filling up on our hot cocoa in the cabin, we retreat back to the Lavvu to snuggle up by the fire. Next on the agenda is listening to stories about the Sami people while hearing the traditional joik-songs.
An Epic Day with Tromso Arctic Reindeer
Spending the day with the reindeer here at Tromsø Arctic Reindeer was one of the most memorable things I’ve done in all of my travels. A huge thank you to them for collaborating with me so I could experience being up close and personal with these majestic animals, as well as learning about the Sami culture.
If you’re wanting to book an excursion with Tromsø Arctic Reindeer, head to their website here.
Read More Scandinavia Travel Posts HereA new project in Tromsø, called Tromsø Eco Tours, gives 10% of every booking to nature and environmental charities. Check it out here!
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Everything looks so dreamy😍
It was so magical! Loved every moment of this experience!
Takeeeee me back! Such an epic day spent with you, Claudia & Jeff. I miss the reindeer!
Seriously!! And then to end it with the epic light show, what a flipping day we had! I should’ve snuck one of these bad boys back home with me 🙂