Get ready for a complete experience of the Pyhä-Luosto fells. Your adventure starts at your accommodation where you will be picked up and receive professional winter clothing and boots (temperatures may drop as down as -30C!).
Your guide will then drive you to Pyhä-Luosto National Park, the oldest national park in Finland. During this 1h30 drive, you can enjoy the snowy scenery of Lapland forests and, if you are lucky, spot some local animals such as reindeer along the road. Arriving in the national park, your guide will give you safety instructions and teach you the basic techniques on how to use snowshoes.
It is time to make your way into the forest, snowshoeing in the deep snow and exploring the arctic nature. Your guide will be happy to share their knowledge about the surrounding nature, its history and culture. Your snowshoeing excursion takes around one hour (2,5 km) until you reach the bottom of Lampivaara, the hill of the amethyst mine. Enjoy a typical Finnish snack with hot drinks, cooked over an open fire.
After BBQ break, you take the "snow train" (the so-called pendolino) to the top of the hill into the amethyst mine. As you go up the hill, enjoy the view, the horizon line in the distance and the Taiga forest spreading all around you. The guided visit of the amethyst mine lasts around one hour and you will learn about the geology and nature of the area, the formation of amethyst crystals 2000 million years ago and beliefs associated to this purple gemstone. At the end of the visit, you will get the chance to dig the ground to find your own jewel (and you can even keep it!).
You will then snowshoe back through the forests, trying a different route or - if you are too tired - follow the beaten track.
All needed equipment (professional winter clothing, winter shoes and snowshoes)
