So the hunt for Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) continues this year in Lapland, Finland. Last year, we went to Iceland and was really looking forward to spot the beautiful dancing light. But luck were not on our side - we waited for a couple of hours in the freezing cold of the Icelandic winter, but we were still unable to see them due to low solar activity that night (even though sky was partially clear and we could see many stars). Fuhh, long intro!

So we specifically decided on this trip with high hopes to be able to see the lights (it was top of my bucket list and both Fizal and I really wished to see this beautiful phenomenon). Our flight from London Gatwick Airport to Rovaniemi was at 5:50am and we waited around in London St. Pancras International station from 10pm and stayed in the airport overnight until it was finally time to check in at 4:00am.

Waiting for our train to Gatwick Airport.

 I think this was around 3am where I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

Thankful for the airport wifi service!

We arrived at Rovaniemi airport at 11:10am. We could see carpets of white snow from the plane. Rovaniemi Airport is one the the 6 airports in Lapland, and is said to be the 'Official Airport of Santa Claus', haha. The sky was beautiful orange and pink hues, as daylight has just started (sunrise at around 10:30am). We took a mini van that was waiting outside the airport (for each flight into Rovaniemi) to our hotel Santasport Resort.


 So festive, so merry!

 As we stepped outside of the airport, it actually felt good to be breathing fresh air after the whole overnight in the airport and a 3-hr flight - despite the chilly air.

Sunrise that's about to set in a few hours.

Since we arrived before check-in time, our room wasn't ready for us yet. So we just put our backpacks at the luggage storage room at the hotel lobby, and went out for a walk around the area. Not too far from our hotel, we came across a very beautiful forest. We walked through the fluffy, untouched snow, and as we went deeper into the woods, the view became irresistibly more stunning, SubhanAllah. We kept on walking and there were people cross-country skiing in the forest and they'd just swoosh by you without you knowing. The beautiful clear sky with a hint of orange (as the sun doesn't really set high) made the whole place even more heavenly and I can never forget the feeling I felt at the time...





No words can describe how I felt amongst this beautiful landscape. It was unbelievable.

...it was surreal.

After a couple of hours of wandering around and taking lots of photos, it started to get dark, so we decided to walk back to our hotel. Our room was finally ready, we got in and had some sleep since we stayed at Gatwick Airport without any sleep the night before.

We had a good sleep since it was already dark and woke up at around 8pm. Made our dinner and went out at around 10pm that night, hopeful, in search of the Auroras. Based on the forecast, it was the only night with (if any) a chance to see the Northern Lights because it will be snowing for the rest of the week.

We walked from our hotel heading to Ounasvaara, which apparently, is hill's peak where photographers go to shoot photos of the lights. So it's a very famous place amongst Aurora hunters and photographers. It was about 25-minutes walk from our hotel. While we were walking, we also met some French tourist who were also looking for the same place, so we all walked together. The area was located behind the Lapland Hotel Sky Ounasvaara, which is a ski resort, so there were also ski slopes.


It was a nice night walk. It wasn't really cold since we were walking, and the paths were well lit up.

When we reached the hill's peak, it was strange that there was nobody there, since we read that it was a popular place amongst locals and even tourists who are looking to see the lights. Well, to be frank, it was't really that strange, because clouds have started to form above us, so any chance to see the lights can be buried now. But we weren't going to give up. Fizal and I went deeper so that it was darker and we didn't get any lights from the hotel..... and still nothing. Clouds already covering the brightly shining moon by this time. We waited a little bit more. After a while, the French tourists had already given up and headed back. So it was just Fizal and I, still patiently waiting and praying. Then my hands and legs started to feel the cold and it was really cold to a point I was shivering and cannot take it anymore. That was when we knew, that that was our last and only hope. So we walked back to our hotel, disappointed, but I said to Fizal not to put so much hope in the next few nights that we were there so we can just enjoy the rest of the trip with whatever Rovaniemi has to offer. So we just stayed in our room that night and watched some TV shows.

Our Finnish breakfast. The Finnish eat lingonberries or lingonberry jam with a lot of things, like bread, mashed potatoes and even oatmeal porridge.

As expected, it was snowing the next morning. After breakfast at the hotel, we decided to walk up to the Ounasvaara area again in daytime because it was beautiful even in the dark last night. So we took a walk along the same route that we did last night, and during the day, it was even more magical because we were fed with beautiful white winter scenery everywhere we turn. When we reached the Ounasvaara hill and walked deeper into more fresh and soft snow, this was literally the only thing we see around us. (More photos will be posted in my Photo Diary)






After taking hundreds of photos, on our way back, we saw some small pathways going into the woods. We took the path and were in awe at the most beautiful surrounding I have seen in my life, SubhanAllah. It was beyond words could describe. It was quite and very peaceful. Nobody was there and we were the only ones walking in there. Only our voices and our feet stepping on the fluffy fresh snow were to be heard. We walked deeper and it became more surreal as the snow gets thicker. Every now and then, while we were walking, there were some people cross-country skiing and just swiftly passing us.



Cross-country ski trails that they left behind.

After we got out of the woods, we walked to find a supermarket to buy some food for dinner and evening snacking.

Billboard of our hotel - Sportsanta Hotel.

And we saw a lot of colorful Finnish kids walking around here at the time, I guess they had just finished school?

 The view walking towards the supermarket was also a treat. We got to see local houses along the way.


...and finally, after about almost 45-minutes walking from the Ounasvaara hill, the supermarket was within our view.


And of course, Fizal was excited.
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The next morning, we took a taxi to Rovaniemi city centre. The taxi stopped us at the Lapland Safaris where we booked our Husky Safari trip the next day. See here for my story on our amazing husky safari experience.

After we had made the booking, we went to look for our Airbnb that we had booked prior the trip. It started to heavily and it was very windy while we were looking for the house. We even got lost because the host missed an important information on the address that he gave us. Fizal was already frustrated as we've been walking for quite a while, not knowing where to look anymore (we were literally lost and nobody was around to ask since it was snowing heavily) - and we were also carrying our backpacks! Until after going back and forth in the same street for god knows how long, we met a lady who helped us to find our way, and coincidentally, she knew out host (phew!).

The house that we stayed in had some beautiful Nordic touch to the interior!

After settling down and had some lunch, we went back out and spent the rest of the day wandering the city centre. It wasn't big, so we could finish in just one day.


There were quite a lot of shopping malls around not far from each other.

Look at how deep and thick the snow issssss!!!!
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The next day was the best part! We spent the afternoon at a husky farm and went husky sledding! It was such fantastic experience and I would do it again if I had the chance! (and money!). That was main the highlight of our trip and made up for us not being able to see the Northern Lights (and indeed, it snowed every night after our attempt to see the lights on our first night). I've really enjoyed this trip and will cherish them forever, and I would really recommend if anyone wants to come to Finland in winter to see this beautiful nature.

Until then!