Our Journeys

Is Rovaniemi Really Too Busy?

Discover the Other Side of Rovaniemi If you have been following conversations about Lapland on social media, you may have come across claims that Rovaniemi has become too busy, crowded or touristy. We understand where this impression comes from. If you visit the busiest tourist areas during the peak Christmas season, you will certainly meet plenty of other travelers. But there is something important missing from this picture: Rovaniemi is much, much more than its city centre. In fact, Rovaniemi is one of the largest cities in Europe by area. Beyond the centre, it stretches across a vast landscape of forests, rivers, lakes and small villages. For those of us who live here, this countryside is just as much Rovaniemi as the city centre is. Rovaniemi is a city of villages Rovaniemi is sometimes described as a city of villages – and for good reason. Scattered across this enormous area Read more

By Anne, ago

Mitä poron korvat kertovat?

Jos olet katsellut poroja läheltä, olet ehkä huomannut, että niiden korvien reunat ovat eri muotoisia. Yhdellä porolla korvassa voi olla pieni lovi, toisella useita erilaisia. Ne ovat poron korvamerkkejä eli tekoja. Jokaisella poronomistajalla on yksilöllinen merkki, joka hänen porojensa korviin lovetaan. Korvamerkki siis kertoo, kenelle poro kuuluu. Porot laiduntavat suuren osan vuodesta vapaina laajoilla alueilla. Korvamerkki toimii pysyvänä tunnisteena, joka säilyy mukana poron koko elämän ajan. Kokenut poronhoitaja tunnistaa korvamerkit niiden visuaalisuuden perusteella tarkasti, nopeasti ja kaukaa. Hyvät merkkiosaajat tuntevat kaikki oman alueensa poromerkit ja niiden tekijänkin tekojen käsialasta. Lisäksi he tuntevat erittäin laajalti myös naapuripaliskuntien merkkejä. Ammattitaitoinen poronhoitaja tunnistaa merkin poron korvan muodosta niin kaukaa, että poroa voidaan tarkastella kiikareilla sitä lainkaan häiritsemättä. Tämä on tarpeellinen taito, sillä poro elää elämänsä pääosin vapaana luonnossa, kuin villieläin ikään. Korvamerkki kertoo myös suvusta Poron korvamerkki voi kertoa paljon muutakin kuin sen, kenelle poro kuuluu. Se voi kertoa omistajansa perheestä ja suvusta, Read more

By Anne, ago

What Do a Reindeer’s Ears Tell Us?

If you have ever looked closely at reindeer, you may have noticed that the edges of their ears come in different shapes. One reindeer may have a small notch in its ear, while another may have several different ones. These are reindeer earmarks. Every reindeer owner has an individual earmark that is notched into the ears of their reindeer. The earmark tells us who the reindeer belongs to. Reindeer spend most of the year roaming freely across vast areas. The earmark is a permanent form of identification that stays with the reindeer throughout its life. An experienced reindeer herder can recognise earmarks visually, accurately, quickly and from a distance. Those who are particularly skilled at reading earmarks know all the marks used in their own area and can even recognise the hand of the person who made them. They also know many of the earmarks used in neighbouring reindeer herding Read more

By Anne, ago

Reindeer First – Why Animal Welfare Is at the Heart of Everything We Do

Reindeer First – Why Animal Welfare Is at the Heart of Everything We Do At Reindeer Journey, sustainability is much more than environmental responsibility. While protecting nature is important to us, animal welfare is also the issue closest to our hearts and the foundation of everything we do. As a real-life reindeer herding family, we live and work alongside our reindeer every day. Their wellbeing is not a separate project or policy—it is part of our daily lives, our values, and our responsibility as herders. This is one of the reasons why we have joined the Sustainable Travel Finland programme. The programme gives us an opportunity to further develop, document, and evaluate the responsible practices that have long guided our work. For us, one of the most important areas of sustainability is ensuring that tourism activities involving animals are always conducted ethically and with the animals’ welfare as the highest Read more

By Anne, ago

Reindeer are glowing in the dark – true or myth?

Every year, around 3500-5000 reindeer are killed in car accidents on Finnish roads. We reindeer herders have tried numerous ways to solve this problem. Every reindeer lost in traffic is not only a tragic event as such but also a financial loss for the reindeer owner. Although owners receive compensation for animals killed in accidents, it never fully reflects the true value of the lost animal. The most widespread trial with this topic has by far been “glowing in the dark” reindeer. That magical creature you can easily find by google. This trial inspired global media and it still regularly pops up especially in social media news, often accompanied by incorrect information. So, let me tell you how the story really went. On a dark February evening in 2014, I put on my winter work clothes, jumped into my boots, pulled my fur hat over my ears, grabbed a can Read more

By Anne, ago

Are Santa’s Reindeer Actually Female?

It’s that time of year again when Santa Claus and his reindeer start to attract international attention. I often get asked questions about this, naturally, since we live here in Santa’s hometown of Rovaniemi, sharing our lives with reindeer. One of the most common questions I get is about the gender of Santa’s reindeer. Surprised? Let me explain. When people find out that reindeer shed their antlers every year, many come to the same conclusion: Santa’s reindeer must be female. After all, male reindeer typically shed their antlers in the autumn, while females keep theirs through the winter and only shed them in spring, usually after giving birth in May. At first glance, that sounds like solid logic. Surely, it’s easy to imagine Santa’s sleigh being pulled by a team of strong reindeer girls. After all, females are often the hardest workers anyway (smiley). But the correct answer is: No, Read more

By Anne, ago

Summer vibes from reindeer life

In the summer, reindeer may appear matted. But don’t worry, they’re doing just fine! During the warmer months, the reindeer’s thick winter coat sheds to make way for lighter summer fur. This fur comes off in larger patches, occasionally revealing the smooth, sleek summer coat underneath. As the fur transitions, reindeer can sometimes look rather scruffy. This is completely normal. White reindeer, in particular, often resemble “plucked chickens” during June and July. By August, however, they have shed their old fur and are once again shiny and beautiful. Both male and female reindeer grow new antlers every year. During this time, the antlers grow at an astonishing rate of about two centimeters per day — the fastest-growing bone tissue in the world. In the summer, the growing antlers are soft, sensitive, and covered with a layer of skin. By August, the antlers have fully grown, and reindeer begin to rub Read more

By Anne, ago

The Hope of New life

The Hope of New Life Reindeer calving season has started. Newborn reindeer are running around the forests and wetlands. May is the month when most reindeer calves are born. In Sámi language May is called “reindeer calf month”. Our reindeer go near the large wetlands to give birth. There they have peace far away from human made hassle, and they like to eat plants growing in swamps, like bogbean. We are spying them from distance every now and then, trying to check everything is going well but still avoid any unnecessary disturbance. Today we spotted a few newborn cuties. They are too cute, aren’t they? Newborn reindeer calf weights about 5-7 kilos. Very soon after birth they can already run. And for sure, they love running. Sometimes it looks like the mothers have difficulties to follow these few days old rascals running and jumping around.   We have had a Read more

By Anne, ago

18.3. Finland is closed and our new reindeer adopters’ group is opened

Finland is closing its borders for a while, so our life in the reindeer farm will be calm and quiet for coming weeks. Sad it is. But we will survive. Hope you will too! This virus is like a scary movie, feeling a bit unreal and still happening in reality. All blessings to the worst-hit countries and all people suffering. Our thoughts are with you <3 We are in home quarantine, due to the fact, that our family’s oldest members are in their late 80s, and have some basic diseases. So, we have closed all our tours for at least two weeks, and will close them for a longer period if needed, when we see how this pandemic continues and eventually ends. Due to this unexpected situation, we have planned some new on-line services. Today we opened Reindeer Journey’s adopters’ group in Facebook. It is a private group for all Read more

By Anne, ago

“Put up the Lávvu”-hut day

Today the weather was finally suitable for pitching up our Lappish hut (Lávvu) into the forest. It will be a nice shelter, to enjoy packed lunch and warm drinks, especially in harsh weather. We got some helping hooves there as well. And Martta the Lapponian herder, of course, was supervising the building process all the way. Tomorrow we’ll “furnish” it and then it is ready for use. The Lávvu is near our reindeer feeding site, and this is the place we enjoy the Lappish snacks with our guests in coming months. You’re welcome to join us! 🙂

By Anne, ago