4 Days Winter Horse Riding Holiday Adventure in Kiruna, Sweden

Facilities

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival - riding class

After transfer to the farm, you start with a riding class in the afternoon to get familiar with the horses and the tölt. You will eat a 3-course dinner together after. Outside the window, you will hopefully see moose and northern lights.

Day 2: Snowmobiling - Northern light riding

You will go snowmobiling, two persons on each snowmobile. You learn how to drive snowmobile this day and have outdoor lunch prepared over an open fire. In the evening, you have then a riding tour in the dark looking for northern lights and spend the evening in the goahti (Sami hut) around the fire eating dinner.

Day 3: Reindeer sledging tour - visit Ice Hotel

You will have a reindeer sledging tour including lunch where two persons are sharing a sledge. That's the old way of transportation for Sami people in this area and you will learn about Sami culture and life. In the afternoon, you visit the famous Ice Hotel, have dinner at the restaurant and in the evening you come back to the farm.

Day 4: Forest riding tour - departure

You will go for a shorter riding tour in the forest and your guide will bring you to the airport/railway station.

During this week, you stay overnight in a house on a small horse farm with double rooms, shared kitchen/living room, and bathroom. The farm is beautifully located, close to the Kalix river west of Kiruna in a small village. You will be served local specialties, like game and fish. Most of the activities you will do from Ofelas Islandshästar farm, but for some of them, you will need to go by car and the activities are probably done in another order than in this program and the group is asked to always have to respect the winter weather.

Riding Experience

Prior riding experience is not necessary but you must be in good physical health. This ride is suitable both for you with riding experience and for you who have never been riding before

Animals

Right now, Ofelas Islandshästar has about 25 Icelandic horses at the farm, a few are privately owned. The stable cat, Lunar, also lives there, as well as two goats and four dogs. During the winter, Ofelas Islandshästar also gets quite a lot of moose there.

The Ofelas Islandshästar Team

The company is run by Kerstin Nilsson and Mats Blind-Berg, since 1997. Jenny Jansson and Sara Hansson work at the farm, they have both moved up there from south of Sweden. Usually, Ofelas Islandshästar has some extra employees during high season.

Ofelas Islandshästar is located 25 kilometers west of Kiruna in the direction of Nikkaluokta with a fantastic view of the mountains and Kalix river. In wintertime, they have the northern lights and during summer, the midnight sun.

Puoltsa

The farm is located in a small village called Puoltsa (Buolža in Sami). It is between Kiruna and Nikkaluokta, next to the riverbank of the Kalix river. Ofelas Islandshästar has had the business since 1997.

Distances

• Kiruna, 25 kilometers

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Reindeer and moose meat is an important ingredient in Sámi cuisine, usually smoked to last longer when you are out in the mountains for many weeks. Other local specialties in this area are fish from the river or mountain lakes. Berries and herbs are also important ingredients, like cloudberries, blueberries, lingonberries, Angelica, meadowsweet, etc. Ofelas Islandshästar provides any special diet if you require, like no lactose, gluten-free, or vegetarian, just remember to inform them in advance.

Traditional food in Sámi is meat and fish supplemented with herbs and berries. Salt and flour were bought so you could bake bread. Fish and meat were eaten either fresh, salted, smoked, dried, or conserved in a different way. The Sami cuisine still looks the same but with new dishes and outside influences.

Reindeer and moose meat, Arctic char, Whitefish, cloudberries, blueberries, lingonberries, Angelica, and Mountain Sorrel are common in the Sami cuisine. Coffee cheese was made from reindeer milk, later, also from goat and cow milk. Lots of new exciting things are happening with the developing of Sami cooking today.

• Book snowmobile tours with Ofelas Islandshästar in advance.
• Book one night at Ice Hotel
• Sauna
• Dog sledding
• Cross country skiing
• Snowshoeing

• Daily winter activities and horse rides
• Services of a Swedish and English-speaking guide
• Daily full board meals (From Day 1 dinner to Day 4 breakfast)
• 3 nights accommodation
• Use of a horse with equipment
• Helmet use
• Warm outdoor clothes
• All transfers needed within Kiruna

• Extra and accommodation upgrades
• Extra meals

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• A reservation requires a deposit of 16.94% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 7 days before arrival.