Reindeer sledding & Sami experience in Alta, Norway

Have you ever thought about Santa’s reindeers? Well I have, and so it was absolutely amazing to be able to see them also in real life. I was quite excited to even book this amazing experience. It was again Sorrisniva who made this experience possible. At the beginning we had booked the tour in the morning but unfortunately they had to cancel this an the only option left was to do the tour in the evening. Thanks to North Adventure, who made this evening tour possible.

As soon as we arrived at Sorrisniva, we immediately saw the reindeers standing behind the hotel. I immediately fell in love with those beautiful animals. There were two Sami with the reindeers. They told us that reindeers are very shy animals. Fortunately one of their animals is not afraid of humans and so you could touch it. After the first excitement, the Sami told us some stories about the reindeers and their work with those animals.

Then the reindeer sledding started. We got one reindeer for two people. So we had to sit on the sled and the reindeer had to pull us.  As we were riding in one line, I was always a little bit afraid that the reindeer behind us could bit me, but it did not happened.

After some reindeer sledding, we stopped at a traditional Sami tent, a lávvu. Once you entered you feel like you’ve been in another world, the Sami world. The whole floor of the lávvu is filled with reindeer skin, which is very warm and cozy. There is even a fire inside the tent. As we did the reindeer experience with some other people who were also Norwegian, we were the only ones who didn’t understand Norwegian. One lady was so kind to translate everything the Sami women told us in Norwegian, because not every Sami can speak English. They told us stories about their lifestyle and their work with the reindeers.

We did this tour on the 6th of February, which is also the National Day in the Sami culture. So we were very lucky to hear a joik from the Sami lady. A joik is a traditional Sami form of song. Basically the joik is the English word to refer to all types of traditional Sami singing but there are several Sami singing styles. It is not a text based singing and there are no references of the origins of the joik. According to the tradition, the Sami People get their joiks from the fairies and elves of the artic land. It is very touching to hear a joik from a Sami.

It was a very incredible experience to see that the Sami People are still living their traditions, even if they do it in a more modern way.

I really enjoyed being with the reindeers because they are one of my favorite animals. So if you have the chance to meet either the Sami people or reindeers, be sure to do it at least one time in your life.

Read next: The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd in Scotland