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This trip is unique from anything else we offer. We have several itineraries which are dedicated husky safaris and you obviously learn lots about a musher’s life whilst on an expedition, but this itinerary is a unique chance to see the behind the scenes action of a working Husky Farm.

Harriniva has over 400 huskies at their farm and the guides who look after them have done so for many years and were personally responsible for their breeding, selection into their role as a dog and their subsequent training. There really is no better place to learn about a working husky farm.

Day 1:  Flights, Arrival and Transfers
You will be met on arrival at Kittila Airport and transferred to Harriniva Wilderness Hotel in Muonio. This is a wonderful family run hotel built in traditional Scandinavian style. Dinner will be served in the hotel restaurant.

Day 2 - 4: Down on the farm
The next morning you will be provided with all of your cold weather clothing for the duration of your stay and your guide will talk you through the intended programme for the next few days. After this comes the exciting bit! You will meet the dogs and their mushers before you start working together.

During these three days you will benefit from the mushers vast experience. You will begin working with the huskies, feeding them and taking care of them.

The huskies are working dogs, however they are very friendly and love attention. The personality of each dog is different and you will have the chance to get to know them during your time on the farm. The mushers will explain to you how the dogs are chosen for each specific role on the safari team and why they are suitable. Your colleagues at the farm will gladly answer any questions you have about any aspects of looking after the huskies.

The highlight of these days for many people is the training runs with the different husky teams. This particular job will see you ‘training’ with your team. As you glide across frozen lakes and through snow covered forests, you can relax and enjoy the scenery as the dogs get the chance to do what they love and you can appreciate your wonderful surroundings in a truly exciting way. It’s all in a days work!

Day 5 - 6: Overnight husky safari
We really save the best until last during this week. After breakfast, you will pack your gear and head out with your dog team. After all your practice this week, you will really be able to enjoy being out on the trail with your team and the guide. The experience and relationship you have built with the dogs during the course of the week will make this expedition extra special compared to other safaris. You and the dogs will be more in tune with each other and the mutual respect you have developed means that controlling them will become much easier.

You will glide through stunning surroundings until you reach a wilderness cabin, in the middle of the snowy forest. Here you can enjoy a traditional Finnish wood sauna and a dinner in front of the fire before heading to bed for a well deserved sleep.

You will be woken the next morning by your dogs. They will be desperate for two things; food and the trail! After you have fed the dogs and yourselves, you will pack up your belongings and continue on the safari. You will cover between 20 and 25km per day picturesque landscapes.

In the afternoon you will return to the Harriniva to enjoy a relaxing sauna and dinner during your final evening in Finland.

Day 7: Departure
After you have said your goodbyes to both the dogs and the mushers you have worked with, you will be transferred back to Kittila Airport for your return flight home.

Tourism in Finnish Lapland has become the main income source of employment and income replacing traditional industries such as forestry.

Development from a period of extractive industry to an industrial society has come about quickly. In 1950 the largest part of Lapland's inhabitants lived in rural areas and more than half the workforce worked in forestry and agriculture. Today 65 % of the workforce are in the service industry, 22 % in processing and 10 % in primary production.

This huge growth in tourism and service provision has been developed in conjunction with a long-term sustainable tourism plan with one of the primary objectives being to maintain nature in its natural state while guaranteeing the traditional way of life.

Much of this has been achieved along with membership of EU development programmes, aimed at diversifying sources of livelihood, effective usage of resources and to increase export.

Approximately a quarter of Lapland's 100 000 strong workforce was unemployed in 1997. Promoting entrepreneurship, ongoing re-education of the workforce and development of the educational system to suit the needs of enterprises is continuing. The target is to diversify the sources of livelihood, increase the value of refinement production and develop new enterprises particularly in the area of tourism. National measures as well as EU-programme measures support this objective.

We embrace this philosophy, employing local activity providers and using only locally owned hotels. In this manner we help to maintain jobs in an area where unemployment was, until recently, very high. Additionally, the use of local suppliers ensures that the tourism spend filters through to local economies via the tourism multiplier effect.